Genre Aria | Language German | |
Catalogue BWV 53; formerly attributed to Johann Sebastian Bach | ||
Schlage doch, gewünschte Stunde (Haste to strike, oh longed for hour), BWV 53, is an aria for alto, probably for a funeral. It was attributed to Johann Sebastian Bach, but was not composed by him, but probably in Leipzig by Melchior Hoffmann, another composer of the 18th century.
Contents
History, text and scoring
The work on an anonymous German text was likely composed for a funeral service. It has often been attributed to Johann Sebastian Bach, but Alfred Dürr did not include it in his 1971 book Die Kantaten von Johann Sebastian Bach, based on the Bach-Jahrbücher 1955; instead, he mentions Melchior Hoffmann as the likely author ("mit Wahrscheinlichkeit"). Hoffmann has not been confirmed and the date of the first performance is unknown.
The text is written by an anonymous poet. It reflects the hour of death as desired. Translations have been "Haste to strike, oh longed for hour", "Strike my hour, so long awaited", and "Strike then thou, O blessed hour". In a middle section, the angels are asked to open heavenly meadows, to see Jesus soon ("Kommt, ihr Engel, … Öffnet mir die Himmelsauen, meinen Jesum bald zu schauen"). The aria is scored for alto, two violins, viola, cello, organ, and bells. The bells may have been part of the organ itself.
Music
The aria is characterized by an obbligato bell duet. Clifford Bartlett calls the bell knell "memorable and powerful". Simon Crouch notes that "some of [the aria's] thematic material is suggestive of Bach but the accompanying bells would be unique amongst Bach's surviving output".