J.S.バッハ：昇天祭オラトリオ Himmelfahrts-Oratorium BWV 11

指揮： ジョン・エリオット・ガーディナー John Eliot Gardiner
イギリス・バロック管弦楽団 English Baroque Soloists
モンテヴェルディ合唱団 Monteverdi Choir
Hannah Morrison, soprano　　Meg Bragle, mezzo-soprano　　Nicholas Mulroy, tenor　　Peter Harvey, bass
Live recording. London, Proms 2013

Lobet Gott in seinen Reichen　その御国にて神を誉めたたえよ
Lobet Gott in seinen Reichen (Praise God in his kingdoms), BWV 11, also known as the Ascension Oratorio (Himmelfahrtsoratorium), is an oratorio by Johann Sebastian Bach, marked by him as Oratorium In Festo Ascensionis (Oratorio for the feast of the Ascension). It was probably composed in 1735 for the service for Ascension and first performed on 19 May 1735. The text additional to biblical sources and chorales was presumably written by Picander who had worked for the Christmas Oratorio before. The oratorio spans eleven movements, with a performance time of around half an hour, performed in two parts, 1-6 before the sermon and 7-11 after the sermon.

History
In the Bach Gesellschaft Gesamtausgabe (BGA) the work was included under the cantatas (hence its low BWV number), and in the Bach Compendium it is numbered BC D 9 and included under oratorios.

Scoring and structure
The work is festively scored for four vocal soloists (soprano, alto, tenor and bass), a four-part choir, three trumpets, timpani, two flauti traversi, two oboes, two violins, viola and basso continuo.

Part I
1.Chorus: Lobet Gott in seinen Reichen
2.Evangelist (tenor): Der Herr Jesus hub seine Hande auf
3.Recitative (bass): Ach, Jesu, ist dein Abschied
4.Aria (alto): Ach, bleibe doch, mein liebstes Leben
5.Evangelist: Und ward aufgehoben zusehends
6.Chorale: Nun lieget alles unter dir

Part II
7.Evangelist (tenor and bass): Und da sie ihm nachsahen
8.Recitative (soprano): Ach ja! so komme bald zuruck
9.Evangelist: Sie aber beteten ihn an
10.Aria (soprano): Jesu, deine Gnadenblicke
11.Chorale: Wenn soll es doch geschehen

Music
The festive opening chorus is based on the cantata Froher Tag, verlangte Stunden, BWV Anh 18. The recitatives for bass and alto are accompanied by the flutes in a recitativo accompagnato. The arias for alto and soprano are both based on the wedding cantata Auf, sus entzuckende Gewalt, written in 1725 on words of Johann Christoph Gottsched. Bach used the model for the alto aria also used for the Agnus Dei of his Mass in B minor. The soprano aria is one of the rare pieces in his music without basso continuo, with the two unison flutes, the oboe and the strings playing a trio, augmented to a quartet by the singer. The original words in the wedding cantata mentioned "Unschuld" (innocence). The first chorale, closing part 1, the fourth verse of Du Lebensfurst, Herr Jesu Christ of Johann Rist, is a modest four part setting, whereas the final chorale, the seventh verse of Gott fahret auf gen Himmel of Gottfried Wilhelm Sacer, is embedded in an instrumental concerto. Similar to the final chorale Nun seid ihr wohl gerochen of the Christmas Oratorio, written half a year earlier, the chorale tune in a minor key appears in the triumphant context of a different major key.