BWV 177

*Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ*
Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ
BWV 177
Chorale cantata by J. S. Bach
	Johann Agricola, author of the chorale
Occasion	Fourth Sunday after Trinity
Chorale	by Johann Agricola
Performed	6 July 1732: Leipzig
Movements	5
Vocal	SATB choir; solo: soprano, alto and tenor;
Instrumental	2 oboes; 2 oboes da caccia; bassoon; 2 violins; viola; continuo;

Johann Sebastian Bach composed the church cantata Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ (I call to You, Lord Jesus Christ),^[1] BWV 177. He wrote the chorale cantata in Leipzig for the fourth Sunday after Trinity and first performed it on 6 July 1732. The cantata text is formed by the unchanged five stanzas of Johann Agricola's hymn.

History and words

Bach composed the cantata in Leipzig as late as 1732 in order to complete his second annual cycle of chorale cantatas of 1724/25, which lacked a cantata for the Fourth Sunday after Trinity because that Sunday had been the Feast of Visitation in 1725, celebrated then by Meine Seel erhebt den Herren, BWV 10.

The prescribed readings for the Sunday were from the Epistle to the Romans, "For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God" (Romans 8:18–23), and from the Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel of Luke: the admonition to "be merciful", "judge not" (Luke 6:36–42). The cantata text is formed by the unchanged five stanzas of Johann Agricola's chorale (ca. 1530), a main hymn for the Sunday, used also in Bach's cantata Barmherziges Herze der ewigen Liebe, BWV 185, written in Weimar. In Gelobet sei der Herr, mein Gott, BWV 129, also composed to complete the second annual cycle of chorale cantatas, Bach also used the unchanged words of the chorale, different from the cantatas originally composed for the cycle.^[2]

Bach first performed the cantata on 6 July 1732.^[2]^[3]

Scoring and structure

The cantata in five movement is scored for three soloists (soprano, alto and tenor), a four-part choir, two oboes, two oboes da caccia, two violins, viola, basso continuo, an obbligato violin and an obbligato bassoon.^[2]

Chorus: Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ
Versus 2 (alto): Ich bitt noch mehr, o Herre Gott
Versus 3 (soprano): Verleih, daß ich aus Herzensgrund
Versus 4 (tenor): Laß mich kein Lust noch Furcht von dir
Versus 5 (chorale): Ich lieg im Streit und widerstreb

Music

Similar to most chorale cantatas, the opening chorus is a chorale fantasia, presenting the chorale line by line, the cantus firmus here sung by the soprano. Most of the lines are preceded by entries of the other voices in imitation of motifs independent of the chorale melody. In line 6 the imitation motive is taken from the chorale. In the two last lines 8 and 9 the lower voices enter together with the soprano. The vocal structure is embedded in a concerto of solo violin and two oboes which play the cantus firmus colla parte with the soprano, strings and continuo.^[2]

The three arias for the following verses show increasing instrumental complexity. Verse 2 is accompanied by continuo only, verse 3 by oboe da caccia, verse 4 by the rare combination of violin and bassoon. The musicologist Julian Mincham observes a "journey from uncertainty and doubt to warmth and acceptance and finally to rejoicing and jubilation".^[3]

In the finale chorale Bach used ornamentation for expressiveness.^[3]

Recordings

The listing is taken from the selection on the Bach Cantatas Website.^[4]

Die Bach Kantate Vol. 41, Helmuth Rilling, Gächinger Kantorei, Bach-Collegium Stuttgart, Arleen Augér, Julia Hamari, Peter Schreier, Hänssler 1981
J. S. Bach: Das Kantatenwerk – Sacred Cantatas Vol. 9, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Tölzer Knabenchor, Concentus Musicus Wien, soloists of the Tölzer Knabenchor, Kurt Equiluz, Teldec 1988
Bach Cantatas Vol. 3, John Eliot Gardiner, Monteverdi Choir, English Baroque Soloists, Magdalena Kožená, Nathalie Stutzmann, Paul Agnew, conductor Soli Deo Gloria 2000
J. S. Bach: Complete Cantatas Vol. 21, Ton Koopman, Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir, Sandrine Piau, Bogna Bartosz, Christoph Prégardien, Antoine Marchand 2003
J. S. Bach: Cantatas for the Complete Liturgical Year Vol. 2, Sigiswald Kuijken, La Petite Bande, Siri Thornhill, Petra Noskaiová, Christoph Genz, Accent 2005

References

^ Dellal, Pamela. "BWV 177 – "Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ"". Emmanuel Music. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Dürr, Alfred (1981). Die Kantaten von Johann Sebastian Bach (in German). Vol. 1 (4 ed.). Deutscher Taschenbuchverlag. pp. 355–357. ISBN 3-423-04080-7.
^ ^a ^b ^c Mincham, Julian (2010). "Chapter 56 BWV 177 Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ. / I call Thee, Lord Jesus Christ". jsbachcantatas.com. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
^ Oron, Aryeh (2014). "Cantata BWV 177 Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ". Bach Cantatas Website. Retrieved 23 June 2015.

Sources

Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ, BWV 177: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ BWV 177; BC A 103 / Chorale cantata (4th Sunday after Trinity), Bach Digital
BWV 177 Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ English translation, University of Vermont
BWV 177 Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ text, scoring, University of Alberta
Gardiner, John Eliot (2008). Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) / Cantatas Nos 24, 71, 88, 93, 131, 177 & 185 (Cantatas Vol 3) (Media notes). Soli Deo Gloria (at Hyperion Records website). Retrieved 11 August 2018.
Luke Dahn: BWV 177.5 bach-chorales.com

[Dellal-1] Dellal, Pamela. "BWV 177 – "Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ"". Emmanuel Music. Retrieved 7 September 2022.

[Dürr-2] Dürr, Alfred (1981). Die Kantaten von Johann Sebastian Bach (in German). Vol. 1 (4 ed.). Deutscher Taschenbuchverlag. pp. 355–357. ISBN 3-423-04080-7.

[Mincham-3] Mincham, Julian (2010). "Chapter 56 BWV 177 Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ. / I call Thee, Lord Jesus Christ". jsbachcantatas.com. Retrieved 7 September 2022.

[Oron-4] Oron, Aryeh (2014). "Cantata BWV 177 Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ". Bach Cantatas Website. Retrieved 23 June 2015.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

v t e Church cantatas by Johann Sebastian Bach
Before Leipzig	Early: BWV 4 131 71 1138.1 & .2 106 196 150 143 Weimar: BWV 61 70a 186a 132 147a 63 152 155 18 54 80a 182 31 12 172 165 21 185 199 161 162 163 Köthen: BWV Anh. 5
First cycle (1723–24)	Between Trinity and Advent: BWV 75 76 24 167 147 186 136 105 46 179 69a 77 25 138 95 148 48 109 89 60 90 70 From Advent to Trinity: BWV 40 64 190 153 65 154 73 81 83 144 181 22 23 66 134 67 104 166 86 37 44 59 184
Second cycle (and chorale cantatas)	Chorale cantatas between Trinity and Easter: BWV 20 2 7 135 10 93 107 178 94 101 113 33 78 99 8 130 114 96 5 180 38 115 139 26 116 62 91 121 133 122 41 123 124 3 111 92 125 126 127 1 Continuation of the second cycle: BWV 6 42 85 103 108 87 128 183 74 68 175 176 Later additions to the chorale cantata cycle: BWV 80 137 129 58 112 140 177 9 14 Other late chorale cantatas: BWV 117 192 100 97
Third cycle	After Trinity 1725: BWV 168 164 79 Liturgical year 1725–26: BWV 110 57 151 28 16 32 13 72 146 43 39 88 170 187 45 102 35 17 19 27 47 169 56 49 98 55 52 1727: BWV 82 84 34 173
Later and other	Picander cycle: BWV 149 188 197a 171 156 159 145 174 Late parodies: BWV 36 30 191 200 248 (I, II, III, IV, V, VI) 1083 Council election (Leipzig): BWV 119 193 29 120 69 (lost: 1139.1, 1140–1141) Wedding: BWV 34a 195 120a 197 Funeral: 157 244a Other: 194 190a 120b 51 158 50 Doubtful: 53 142 189 217 220 221 223 224
Bach cantata List of Bach cantatas Discography: Monteverdi Choir/Koopman/Teldec

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