Cantata

AGDEPPA, MACAALAY, SANTOS

Liturgical Music
FLOW OF THE PRESENTATION

Introduction to the
Baroque Period and Music

Cantata

Musical Samples
 ● Derived from the Portuguese
barroco, or “oddly shaped pearl,”
● widely used since the 19th century
● Highly ornate and often extravagant

BAROQUE
style of architecture, art and music
that flourished in Europe from about
1600 to 1750
● One of the richest and most diverse
periods in music history
 Characteristics of Baroque Music

Contrast was often used as a dramatic

element

BAROQUE ○ portrayed in the use of different

instruments and timbres and the
differences between loud and

MUSIC soft, solo and ensemble

○ trumpet and violin also grew in
popularity
 Monody and the advent of the basso
continuo
● not until the Baroque period did the
concept of “melody” and “harmony”
truly begin to be articulated

BAROQUE
● composers started focusing less on
the complicated polyphony that
dominated the fifteenth and

MUSIC
sixteenth centuries and more on a
single voice with a simplified
accompaniment, or monody
● practice of basso continuo, a system
of partially improvised
accompaniment played on a bass
line, usually on a keyboard
instrument
 ● While forms of earlier eras
continued to be used, interest in
music sparked the development
of new genres, particularly in the
aspect of vocal music

BAROQUE ● Many of the forms associated

with the baroque era come

MUSIC directly out of this new dramatic

impulse, particularly opera, the
oratorio, and the cantata
Cantata
➔ From the Italian cantare, “to sing”
➔ Originated in early 17th century Italy
➔ A musical composition intended to be sung, as opposed to a
sonata, a composition played instrumentally
➔ Applies broadly to works for solo voice, multiple soloists, vocal
ensemble, and with instrumental accompaniment of keyboard
or instrumental ensemble
➔ Most likely intended for performance at private social
gatherings
➔ Can either be secular or sacred
◆ Sacred - stated intention is for religious purposes
◆ Secular - used outside the church
Music & Video
Samples
Jesu, Joy of Man’s
Desiring
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 - 1750)
 Johann Sebastian Bach
(1685-1750)

● Received his earliest instruction

from his father
● In 1717, Bach composed a great deal
of instrumental music; including
the Brandenburg Concertos, the
Suites for solo cello, the Sonatas and
Partitas for solo violin
● He wrote 300 sacred cantatas and
16 secular works
 “
The cantata in Bach’s hands morphed from being
a work of devotion to being a work of penetrating
psychological exploration; every emotion is laid bare
and dissected, and the painful paradoxes of being
human, desiring the good but falling into temptation,
fear, and sin, are brought to vivid life by Bach’s music
● Most common English title of a
piece of music derived from the
10th and last movement of the
cantata Herz und Mund und Tat
und Leben, BWV 147
○ Heart and Mouth and Deed
and Life
● Originally programmed it as the
finale to a ten-movement
liturgical work
● Movement 10: Jesus bleibet
meine Freude became very
popular
○ Jesus shall remain my joy
 GERMAN VERSION
LYRICS Jesus bleibet meine Freude,
Meines Herzens Trost und Saft,
Jesus wehret allem Leide,
Er ist meines Lebens Kraft,
Meiner Augen Lust und Sonne,
Meiner Seele Schatz und Wonne;
Darum laß ich Jesum nicht
Aus dem Herzen und Gesicht
Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUo7tQOvapE
ENGLISH TRANSLATION
Jesus shall remain my joy,
My heart’s comfort and sap,
Jesus shall fend off all sorrow,
He is the strength of my life,
The delight and sun of my eyes,
The treasure and wonder of my soul;
Therefore I will not let Jesus go
out of my heart and sight
 Helgoland
Anton Bruckner (1824-1896)
 Anton Bruckner
(1824-1896)

▫ Austrian composer known

for his symphonies, masses,
and motets
▫ Organist and teacher who
composed much sacred
and secular choral music
● Helgoland: a secular, patriotic
cantata for male choir and
orchestra, composed by Anton
Bruckner in 1893. Since Bruckner
did not complete the 9th
symphony, Helgoland is his last
complete work
○ text focuses on the Saxon
people of the island of
Heligoland who are
threatened by the invasion of
the Romans, but divine
intervention saves them
 Thus, from the most valuables’ The horrors of the ocean
ENGLISH TRANSLATION
On the North Sea’s most distant bosoms Are relinquished,
horizon A prayer is sent to the sky: They burst the masts and
Ships appear that resemble the bows;
Thou who art enthroned in the
clouds; The all-igniting arrows of
clouds,
In billowy waves with tension on Lightning
Who hast thunder in thy hand
the sail Strike them while thunder
And who demandest temptests,
The Romans approach the accompanies their flight.
Help us!
Saxons’ isle. Now, enemy, looter, you
Let dreadful storms bluster,
Alack! The holy lieus, hitherto Stay as a loot,
Lightning’s fire,
preserved, Sunk to the ocean’s depth,
And smash yonder foes!
The peaceful homes surrounded Lord! Our Saviour from death and Dashed to the sand,
by trees! Your ships’ wreckage
bitter hardships!
The settlers are aware of the Floats towards the island!
Father!
adverse armada! O Lord, the free
Everyone being worth living, as And look, the wave, that was Heligoland praises thee!
They also steal life! billowing
Turns into froth-like foam,
Even those who hesitated now The winds arise and they bolt Video link:
Rush to the shore fiercely, https://www.youtube.com/watc
For looking with tears in the eyes Even the brightest sails h?v=ZvT1tG2zKgw
is of no use; are darkened!
Dona Nobis Pacem
Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872 - 1958)
 Ralph Vaughan Williams
(1872-1958)

● English composer in the

first half of the 20th century
● Founder of the nationalist
movement in English music
● His compositions include
orchestral, stage, chamber,
and vocal works
 ● Composed in 1936, the cantata
sounds a warning that we must
listen to each other in order not
to sacrifice “righteousness and
peace” to war
○ Written at a time when the
country was slowly
awakening to the possibility
of a second European
conflict
● Latin phrase in the Agnus Dei
section of the mass that
translates to grant us peace
● Divided into six different parts

Video link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovBDDfB1s0w

Lyrics:
http://www.classical-music.com/feature/world-music/vau
ghan-williams-dona-nobis-pacem
 Sources
https://www.britannica.com/art/cantata-music
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https://artandtheology.org/2017/12/17/the-evolution-of-jesu-joy-of-mans-desiring/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herz_und_Mund_und_Tat_und_Leben,_BWV_147
http://www.emmanuelmusic.org/notes_translations/translations_cantata/t_bwv147.htm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUo7tQOvapE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4ZU4PlXqu4
https://www.thoughtco.com/history-of-the-cantata-2456369
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_cantata
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https://www.allmusic.com/composition/cantata-for-the-20th-anniversary-of-the-october-revolution-for-2-choruses-accordions-orchestr
a-op-74-mc0002389779
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https://blog.oup.com/2014/02/dona-nobis-pacem-by-ralph-vaughan-williams/
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ralph-Vaughan-Williams
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http://self.gutenberg.org/articles/eng/helgoland_(bruckner)
http://www.emmanuelmusic.org/notes_translations/notes_cantata/what_is_a_cantata.htm