Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen, BWV 12
Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen ("Weeping, lamenting, worrying, fearing"), BWV 12, is a cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. The cantata originates from Bach's Weimar period. It was first performed in the Weimar court chapel on the third Sunday after Easter on April 22, 1714. The text, depicting the affliction of the Christians, is assumed to have been written by Salomon Franck, the Weimar court poet.
The cantata is written for soprano, alto, tenor, bass, oboe, trumpet, bassoon, two violins, two violas da gamba and basso continuo. There are seven movements, in F minor unless otherwise noted:
- Sinfonia – For oboe, two violins, two violas da gamba and basso continuo with a bassoon. As of many of Bach's early cantatas, the work opens with a brief instrumental passage, marked adagio assai, which includes an expressive and plaintive solo oboe.
- Chorus "Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen" ("Weeping, lamenting, worrying, fearing") – For soprano, alto, tenor, bass, two violins, two violas da gamba and basso continuo with a bassoon. The opening chorus is built upon a basso ostinato, in an old-style 3/2 passacaglia. The words are each pronounced by another vocal part, overlapping the next one. The middle section takes a somewhat festive mood and modulates to the key of E-flat major. The chorus, excluding the middle section, was later arranged by Bach for his great Mass in B minor as the Crucifixus.
- Recitative "Wir müssen durch viel Trübsal" ("We must through much tribulation") – For alto, two violins, two violas da gamba, and basso continuo with a basoon, this is the only recitative in the cantata, what confirms this cantata's old style. (C minor)
- Aria "Kreuz und Kronen sind verbunden" ("Cross and crown are bound together") for alto, oboe and basso continuo. (C minor)
- Aria "Ich folge Christo nach" ("I follow after Christ") – For bass, two violins and basso continuo. (E flat major)
- Aria "Sei getreu, alle Pein" ("Be faithful, all suffering") – For tenor, trumpet and basso continuo. Simultaneously with the tenor line, the trumpet plays the chorale tune Jesu, meine Freude, resembling a Central German 17th century compositional technique. (G minor)
- Chorale "Was Gott tut, das ist wohlgetan" ("What God does, that is well-done") (B flat major)
The material of the first chorus was reworked by Bach to form the Crucifixus movement of the Credo in the Mass in B Minor.
Recordings
- Cantus Cölln, dir. Konrad Junghänel – "Actus Tragicus", Harmonia Mundi France HMC 901694
- Collegium Vocale, dir. Philippe Herreweghe - Weinen, Klagen..., Harmonia Mundi France HMC 901843