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With the exception of the Magnificat, the B Minor Mass (and the handful of "short masses"), the Latin cantata Gloria in Excelsis (BWV 191), and the two Italian cantatas Non sa che sia dolore BWV 209, and Amore Traditore, BWV 203 (authenticity questioned), the texts of all of Bach's vocal and choral works are written in the literary-poetic German of the eighteenth century. In order to understand and appreciate Bach's art, one is obliged to know not only what are the concepts being set to music, but the meaning of each particular word.
For those who are unfamiliar with German as Bach used it, or at all, a "Bach vocabulary list" appears below, presenting the 150 or so most frequent and important content-words found in his cantatas and Passions in their natural order. Following that is a list of German particles and connectives ("who", "when", "with", etc.).
While it is guaranteed that he or she who studies this list carefully will be well on the way to understanding the meaning of Bach cantatas, those who are contemplating travel to Germany or Austria are strongly advised to seek a more contemporary lexicon and a good grammar.
German is a magnificent language. Those who have not heretofore studied it, and can use Bach's works as an introduction to it and motivation to further study it, will find a world of great music, poetry and literature unlocked to them.
The texts of all the Bach cantatas are available on the World Wide Web at http://www.cs.ualberta.ca/~wfb/bach.html, courtesy Walter F. Bischof.
Bach Vocabulary list
Gott God Vater Father Sohn Son Heiliger Geist Holy Spirit schöpfen to create Welt world Tag day Mensch, Menschen man (i.e. person), men Himmel Heaven König king Engel Angel Heimsuchung Visitation Jungfrau Virgin rein pure zart tender verkündigen to proclaim Freude joy erheben to exalt Seele soul Krippe manger Nacht night Kindlein little child geboren born Heiland Saviour Erlöser Redeemer Friede Peace Fürst Prince süß sweet Lamm lamb unschuldig innocent Erde, Erden the Earth kommen to come taufen, Taufe to baptize, Baptism waschen to wash Sünde sin wandeln to wander Predigt sermon Richtigkeit righteousness Juden Jews Sünder sinner Vergebung forgiveness krank sick Trost comfort Heil Salvation Aussätziger leper heilen to heal Salbe salve, ointment Jünger disciple Blinden the blind Licht light geben to give Toten the dead Leben life Verbrechung transgression Gesetz law Hohepriester High Priest bieten, boten to offer, offered Silberlinge silver piece verraten to betray Meister Master nehmen, genommen to take, taken Brot bread Leib body essen to eat Wein wine Blut blood gießen, gegossen pour, shed (pt) Erlösung redemption Schüssel dish tauchen to dip Garten garden Stunde hour wachen to stand watch (ein)schlafen to (fall a)sleep beten to pray bitter bitter Kelch cup, goblet trinken to drink Wille will geschehen to happen, occur Knecht servant grüssen to greet küssen to kiss binden, gebunden to bind, bound Richter judge Landpfleger governor schuldig guilty verdammen to condemn Übel evil Strafe, strafen punishment, to punish Spott mockery Hohn scorn Schmach disgrace verachten to despise Dorn thorn Dornenkron Crown of thorns schlagen, geschlagen to strike, stricken Wunde, wunden wound, to wound Thränen tears lieb(er, e, es) dear Herz heart bluten to bleed Opfer sacrifice, offering Liebe love (noun) schlachten, geschlachtet to slaughter, slaughtered groß great, large Missetat misdeed schwer heavy Bürde burden tragen to carry, bear kreuzigen, gekreuziget crucify, crucified Angst fear, dread (nouns) Not(h) need (noun) sterben to die verzagen to despair Qual agony erdulden to endure Kreuz Cross, a cross Leiden, leiden suffering, to suffer Pein pain Tod death Schrift Scripture vollbringen, vollbracht to fulfill, fulfilled Hauptmann Roman Centurion wahrlich truly Glaube, glauben belief, to believe weinen to weep klagen to wail, grieve Schmerz grief Grab grave begraben to bury ruhen, Ruhe to rest, rest Buß repentance Reu rue, regret beweinen to bewail erbarme dich (mein) have mercy (on me)! Teufel Devil tief, Tiefe deep, the depths Abgrund abyss finster, -re dark Hölle Hell Sieg victory Macht power, might stehen to stand Auferstehung Resurrection lebendig living (adj) Himmelfahrt Ascension herrschen to rule Reich kingdom Thron throne Herrlichkeit glory jauchzen to rejoice frohlocken to make merry Lob, loben praise, to praise Ehre honor Herr Lord Ewigkeit Eternity Amen. Amen.
German particles
aber but an on, up against auf upon auf daß in order that aus out of bei by, in the case of bis up until dann then daß that (subordinating conjunction) denn because (not "then"!) dich thee doch yet, nonetheless dir to thee du thou durch through ein in (directional prefix) er he es it für for, but "vor" in older texts her hither (towards speaker) hin thither (away from speaker) ich I ihn him im in the in in, into ja yes, indeed mich me mir to me mit with nicht not ober upper sie she or her or they über over um around, about um .... willen for the sake of ... und and uns us unter under, lower von from, of vor in front of, but "für" in older texts wann when warum why wenn if (not "when"!) was what welche(r,s) which weil because wer who wir we wie as, how wo where wohin whither zu to, too
Pronouns, articles and simple verbs are too hard to list or explain simply; you'll have to look at a real book.
Here is a link to a wonderful German Grammar and Pronunciation Site if you wish to further explore the German language online.
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Copyright © Bernard S. Greenberg, January 1996. Use with attribution retained is permitted.
