Complete Program: Coffee Cantata: A Caffeinated Concert (PDF)
Program Notes
by BACH Music Director Sarah Riskind
Coffee Cantata: A Caffeinated Concert
One of the best things about conducting a historically-focused choir is finding ways to relate to people who lived centuries ago. We might discover that a composer got along poorly with his in-laws, or that her singers fought over solo opportunities, or that he went through a bad breakup. Something we associate with modern life turns out to have relevance to our revered figures of the past.
If you try to talk to me before my morning coffee, I can’t promise you any level of civility whatsoever. And no, hotel coffee doesn’t count. The fact that J. S. Bach’s Coffee Cantata features a woman singing passionately about her favorite beverage as if it were her true love (or even something more religious) makes it completely understandable to me, German language notwithstanding.
Today, our tenor and resident historian Dr. David Smith will deepen the experience of hearing Bach’s cantata with his compelling explanation of the pivotal role of coffee in Bach’s time. We will lead into the caffeinated portion with music of food and wine: a stunning ten-minute quartet from Telemann’s Tafelmusik, followed by a dynamic set of Renaissance and Baroque pieces sung and directed by members of the BACH choir.
As we conclude the 2024-2025 season, I would like to thank all of our audience members, supporters, and volunteers. We look forward to seeing you again in the fall!
Tafelmusik
George Philipp Telemann’s extensive collection known as Tafelmusik or Musique de table references a long history of music played during meals. From hymn singing in private homes to orchestral music at banquets, this tradition can be traced back to the Middle Ages. Telemann’s 1733 collection consists of three “productions”, each of which contains an orchestral overture, quartet, concerto, trio sonata, solo sonata, and concluding work. In the previous year, he began selling advance subscriptions to about 200 aristocrats, royals, officials, and musicians such as George Frederic Handel (who we know frequently “borrowed” musical ideas from Telemann).
We are opening our program with the Quartet in E minor, TWV 43:e2 for flute, violin, violoncello, and continuo. The Adagio introduces two main themes in the violin and flute, which are smoothly woven into each instrumental part throughout the movement. The Allegro is more intricately contrapuntal, beginning with bold fugal entrances and later bringing in snappier rhythms and playful exchanges. The C major third movement, marked Dolce (“sweet”), is in a delicately slow 6/8 time. We return to E minor for the final Allegro in triple meter, characterized by passing around melodic material and quick sixteenth-note flourishes. The varied program of Telemann’s Tafelmusik is evident even on a micro level within this quartet, offering diverse textures, meters, and affects.
La Tricotea
This entertaining drinking song was included in the Cancionero de Palacio, a manuscript that compiled Spanish villancicos, romances, and canciones written for 3-4 voices. These works were compiled between the late 1400s and early 1500s, including many works in Castilian Spanish and others in Catalan, Galician-Portuguese, Latin, and French. La Tricotea, often attributed to Franco Alonso, combines nearly all of those languages along with a healthy dose of nonsense syllables.
Vignon, Vignette
Vignon, Vignette was first published in 1535 as part of a collection of 3-voice chansons. The authorship is uncertain; it is attributed to both Claudin de Sermisy and Clément Janequin. Sermisy and Janequin were leading composers of French secular music in the early to mid 1500s.
Come, Let Us Drink
We move on to the 17th century for another song about wine, this time by prominent English Baroque composer Henry Purcell. Come, Let Us Drink is a “catch” (secular round), of which Purcell wrote at least 53, most of them bawdy. Catch clubs eventually blossomed as a setting for social singing. We are performing this work with additive voice parts instead of as a typical round.
Schweigt stille, plaudert nicht (“Coffee Cantata”), BWV 211
In my four seasons as Music Director of the BACH Choir, we have performed two other cantatas by J. S. Bach. The Coffee Cantata bears a strong resemblance in many ways: a multi-movement work with recitatives, arias, and a chorale fantasy; an instrumental ensemble anchored by strings and keyboard instrument with the occasional woodwind; the vernacular language of German. However, Schweigt stille, plaudert nicht’s secular narrative brings it into “miniature opera” territory. The story of Herr Schlendrian and his coffee-obsessed daughter Liesgen amuses modern listeners as we realize that 18th-century coffee enthusiasts were just as devoted as the helpless addicts crawling through the Starbucks drive-through before work every day.
As we will hear Dr. David Smith explain today in his historical lecture, coffee was a hot topic in 18th-century Germany. It represented social upheaval and public discussions of politics, philosophy, and other topics; many feared the impact on women and their assigned roles in society. In the midst of this environment, Bach composed the Coffee Cantata between 1732 and 1735 to be performed by the Collegium Musicum at Zimmerman’s Coffeehouse, an ensemble founded by Telemann in 1702. The libretto was written by Christian Friedrich Henrici (or “Picander”), who also wrote the libretto for the St. Matthew Passion.
The tenor Narrator opens the work by urging the crowd to “be quiet, stop chattering”; the harpsichord plays fanfare-like rhythms marked con pompa (“with pomp”) to announce the entrance of Schlendrian. Schlendrian’s aria about his disobedient daughter continues the air of self-importance with confident repeated notes and faster scales. Liesgen’s speech-like recitative follows, claiming that without three cups a day, she would become so upset that she would be “like a dried-up piece of goat.” In her love song to coffee, the texture resembles the Baroque trio sonata, with a duet between the soprano and flute accompanied by the basso continuo.
Schlendrian’s next move is to deprive his daughter of social interaction and gifts, but these prove insufficient motivations for her to give up her beloved beverage. His aria features only the violoncello/bass and harpsichord with embellishments, rather than including more of the ensemble. He then concocts a more convincing plan: depriving Liesgen of a husband unless she gives up coffee! She sings the aria Heute noch, liebe Vater in joyous anticipation of marriage, with full string accompaniment. In Bach’s sacred cantatas, similar arias depict unions with Christ (usually not mentioning coffee…).
Although Schlendrian believes he has won the battle, the Narrator reveals Liesgen’s clever plan: she spreads the word that her future husband must agree to allow her coffee habit in writing! The final chorus is a trio proclaiming the moral of the story: “The mother adores her coffee-habit, and grandma also drank it, so who can blame the daughters!” In between each choral phrase, the flute offers soaring melodies in the style of a Baroque chorale fantasy.
