The secular cantatas
aren’t among the most popular works
of Johann Sebastian Bach. There are
exceptions, though: one of them is the
so-called 'Coffee Cantata'. The other
work on this disc is far less well known
and is seldom performed.
Most secular cantatas
were commissioned by personalities in
public life for performance at special
occasions, like weddings, birthday celebrations
and social and political events. As
a consequence these works were usually
performed once, and then put aside.
This is the reason so many of works
in this genre by Bach and others have
been lost. That is also the case with
Bach's secular cantatas. More then twenty
have been preserved, mainly due to the
fact that Bach treated his compositions
with utmost care. It is an established
fact that about thirty cantatas have
been lost. It is assumed Bach wrote
many more.
The second way in which
Bach made sure his music was preserved
is through his use of the 'parody' technique:
he regularly re-used material from his
secular cantatas in other cantatas,
either secular or - more often - sacred.
Arias and choruses were given a new
text and - if necessary - the music
was adapted to fit. The best-known example
of a composition which contains material
from secular cantatas is the Christmas
Oratorio. This practice was quite common
in Bach's time. It should be kept in
mind that in those days no fundamental
difference was made between sacred and
secular music. In fact, secular cantatas
could contain sacred elements, like
the wedding cantata 'O holder Tag',
where the opening recitative ends with
the lines: "We are by God to this commanded:
amidst the joyful to rejoice". And the
closing aria puts the wedding in the
perspective of eternity: "Make full
now your dwelling, bring joy to your
heart, until you the Lamb's own high
feast doth refresh". The 'Lamb', of
course, refers to Jesus Christ.
It is not known for
sure, who the addressee of this cantata
was. It is assumed that the bridegroom
was university educated, and was a great
lover of music, as these lines from
the aria 'Grosser Gönner, dein
Vergnügen' suggest: "And among
thy wisdom's treasures can thee naught
inspire such pleasure as sweet music's
charming art". The fact that there is
a beautiful hand-written copy of this
cantata, which contains only the parts
for the soprano and the basso continuo,
and which was apparently meant as a
gift for the couple, has given rise
to the assumption they belonged to the
circle of Bach's friends.
The Coffee Cantata
is completely different. It wasn't written
for a specific occasion, but rather
to be performed during one of the concerts
which Bach and the Collegium Musicum
gave in Zimmermann's coffee house from
1729 onwards. Unlike most secular works
from that time this cantata is neither
about shepherds and shepherdesses, gods
and goddesses, other mythological characters,
nor about kings or aristocrats, but
about middle class people and one of
their habits: the drinking of coffee.
The lively interaction between the protagonists
points into the direction of a performance
in which the singers weren't just singing,
but also acting their parts.
The text was written
by Picander, who also wrote the words
of the St Matthew Passion. As it was
published in a collection of poems,
at least two of Bach's colleagues also
set the text to music, but in those
cases the cantata ends with the aria
'Heute noch, lieber Vater'. This way
it comes across as a moralistic piece.
In Bach's version a recitative is added,
which describes how the daughter plays
a trick on her father and comes out
the winner. The closing trio, 'Die Katze
lässt das Mausen nicht' is also
an addition. It isn't known whether
Picander has written these additions
on Bach's request or whether Bach himself
has written them. Anyway, these supplements
considerably change the character of
the original.
From a purely musical
point of view this is a very good recording.
Carolyn Sampson has a beautiful, warm
and yet clear voice, which is well suited
to this kind of music. Her German pronunciation
is quite good too. The other singers
- in the Coffee Cantata - perform at
the same level, and so does the instrumental
ensemble, playing here with one instrument
per part. The solo parts for transverse
flute, oboe d'amore and violin are well
played.
But in both cantatas
something essential is missing. In the
wedding cantata it is joy. The first
aria begins with the line: "Play on,
o ye lively anthems", but there isn't
much liveliness and joyfulness in this
performance, which rather drags on.
There is a lack of contrast between
the arias, and the interpretation is
also marred by a too rhythmically strict
approach to the recitatives.
The Coffee Cantata
should be recorded in an intimate atmosphere,
not unlike the coffee house where the
first performance took place. The concert
hall in which this recording was made
doesn't seem the most appropriate venue.
The pauses between the tracks are too
long, which results in a lack of interaction
between the protagonists. The main problem
is that whereas this cantata is meant
to be humorous, the performance here
is dead serious. Carolyn Sampson doesn't
appear communicate as a cunning girl
trying to play a trick on her father
- she sings her part with a rather straight
face. And Stephan Schreckenberger fails
in his portrayal of the elderly father
- his voice lacks strength and depth.
After listening to
this disc I turned to Emma Kirkby and
David Thomas, who give a really humorous
performance and play their characters
most convincingly, complete with lively
interaction. Christopher Hogwood's Academy
of Ancient Music surpasses the Bach
Collegium Japan in realising the swinging
rhythms of the arias.
Johan van Veen
Visit the Bach
Collegium Japan webpage for reviews of other releases
in this series
Bach Collegium Japan/Masaaki Suzuki 
