Cantata No.56: Ich will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen BWV 56

Aria: Ich will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen

Recitative: Mein Wandel auf der Welt –

Aria: Endlich, endlich

Recitative: Ich stehe fertig und bereit –

Chorale: Komm o Tod

The Gospel for the day on which the Cantata Ich will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen was first performed in Leipzig, the 19th Sunday after Trinity (27 October) 1726, was Matthew’s account of the healing of the man sick with palsy. Clearly the source of the inspiration of the anonymous but well-crafted libretto, that text is vividly, sometimes even painfully, reflected in Bach’s masterly setting for bass soloist, chorus, oboes, and strings. The first four notes of the main theme of the G minor opening section – rising on second violins and oboe in the opening bars and taken up by the voice on its first entry – are intended to symbolise the Cross and lead directly into a stepwise line in the opposite direction representing the effect of bearing its weight. The Cross is not the only burden the soloist has to bear. In one of the most difficult of all Bach’s bass arias the composer expresses his compassion for the suffering of the sick man in a tortuous vocal line that finds comfort only in the gently rocking triplet rhythms that enter towards the end with the words “Da leg’ ich den Kummer auf einmal ins Grab.”

The recitative Mein Wandel auf der Welt derives its maritime imagery from the beginning of the Matthew text, “And getting into a boat he crossed over and came to his own city.” The rising and falling motion of the waves in the rising and falling arpeggios of the accompanying solo cello stops at the moment the boat reaches dry land. Unlike the first aria, Endlich, endlich, is cast in a conventional da capo form as an obbligato oboe and the bass soloist join in a joyful and resourcefully scored duet in B flat major. Unexpectedly, the recitative Ich stehe fertig und bereit leads into a recall of the comforting melody with the rocking triplet rhythms from the end of the opening aria. It most effectively clears the way for the serene concluding chorale, the words of which (from Johann Franck’s hymn Du o schönes Weltgebäude) were obviously chosen for their maritime relevance to the rest of the work.