Gott, wie dein Name, so ist auch dein Ruhm
BWV 171 performed by the Netherlands Bach Society
conducted by Richard Egarr
Amare, The Hague
Behind the music
Story
Story
Texts
Texts
Credits
Credits
In the name of salvation
Borrowing all sorts of music, Bach proclaims a new era
For Bach and his contemporaries, New Year’s Day had a different festive connotation to nowadays. It was not the new year that was celebrated on the 1st of January, but a new era. New Year’s Day was the Feast of the Circumcision of Christ and the moment that Jesus received his name: ‘God saves’. From then on, faith in Christ would bring salvation to everyone, whether Jew or non-Jew. The name Jesus was the ultimate New Year’s gift.
In a certain sense, Bach used an other gift in this cantata, BWV 171, namely the substantial collection of texts by his fellow townsman and poet Picander (known to us mainly for his text for the St Matthew Passion). For three of the four ‘lyrical’ sections of this cantata, Bach delved into his archive, and set the new texts to existing music.
The compact opening chorus is a parody of a lost source, from which Bach was later also to derive the ‘Patrem omnipotentem’ from the Mass in B minor. It starts off soberly, voice by voice, as befits the words of a psalm. Then first one, and later three trumpets and timpani radiantly join the profusion, and the celebration of God’s universal glory reaches its climax. This is directly followed by a tenor aria with the same message. With two violins, Bach sketches the clouds in the heavens as a sign of God Almighty, in broad, elaborated phrases filled with big leaps.
After a colourful recitative, in which the alto – as a faithful soul – describes her personal relationship with Jesus, we come to the next borrowed piece, this time taken from the secular cantata Zerreißet, zersprenget, zertrümmert die Gruft, BWV 205: the aria ‘Angenehmer Zephyrus’, which portrays the wind. Although there is no wind in this particular text by Picander (by chance he also wrote the original), there is a whooshing solo violin in a duet with a soprano, who resolves to keep Jesus’s name on her lips throughout the year.
Then the bass goes on to quote Christ himself, taken freely from John 14: whatever you ask in my name, that I will do. To reinforce the prayer, the oboes join in, first illustrating the dangers of life with sharp dissonants and later assenting to our request, to say ‘Yes’ and ‘Amen’.
Bach took the jubilant final chorale from cantata 41, Jesu, nun sei gepreiset. In this warm New Year’s prayer, the congregation place themselves and all their uncertainties in God’s hands for the coming twelve months.
- BWV
- 171
- Title
- Gott, wie dein Name, so ist auch dein Ruhm
- Genre
- cantatas
- Lyricist
- Christian Friedrich Henrici (alias Picander)
- First performance
- January 1, 1729 (or around 1736-1737)
- Reuse
- Part 1 is based on an unknown concept and was later parodied in BWV 232.4 II/2. Part 4 is a parody of BWV 205/9. Bach took part 6 from cantata 41, Jesu, nun sei gepreiset.
Extra videos
Vocal texts
Original
1. Chor
Gott, wie dein Name,
so ist auch dein Ruhm
bis an der Welt Ende.
2. Arie (T)
Herr, so weit die Wolken gehen,
gehet deines Namens Ruhm.
Alles, was die Lippen rührt,
alles, was noch Odem führt,
wird dich in der Macht erhöhen.
3. Rezitativ (A)
Du süßer Jesus-Name du,
in dir ist meine Ruh,
du bist mein Trost
auf Erden,
wie kann denn mir
im Kreuze bange werden?
Du bist mein festes Schloß und mein Panier,
da lauf ich hin,
wenn ich verfolget bin.
Du bist mein Leben und mein Licht,
mein Ehre, meine Zuversicht,
mein Beistand in Gefahr
und mein Geschenk zum neuen Jahr.
4. Arie (S)
Jesus soll mein erstes Wort
in dem neuen Jahre heißen.
Fort und fort
lacht sein Nam in meinem Munde,
und in meiner letzten Stunde
ist Jesus auch mein letztes Wort.
5. Rezitativ (B)
Und da du, Herr, gesagt:
Bittet nur in meinem Namen,
so ist alles Ja! und Amen!
So flehen wir,
du Heiland aller Welt, zu dir:
Verstoß uns ferner nicht,
behüt uns dieses Jahr
für Feuer, Pest und Kriegsgefahr!
Laß uns dein Wort, das helle Licht,
noch rein und lauter brennen;
gib unsrer Obrigkeit
und dem gesamten Lande
dein Heil des Segens zu erkennen;
gib allezeit
Glück und Heil
zu allem Stande.
Wir bitten, Herr, in deinem Namen,
sprich: ja! darzu, sprich:
Amen, amen!
6. Choral
Laß uns das Jahr vollbringen
zu Lob dem Namen dein,
daß wir demselben singen
in der Christen
Gemein.
Wollst uns das Leben fristen
durch dein allmächtig Hand,
erhalt dein liebe Christen
und unser Vaterland!
Dein Segen zu uns wende,
gib Fried an allem Ende,
gib unverfälscht im Lande
dein seligmachend Wort,
die Teufel mach zuschanden
hier und an allem Ort!
Translation
1. Chorus
God, like your name,
so is also your acclamation
unto the world’s [outermost] end.
2. Aria (T)
Lord, as far as the clouds go,
[So also] goes the acclamation of your name.
Everything that moves its lips,
Everything [on earth] that yet draws breath,
Will exalt you in your power.
3. Recitative (A)
You sweet name of Jesus, you,
In you is my rest;
You [name of Jesus] are my
[saving] consolation on earth;
How, then, can I become anxious
In bearing the cross?
You are my secure castle and my [military] banner;
Toward there [the castle] I run
When I am persecuted.
You are my life and my light,
My honor, my refuge,
My aid in danger
And my gift for New Year’s.
4. Aria (S)
“Jesus” shall be [uttered as] my first word
In the New Year.
On and on
I will freely speak his name,
And in my final hour
“Jesus” will also be my final word.
5. Recitative (B)
And because you, Lord [Jesus], have said:
“Simply ask in my name,”
Then everything [in you, Jesus,] is “Yes!” and “Amen!”
Thus we make supplication to you,
You savior of all the world:
Do not cast us away henceforth;
Protect us [throughout] this year
From fire, plague, and danger of war.
Let your word, the bright light [of the gospel],
Blaze yet pure and clear among us;
Give our government
And the entire land
To know your prosperity of blessing;
Give at all times
Good fortune and prosperity
to [those of] every social rank.
We ask, Lord, in your name,
[May you] declare “Yes!” to this [plea]; declare:
“Amen, Amen!”
6. Chorale
Let us end the year
In [sung] praise to your [Jesus’s] name,
So that we may sing [praise] to this same [name]
In the congregation of
[all] Christians [living and dead].
May you preserve our life
Through your all-powerful hand;
Uphold your dear Christians
And our fatherland.
Turn your blessing [of salvation] toward us;
Give peace in every [outermost] end [of the earth];
Give, uncorrupted in the land,
Your saving word;
Put the demons [headed by Satan] to shame,
Here and in every place.
transl. © Daniel R. Melamed and Michael Marissen
For the annotated version of the text and translation, see here.
Credits
-
- Release date
- 22 January 2026
-
- Recording date
- 28 February 2025
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- Location
- Amare, The Hague
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- Organ and direction
- Richard Egarr
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- Soprano
- Rowan Pierce
-
- Alto
- Reginald Mobley
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- Tenor
- Guy Cutting
-
- Bass
- Matthew Brook
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- Ripieno soprano
- Amelia Berridge, Lauren Armishaw, Valérie Stammet
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- Ripieno alto
- Sofia Gvirts, Bernadett Nagy, Edurne Ruiz Garcia
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- Ripieno tenor
- Adriaan De Koster, João Moreira, Jasper Dijkstra
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- Ripieno bass
- Matthew Baker, Hidde Kleikamp, Vincent Berger
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- Violin 1
- Eva Saladin, Sayuri Yamagata, Anneke van Haaften, Pieter Affourtit
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- Violin 2
- Lucia Giraudo, Annelies van der Vegt, Natascha Pichler
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- Viola
- Femke Huizinga, Esther van der Eijk, María García Sánchez
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- Cello
- Ira Givol, Barbara Kernig
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- Double bass
- Robert Franenberg
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- Oboe
- Rodrigo López Paz, Katharina Verhaar
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- Bassoon
- Javier Sánchez Castillo
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- Trumpet
- Robert Vanryne, Amir Rabinovitz, Christopher Price
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- Organ
- Daniel Seeger
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- Timpani
- Robert Kendell
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- Director and editor
- Bas Wielenga
-
- Music recording
- Guido Tichelman, Lilita Dunsk, Pim van der Lee
-
- Music edit and mix
- Guido Tichelman
-
- Camera
- Martin Struijf, Chiel Hooijman, Bjorn Tiebout, Jesper Blok, Wouter Revier, Yannick Gijssel
-
- Lights
- Zen Bloot
-
- Technical setup
- Casper Heer, Chinouk van Doorn
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- Director assistent
- Ferenc Soeteman
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- Datahandling
- Ruben Kuyl
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- Assistant music recording
- Marloes Biermans
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- Producer concert
- Stephan Esmeijer
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- Producer film
- Lisanne Marlou de Kok
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