Ihr Häuser des Himmels, ihr scheinenden Lichter, BWV 193a
Ihr Häuser des Himmels, ihr scheinenden Lichter, BWV 193.1, is a secular cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach first performed on 3 August 1727. The music is lost, but it can be partially reconstructed as several movements are known to have shared music with Ihr Tore zu Zion, BWV 193, a church cantata which was premiered around three weeks after Ihr Häuser des Himmels, ihr scheinenden Lichter.
History and text
This cantata was composed for the name day of Frederick August I, Elector of Saxony. The text is by Picander who published it in the second part of his collection Picanders Ernst-Schertzhaffte und Satyrische Gedichte. However, there has been speculation that Picander based his text on the work of Christian Friedrich Hunold, an earlier librettist of Bach. The reason for this suggestion is a similarity to a series of congratulatory cantatas Bach composed at Köthen.The opening chorus is about a council of the gods. It was the custom for congratulatory works such as this to feature allegorical characters; in this case they are: Providentia, Fama, Salus and Pietas.
The title page bears the dedication:
In English it may be rendered as:
The cantata is counted among the works for celebrations of the Leipzig University, Festmusiken zu Leipziger Universitätsfeiern.
Structure
The work has eleven movements:- Chorus: Ihr Haeuser des Himmels, ihr scheinenden Lichter
- Recitative : Preißwuerdigster August
- Aria : Nenne deinen August: Gott!
- Recitative : O! schoener Tag, o! schoene Blicke
- Aria :
- Recitative : So AUGUSTUS nicht an Ruhm und Thatten Seines gleichen
- Aria : Herr! so gross als Dein Erhoehen
- Recitative : Wie bin ich doch ergoetzt
- Aria : Sachsen, komm zum Opffer-Heerd
- Recitative : Doch worzu wollen wir viel Tempel bauen?
- Aria : Himmel, erhoere das bethende Land