BWV 216 Vergnügte Pleißenstadt (Die Pleiße
und Neiße)
Wedding of Johann Heinrich Wolff and Susanna Regina Hempel (5 February 1728). Christian Friedrich Henrici (Picander), Ernst-Schertzhaffte und Satyrische Gedichte, Teil II (Leipzig, 1729, 2nd ed., 1734); Facs: Neumann T, p. 325. 5 February 1728, Leipzig; Parody: 1, 3, 5, 7 → BWV 216a/1, 3, 5, 7; 3 ← BWV 204/8; 7 ← BWV 205/13. BG 34, Vorwort; NBA I/40. The Pleisse (A) and Neisse (S)(1) 1. Aria à duetto (S, A) Neisse, Pleisse (Neisse and Pleisse)
Will fall and bide in love with thee And cannot elsewhere find more pleasure. 2. Recit. (S, A) Neisse, Pleisse (Neisse) (Pleisse) Ah, Pleisse’s strand, O hated Pleisse’s strand! Who hath to her Thy praises sung and called thee fair? Thou hast amongst thine own Of offspring fair abundant store, Why wouldst thou then from this my region take them? Thus do I say now with chagrin: Thou hast my finest from me stolen. 3. Aria (S) Neisse O most charming Hempel miss, This thy soul is free from blemish, This thy face is like the angels’, Angel-like, thy every wish, O most charming Hempel miss. O my dearest Hempel miss, Thou, thou wast mine ornament, But as soon as thou left me, I my very crown did miss, O my dearest Hempel miss. 4. Recit. (A) Pleisse Forego now thy chagrin, 5. Aria (A) Pleisse With laughing and joking,
Then will as well even the hours Be minutes renamed. 6. Recit. (A, S) Pleisse, Neisse (Pleisse)How sweetly hath she now By my own ladies been accepted! See how they fondly act towards her! They send to her through me their welcome! (Neisse) I hope, now that I’ve brought her here, That this my Hempel miss Of her great joy no whit may lose. Belovéd Wolff, to her inclined and true, Receive her in her garland now! (Pleisse) The wedding veil the morrow brings her. (Neisse) That doth indeed to maidens bring contentment. (Pleisse) And meanwhile I shall now this pair In my most faithful hopes include. (Neisse) And like thine own shall be my mood. 7. Aria a duetto (A, S) Pleisse, Neisse (Pleisse) Health and blessing Bring you, precious pair, their service, As my stream the fields goes by. (Neisse) And the pleasure which ye have Should and will in springs be welling, Richer than my stream's own flowing. (Pleisse and Neisse) And then will their {spirits/cradles} with {gladness/children} be crowned, And such joy, the longer, the greater enjoyed. 1. This title is found in the PT. The Pleisse is a small river of Leipzig, the home of the bridegroom, and the Neisse is the river on which Zittau lies, the town of the bride. 2. The Naiads were nymphs who guarded lakes,
rivers, springs, and fountains. © Copyright Z. Philip Ambrose |