 |
| | |
The following are links to English translations for Bach's cantatas and other works rendered in Bach Vespers at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, NYC. We are pleased for you to peruse these translations for your own enjoyment, but please respect the artistic product they represent and reprint only by permission. Contact office@bachvespersnyc.org for more information.
You can view the entire history of when these cantatas have been presented at Holy Trinity by clicking here. And for even more extensive information on any of these works please visit our friends at the Bach Cantatas website.
TEXT FOR CANTATA 79
Gott der Herr ist Sonn und Schild
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
1. CORO
Gott der Herr ist Sonn und Schild.
God the Lord is sun and shield.
Der Herr gibt Gnade und Ehre,
The Lord grants grace and honor,
er wird kein Gutes mangeln lassen den Frommen.
he will withhold no good thing from the devout.
2. ARIA ALTO
Gott ist unsre Sonn und Schild!
God is our sun and shield!
Darum rühmet dessen Güte
unser dankbares Gemüte,
For this our grateful souls
extol this goodness,
die er für sein Häuflein hegt.
which he fosters for his assembly.
Denn er will uns ferner schützen,
For he will further protect us
ob die Feinde Pfeile schnitzen
whether the foe files arrows
und ein Lästerhund gleich billt.
or a blasphemous hound abruptly howls.
3. CORALE
Nun danket alle Gott
Now all thank God
mit Herzen, Mund und Händen,
with heart, mouth and hands,
der große Dinge tut
who does great things
an uns und allen Enden,
for us and every ending,
der uns von Mutterleib
und Kindesbeinen an
who for us, while in the mother's womb
and from early childhood on,
unzählig viel zugut
und noch itzund getan.
caused immeasurably great benefit
and even now does.
4. RECITATIVO BASSO
Gottlob, wir wissen
den rechten Weg zur Seligkeit;
Praise God, we know the proper path
to blessedness;
denn, Jesu, du hast ihn uns
durch dein Wort gewiesen,
for Jesus, you have pointed
this out to us through your word,
drum bleibt dein Name jederzeit gepriesen.
thus may your name remain ever praised.
Weil aber viele noch zu dieser Zeit
Since however, many, even at this moment,
an fremdem Joch aus Blindheit ziehen müssen,
must drag a foreign yoke out of blindness,
ach! so erbarme dich
oh! do have mercy
auch ihrer gnädiglich,
on them as well, graciously,
daß sie den rechten Weg erkennen
that they recognize the proper path
und dich bloß ihren Mittler nennen.
and name you alone their mediator.
5. ARIA (DUETTO) SOPRANO E BASSO
Gott, ach Gott,
God, oh, God,
verlass die Deinen nimmermehr!
abandon these your own, nevermore!
Laß dein Wort uns helle scheinen;
Let your word shine brightly before us;
obgleich sehr wider uns die Feinde toben,
even while the foe rages powerfully against us,
so soll unser Mund dich loben.
so shall our mouths praise you.
6. CORALE
Erhalt uns in der Wahrheit,
Preserve us in truth,
gib ewigliche Freiheit,
grant eternal liberty
zu preisen deinen Namen
to praise your name
durch Jesum Christum. Amen.
through Jesus Christ. Amen.
_____________________________________________________________
COMPOSED: October 31, 1725 (Leipzig) for Reformation Sunday
LIBRETTIST: unknown; Mvt. 1. Psalm 84:11; Mvt. 3. Martin Rinckart, stanza 1 of Nun danket alle Gott (1636); Mvt. 6. Ludwig Helmbold, stanza 8 of Nun lasst uns Gott, dem Herren (1575)
TRANSLATION: Tobin Schmuck, 2011 © Bach Vespers at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, NYC
Use by permission only, please. office@bachvespersnyc.org
|
Bach Vespers at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church
|
 |
