Ich glaube, lieber Herr, hilf meinem Unglauben
BWV 109 performed by the Netherlands Bach Society
conducted by Shunske Sato
Walloon Church, Amsterdam
Behind the music
Story
Story
Texts
Texts
Credits
Credits
Heartening
Doubts are heard at first, but the ending radiates unshakeable faith
The father of a boy who suffers from epileptic fits asks Jesus for help. Jesus answers that everything is possible for those who believe. To which the father of the sick boy replies: “I believe, dear Lord, help my unbelief!”
These words form the opening of Bach’s cantata from October 1723. They resound with ambiguity and doubt, as do the subsequent recitative by the tenor and particularly the aria, with its indecisive rhythms and uncertain harmonies.
Religious doubts became increasingly common in Bach’s day, and atheism was a growing concern for many theologians. In Bach’s own library, there was a copy of Johannes Müller’s Atheismus devictus (“Atheism Conquered”); a “detailed report of atheists, God spurners, Bible desecrators and religion scorners”, from 1672.
In the year Bach wrote this cantata, a notorious issue arose, near to Leipzig. At the university in Halle, in 1721, a mathematics professor with an interest in philosophy held a lecture for 1000 people on Chinese philosophy. This professor, Christian Wolff, argued that through their Confucianism the Chinese could equal the high moral and ethical standing of Christians. The implicit message was that it was not necessary to believe in a god to be a good person. And the result? A riot and many years of debate that produced almost three hundred polemic writings. Opponents accused of Wolff of secretly being an atheist.
In the cantata, the alto gives heart to the doubter: God will stand by his side in the battle, so that faith will win in the end. And just where you expect a simple chorale at the end of the cantata, suddenly you hear a grand arrangement with rousing orchestral accompaniment. It is one of the oldest Lutheran hymns, with words that testify to an unshakeable faith in God.
In November 1723, shortly after the first performance of this cantata, Christian Wolff was dismissed from his job and banished from the Prussian region. But in 1740, at the request of Frederick the Great, he returned to Halle in triumph and with an extremely generous salary.
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Vocal texts
Original
1. Chor
Ich glaube, lieber Herr, hilf meinem Unglauben!
2. Rezitativ (Tenor)
Des Herren Hand
ist ja noch nicht verkürzt,
mir kann geholfen werden.
Ach nein! Ich sinke schon zur Erden
vor Sorge, daß sie
mich zu Boden stürzt.
Der Höchste will,
sein Vaterherze bricht.
Ach nein! Er hört die Sünder nicht.
Er wird, er muß dir bald zu helfen eilen,
um deine Not zu heilen.
Ach nein! Es bleibet mir
um Trost sehr bange,
ach Herr, wie lange?
3. Arie (Tenor)
Wie zweifelhaftig ist mein Hoffen,
wie wanket mein geängstigt Herz!
Des Glaubens Docht
glimmt kaum hervor,
es bricht dies fast zerstoßne Rohr,
die Furcht macht stetig neuen Schmerz.
4. Rezitativ (Alt)
O fasse dich,
du zweifelhafter Mut,
weil Jesus itzt noch Wunder tut!
Die Glaubensaugen werden schauen
das Heil des Herrn;
scheint die Erfüllung allzufern,
so kannst du doch
auf die Verheißung bauen.
5. Arie (Alt)
Der Heiland kennet ja die Seinen,
wenn ihre Hoffnung hülflos liegt.
Wenn Fleisch und Geist in ihnen streiten,
so steht er ihnen selbst zur Seiten,
damit zuletzt der Glaube siegt.
6. Choral
Wer hofft in Gott und dem vertraut,
der wird nimmer zu Schanden;
denn wer auf
diesen Felsen baut,
ob ihm gleich geht zu Handen viel Unfalls hie,
hab ich doch nie
den Menschen sehen fallen,
der sich verläßt
auf Gottes Trost;
er hilft sein' Gläubgen allen.
Translation
1. Chorus
I have faith, dear Lord; help my faithlessness.
2. Recitative (Tenor)
The [saving power of the] hand of the Lord,
indeed still, is not curtailed;
I can be helped.
Ah, no; I am surely dying with fear/shame
From [such a burden of] care
that it casts me to the ground.
The Most High wishes [to help];
his paternal heart breaks.
Ah, no! He does not hear the sinners [crying for help].
He will, he must soon hasten to help you,
In order to heal your affliction.
Ah, no; I remain
very anxious about [receiving] consolation;
Ah, Lord, how long?
3. Aria (Tenor)
How fraught with doubt is my hope;
How my distressed heart wavers [in faith]!
The wick of faith
barely glimmers forth;
This nearly bruised reed breaks;
Fear constantly creates new pain.
4. Recitative (Alto)
O pull yourself together [in faith],
you doubt-fraught disposition,
Because Jesus is, still now, performing wonders.
The eyes of faith will [come to] behold
The salvation [that arises] of the Lord;
If the fulfillment [of salvation]
appears to be all too far off,
You can nonetheless build/rely upon the promise.
5. Aria (Alto)
Indeed the savior knows those who are his
When their hope lies helpless.
When flesh and spirit contend within them,
Then he himself stands at their side,
So that faith triumphs in the end.
6. Chorale
Whoever hopes in God and trusts in him,
He [that person] will never be put to shame;
For—whoever builds [his spiritual house]
upon this rock [Jesus]
Even if manifestly a host of misfortune
Meets him [the builder] here [on earth]—
I have never indeed seen the person fall
Who relies upon God’s consolation;
It/he [this rock, Jesus] helps/saves
all his that have [the true] faith.
transl. © Daniel R. Melamed and Michael Marissen
For the annotated version of the text and translation, see here.
Credits
-
- Release date
- 21 July 2022
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- Recording date
- 28 May 2021
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- Location
- Walloon Church, Amsterdam
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- Violin and direction
- Shunske Sato
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- Alto
- Alex Potter
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- Tenor
- Daniel Johannsen
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- Ripieno soprano
- Lauren Armishaw, Marta Paklar, Amelia Berridge
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- Ripieno alto
- Sofia Gvirts, Bernadett Nagy, Adriaan de Koster
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- Ripieno tenor
- Adriaan de Koster, Immo Schröder
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- Ripieno bass
- Matthew Baker, Pierre-Guy Le Gall White, Michiel Meijer
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- Violin 1
- Sayuri Yamagata, Annelies van der Vegt, Andrew Wong
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- Violin 2
- Pieter Affourtit, Anneke van Haaften, Manja Kruidhof-Okkerse
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- Viola
- Staas Swierstra, Deirdre Dowling
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- Cello
- Lucia Swarts, Barbara Kernig
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- Double bass
- Robert Franenberg
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- Oboe
- Rodrigo Lopez Paz, Katharina Verhaar
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- Bassoon
- Benny Aghassi
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- Trumpet
- Robert Vanryne
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- Harpsichord
- Siebe Henstra
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- Organ
- Leo van Doeselaar
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- Director and camera
- João MB Costa
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- Music recording
- Guido Tichelman, Bastiaan Kuijt, Pim van der Lee
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- Music edit and mix
- Guido Tichelman
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- Camera
- Santiago Rodriguez, Milo McCafferty, Oscar Widl, Enzo Dumettier
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- Lights
- Zen Bloot
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- Grip
- Patrick Galvin, Harm Bredero, Sven Deen
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- Assistant director
- Santiago Rodriguez
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- Video editing
- Rob Gradisen, Robin van Erven Dorens
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- Assistant music recording
- Marloes Biermans
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- Producer concert
- Imke Deters
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- Producer film
- Jessie Verbrugh
-
- With support from
- MWH4impact
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