Cantatas Over Coffee J. S. Bach Cantata 62, “Savior of the Nations, Come”

I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near.
​- Numbers 24:17

Advent in J. S. Bach’s Leipzig was a closed season of the church year, that is, a time when weddings and other social affairs were not scheduled and sacred music (including cantatas) was scaled back. So why do we have three cantatas for Advent 1 in Leipzig (BWV 36, 61, and 62 [Cantata 132 for Advent IV hails from Weimar]) if it was a closed season? Günther Stiller explains the custom of the day: “[T]he first Sunday in Advent, which begins the new church year, was often emphasized as a special festival day over against the rest of the season, which was usually observed as a time of penitence” (Johann Sebastian Bach and Liturgical Life in Leipzig, p. 58). Our Advent treasury of sacred music from Bach, then, is quantitatively modest. Please join me to make the most of Bach’s Advent offerings as we explore Cantata 62, “Savior of the Nations, Come.”

The text of Cantata 62 is based on the hymn, “Savior of the Nations, Come” (LSB 332), one of a handful of hymns attributed to St. Ambrose (AD 339/40-97), the “father of Latin hymnody.” As the story goes, Ambrose, the Bishop of Milan, was faithfully resisting the Arians, a heretical group which denied the divinity of Christ. When the Empress Justina, who was sympathetic to the Arians, tried to force Ambrose to open the Basilica Portina for her adherents, Ambrose rightly refused. Fearing reprisal from Justina, Ambrose gathered the faithful together to sing psalms and hymns. When the soldiers sent by the Empress arrived as the basilica, they were so moved by the faithful sung confession of the people that they laid down their arms and joined in the singing, thereby disarming the Empress and her evil intentions (adapted from Carl Schalk, First Person Singular, p. 17). This anecdote explains the strong emphasis on Jesus’ divinity in Ambrosian chant, including the hymn at hand.
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Martin Luther, always aware of the strengths and weaknesses of pre-Reformation church music, knew a good treasure when he saw one. Luther appears to have translated the hymn (and adjusted the meter from 88 88 to 77 77 to accommodate the German language) in Advent 1523, the same year that he started his remarkable burst of hymn writing and translation. It was included in several hymnals in Luther’s lifetime and certainly deserves its place as the Lutheran Advent hymn par excellence (adapted from Lutheran Service Book: Companion to the Hymns, 1:6). The anonymous librettist uses the first and last stanzas of Luther’s hymn as movements 1 and 6, with loose paraphrases and adaptations for the intervening movements. The following chart was adapted here from Handbook to Bach’s Sacred Cantata Texts by Melvin Unger: 

​Chorale
Stanza(s)
1
2-3
4-5
6
7
8

Cantata
Movement
1
2
3
4
5
6

Theological
Theme
Prayer for Jesus’ coming
The Ruler of heaven comes to earth
The Champion of Judah comes
Show Thyself in human flesh!
Praise to God for His gift in the manger
Doxology to the Trinity

The musical structure is typical of Bach’s early Leipzig cantatas: an elaborate opening chorale fantasia, a series of recitatives and arias, and a concluding “four-square” chorale, which the congregation likely joined in singing. Listen for the melody in the first and last stanzas and for a sense of hope and expectation throughout this cantata, now 300 years old.

1.  Chorus  (0:07)
Now come, saviour of the gentiles,
recognised as the child of the Virgin,
at whom all the world is amazed,
​that God decrees such a birth for him.
         
2.  Aria for Tenor  (4:41)
Admire, mankind, this great mystery,
the highest ruler appears to the world.
Here the treasures of heaven are revealed,
here a divine manna is presented to us,
O marvel! Chastity can not be defiled.

3.  Recitative for Bass  (11:08)
Thus from God's glory and throne
goes forth his only begotten son.
The hero from Judah descends among us
to run his course with joy
and to redeem us who are fallen.
O bright splendour, o wonderful light of bliss!

4.  Aria for Bass  (11:55)
Fight, conquer, strong hero!
be mighty for us in the flesh!
Be zealous
with us in our weakness
to make our ability strong.
 
5.  Recitative for Soprano and Alto  (17:23)
We honour this glory
and now draw near to your crib
and praise with joyful lipswhat you have prepared for us.
The darkness did not disturb us
and we saw your unending light.
 
6.  Chorale  (18:15)
Praise be given to God, the Father,
Praise be to God, his only Son,
Praise be to God, the Holy Spirit,
always and in eternity!

1.  Chorus  (0:07)
Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland,
Der Jungfrauen Kind erkannt,
Des sich wundert alle Welt,
Gott solch Geburt ihm bestellt.

2.  Aria for Tenor  (4:41)
Bewundert, o Menschen, dies große Geheimnis:
Der höchste Beherrscher erscheinet der Welt.
Hier werden die Schätze des Himmels entdecket,
Hier wird uns ein göttliches Manna bestellt,
O Wunder! die Keuschheit wird gar nicht beflecket.

3.  Recitative for Bass  (11:08)
So geht aus Gottes Herrlichkeit und Thron
Sein eingeborner Sohn.
Der Held aus Juda bricht herein,
Den Weg mit Freudigkeit zu laufen
Und uns Gefallne zu erkaufen.
O heller Glanz, o wunderbarer Segensschein!

4.  Aria for Bass  (11:55)
Streite, siege, starker Held!
Sei vor uns im Fleische kräftig!
Sei geschäftig,
Das Vermögen in uns Schwachen
Stark zu machen!

5.  Recitative for Soprano and Alto  (17:23)
Wir ehren diese Herrlichkeit
Und nahen nun zu deiner Krippen
Und preisen mit erfreuten Lippen,
Was du uns zubereit';
Die Dunkelheit verstört' uns nicht
Und sahen dein unendlich Licht.
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6.  Chorale  (18:15)
Lob sei Gott, dem Vater, g'ton,
Lob sei Gott, sein'm eingen Sohn,
Lob sei Gott, dem Heilgen Geist,
Immer und in Ewigkeit!

​​The triple meter of the lively opening movement might reflect the threefold advent of Jesus: in the manger, in the means of grace, and at the end of days. The second movement is in ABA form, with a lengthy melisma in the tenor’s upper register on the second syllable of Beherrscher, as befits the highest ruler. After a straightforward recitative (Movement 3), the fourth movement calls forth the “dread warrior” of Jeremiah 20:11, coupling textual imperatives with equally direct music: Streite, siege, starker Held! “Fight, conquer, (O) strong champion!” The recitative-duet for soprano and alto is a relatively rare form in Bach’s cantatas, presumably to reflect the first person plural (“We honor,” etc.) in the text, based on the shepherds’ visit to the manger. The final chorale joins all the voices together in a high and holy doxology, with echoes of the Gospel for Advent 1, St. Matthew 21:1-9, especially the cry, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” (v. 9).
 
As discussed at the beginning of this article, keeping Advent is a challenge, resulting in some inconsistencies and misunderstandings, both in Bach’s day and in ours. Joseph Bottum puts it well in an article appropriately titled “The End of Advent”: 

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​Christmas has devoured Advent, gobbled it up with the turkey giblet and the goblets of seasonal ale. Every secularized holiday, of course, tends to lose the context it had in the liturgical year. Across the nation, even in many churches, Easter has hopped across Lent, Halloween has frightened away All Saints, and New Year’s has drunk up Epiphany. – First Things Issue 178, p. 20

To make the most of Advent and to properly distinguish Advent from Christmas, the church has historically celebrated Ember Days (Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday), usually expressed today as mid-week Advent services. Similarly, a host of hymns in our “embarrassment of riches” lends a sense of expectation to Advent, properly distinguishing Advent from Christmas. The Advent wreath, candle, and calendar mark the days until Christmas. And Bach’s cantatas for the season make Advent truly adventual, “a time before.” Perhaps Balaam said it best when he saw Israel camped in the wilderness and understood the nature of Old Testament prophecy and fulfillment: “I see him, but not now; I behold him but not near. A star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel” (Num. 24:17).

​Even so, Lord Jesus, quickly come!
 
 
Nota bene: The text of Cantata 62 is reprinted with permission from www.bach-cantatas.com, with English translation by Francis Browne.