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Tilge, Höchster, meine Sünden, BWV 1083

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Tilge, Höchster, meine Sünden, BWV 1083, is an arrangement by Johann Sebastian Bach of Pergolesi's 1736 Stabat Mater. Bach used a German paraphrase of psalm 51 as text for his composition. The incipit translates as "Cancel, Highest, my sins". Bach wrote his version in the 1740s, slightly expanding the orchestral material.

Contents

History and text

Tilge, Höchster, meine Sünden is a musical parody of the Stabat Mater Giovanni Battista Pergolesi had composed in 1736. The parody version was made c. 1745/1747, using a German text based on Psalm 51. Bach's orchestration is richer than Pergolesi's original. Where in Pergolesi's version the viola plays in unison with the continuo, Bach gives the instrument its own line, thus creating the four-part harmony typical of his own style.

Bach's staging of Tilge, Höchster, meine Sünden, before Pergolesi's work was printed for the first time in 1749, is the earliest demonstrable performance of this music by Pergolesi in Germany.

Scoring

Bach's version is scored for soprano and alto soloists, two concertante violin parts, two ripieno violin parts, viola, violone, violoncello, and basso continuo.

Recordings

  • American Bach Soloists, Jeffrey Thomas. J.S. Bach: Transcriptions of Italian Music. Koch International, 1993.
  • Neue Hofkapelle München, Christian Brembeck. Bach & die Italiener. Christophorus, 1996.
  • Balthasar-Neumann Ensemble, Thomas Hengelbrock. Scarlatti · Bach · Durante. Deutsche Harmonia Mundi, 1998.
  • Gächinger Kantorei Stuttgart / Bach-Collegium Stuttgart, Helmuth Rilling. Edition Bachakademie Vol. 73. Hänssler, 1999.
  • Les Violons du Roy, Bernard Labadie. Bach: Psaume 51 d’après le Stabat Mater de Pergolesi; Cantate BWV 82 "Ich habe genug". ATMA, 2004.
  • Netherlands Bach Collegium, Pieter Jan Leusink. Bach Edition Vol. 17. Brilliant Classics, 2000.
  • Theatre of Early Music, Daniel Taylor. Stabat Mater. BIS, 2006.
  • Bach Collegium Japan, Masaaki Suzuki. J.S. Bach: Secular Cantatas Vol. 6 (Trauerode). BIS-2181 SACD/CD, 2015
  • Le Banquet Céleste, Damien Guillon, Céline Scheen. J.S. Bach: Psalm 51 BWV 1083 (after Pergolesi's Stabat Mater). Glossa, 2016 GCD 923701.
  • References

    Tilge, Höchster, meine Sünden, BWV 1083 Wikipedia