This is a program-note-cum-essay on one of my favorites among the Bach cantatas.

J.S. Bach: Cantata BWV 82 Ich habe genug

The Lutheran feast of Candlemas celebrates Mary’s visit to Jerusalem following the birth of Jesus, both to perform the prescribed ritual purification and to present her newborn child at the Temple. The evangelist of the Gospel of Luke described the scene in 2:22 – 32, but chose to focus his narrative on Simeon, a devout Israelite who had learned in a vision that he would not die before having seen the forthcoming savior. As Simeon held the baby Jesus in his arms, he recognized the prophesy’s fulfillment and said: “Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.”

This passage, known as the Nunc dimittis, presents the devout Christian with a contemplation on Christ’s ameliorating influence over the fear of death. A heartfelt song of comfort, it is an invitation for reflection regarding one’s most intimate feelings about living and dying.

It is this contemplative mood, rather than the actual Biblical text, which forms the anonymous libretto of BWV 82, Ich habe genug (I have enough). Originally written for services on February 2, 1727 as part of Bach’s third cycle of weekly church cantatas, it is universally honored as one of Bach’s most tender conceptions. Bach himself seems to have been quite fond of the work, having returned to it no fewer than four times during his lifetime, at each encounter adjusting the setting but never significantly rewriting it. Bach’s second wife Anna Magdalena would appear to have shared Bach’s affection for the cantata; two movements from it are included in her Klavierbüchlein.

Solo cantatas—i.e., those performed by a solo singer throughout, making scant use of a chorus—are peculiar to Bach’s third cantata cycle. The intimate tone of Ich habe genug is such that Bach even dispensed with the customary final chorale, resulting in a formal structure which hints at the ‘song cycle’ of later generations. Three arias alternate with two short recitatives, elegantly accompanied by solo oboe, strings, and continuo.

Although the original setting is for bass voice, Bach also provided versions for soprano (with solo flute replacing the original oboe), and for alto. As a result, the cantata can be performed by almost any voice type, although bass-baritones predominate both in concert and recordings.

The three arias progress steadily from an opening mood of quiet resignation to a conclusion of fervent jubilation. The opening aria, Ich habe genug, is one of those quintessentially Bachian duos for voice and oboe, in an unusually expanded binary aria form: the simple diagram of ABB’ gives no hint as to the actual scope of this aria, which is over 200 measures long. The initial melodic figure will promptly remind listeners of the tragic alto aria Ebarme dich from the St. Matthew Passion; it outlines the Bachian handprint of a second-inversion tonic triad (scale degrees 5-1-2-3), found throughout Bach’s output. That same figure takes on an ecstatic impetus starting with the second section, at the words Ich hab’ ihn erblickt (I have beheld him), when it is melodically extended and harmonically darkened.

There are no actual quotations from scripture in the libretto. It is during the first recitative that the cantata’s only reference to Luke 2:22 – 32 occurs: Da seh ich auch mit Simeon Die Freude jenes Lebens schon. (There I see, along with Simeon, Already the joy of the other life.) Because this recitative begins with the same phrase (Ich habe genug) as the opening aria, some scholars have seen the hand of Bach’s frequent collaborator Picander in the fashioning of the libretto.

The second aria Schlummert ein is a bewitching lullaby, serene contradiction to the tiresome old bromide that Bach was deficient in melodic inspiration. The lovely main melody is stated three times, creating a form A-BAC-A, which can be considered either as an expanded da capo or as a rondo. Identity notwithstanding, the form is extremely unusual for an aria.

Bach was never casual about form so Schlummert ein’s unexpected structure invites investigation. One possible explanation can be found in Bach’s love for symbolism in his formal layouts. The overall plan of BWV 82 is a cruciform shape, what the German scholars have dubbed a chiasmus:

Aria…Recitative…Aria…Recitative…Aria

A-BAC-A

Schlummert ein is positioned at the crux of this chiasmus, reiterating the cruciform shape of the cantata at the smaller scale of a single aria, as the diagram above shows. Thus Christ’s overall message of comfort in dying is mirrored in a softly compassionate central movement.

Both recitatives contain short ariosos (short arias). The second recitative ends adagio with an arioso, on the words “Welt! Gute nacht!” (World, good night!), in C Minor, the key of the cantata’s opening, which leads directly into the final celebratory aria Ich freue mich auf meinen Tod (I rejoice in my death).

This aria is set in free da capo form—which is to say that the da capo (return to the opening material) is freely rewritten rather than being verbatim. It is especially notable for its wonderfully extended melismas on the word freue (rejoice). The melismas perfectly counterbalance the long obbligato oboe passages in the opening aria—thus it is that Bach perfects his formal design.

In 1959 W. Gillies Whittaker inveighed: “Why do not vocalists include these splendid works in their recitals, instead of contenting themselves with conventional strings of hackneyed Lieder?” Vocalists would seem to have taken these words to heart: BWV 82 boasts one of the longest and most distinguished recording histories of any of the Bach cantatas. There are currently thirty recordings in print—significantly more than any other Bach cantata. Certainly Ich habe genug has inspired a veritable feast of sensitive and distinguished interpretations. In a wide field of honor, Hans Hotter’s unforgettable 1950 performance must take a special pride of place, complemented by recent traversals by Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, Klaus Mertens, Ian Bostridge, and Thomas Quasthoff—among many others.