BWV 110 Unser Mund sei voll Lachens
Christmas Day. 1. After Ps. 126:2-3; 3. Jer. 10:6; 5. Lk. 2:14; 7. Kaspar Füger, verse 5 of "Wir Christenleut," 1592. 25 December 1725, Leipzig; Parody: 1 ← Overture in D Major, BWV 1069; 5 ← Magnificat in E flat Major, BWV 243a/D. BG 23; NBA I/2.
1. Chorus [Dictum]1 (S, A, T, B) Make our mouth full with laughter and make our tongue full with
praises. For the Lord hath great things for us achieved.(1)
2. Aria (T) 3. Recit. [Dictum] (B) Thee, Lord, is no one like. Thou art great and thy name, too, is
great and thou with thy works canst prove it. 4. Aria (A) Ah Lord, what is a child of man(3) 5. Aria [Dictum] (S, T) Glory to God in the highest and peace be on 6. Aria (B) Wake up, ye nerves and all ye members, 7. Chorale (S, A, T, B) Alleluia! Alleluia! All praise to God
1. This is only a paraphrase of Ps. 126:2-3. 2. More literally: "He becomes man..." 3. Cf. Ps. 8:4. 4. That the oboes cease to double the violins here calls attention to Saiten `strings.' 5. In another musical context one might translate Herzens Grunde more metaphorically, e.g. `sincerely,' but the descending line of the continuo is inspired too clearly by Grunde to let pass unnoticed the sense of `bottom' or `foundation' of the heart. © Copyright Z. Philip Ambrose |