Cantata No. 18: Gleich wie der Regen und Schnee vom Himmel fallt, BWV 18 [Weimar version in G minor] Cover Image

Cantata No. 18: Gleich wie der Regen und Schnee vom Himmel fallt, BWV 18 [Weimar version in G minor]: Cantata/ Oratorio, Orchestra Accompaniment, Conductor Score & Parts

$35.00 USD
$35.00 USD
Skip to product information
Cantata No. 18: Gleich wie der Regen und Schnee vom Himmel fallt, BWV 18 [Weimar version in G minor] Cover Image
Cantata No. 18: Gleich wie der Regen und Schnee vom Himmel fallt, BWV 18 [Weimar version in G minor]: Cantata/ Oratorio, Orchestra Accompaniment, Conductor Score & Parts

Cantata No. 18: Gleich wie der Regen und Schnee vom Himmel fallt, BWV 18 [Weimar version in G minor]: Cantata/ Oratorio, Orchestra Accompaniment, Conductor Score & Parts

By Johann Sebastian (J.S.) Bach, ed./arr. Moritz Hauptmann/ Text from Isaiah 55: 10-12 (No. 2), by Erdmann Neumeister (Nos. 3-4), by Lazarus Spengler (No. 5). German.

Item: 36-A448502
$35.00
Shipped

One moment…

Related Items

Cantata No. 18: Gleich wie der Regen und Schnee vom Himmel fallt, BWV 18 [Weimar version in G minor]: Cantata/ Oratorio, Orchestra Accompaniment, Conductor Score

$15.00
View

Cantata No. 18: Gleich wie der Regen und Schnee vom Himmel fallt, BWV 18 [Weimar version in G minor]: Cantata/ Oratorio, Keyboard Accompaniment, Vocal Score

$4.95
View
Description
Cantata No. 18: Gleich wie der Regen und Schnee vom Himmel fällt, BWV 18 (Just like the rain and snow falling from the heavens) was composed in 1713 by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) during his tenure at the ducal court in Weimar, where he began producing a remarkable series of church cantatas that laid the foundation for his later Leipzig cycles. Written for Sexagesima Sunday, the work draws its text from Isaiah 55:10-11, Erdmann Neumeister, and Lazarus Spengler. The original Weimar version in G minor features a compact orchestration with violas and basso continuo, while Bach later revised the cantata in Leipzig (c. 1724), transposing it to A minor and expanding the instrumentation with additional forces such as recorders. Cantata No. 18 continues to hold an important place in the early cantata repertoire. Instrumentation: 2(opt).0.0.1: 0.0.0.0: Hpchrd(or Org): Str (0.0.2-2-2-2.1.1): Mix Chorus. Reprint of the original Weimar edition in G minor, edited by Moritz Hauptmann and published in the Bach Gesellschaft Ausgabe.

Cantata No. 18: Gleich wie der Regen und Schnee vom Himmel fallt, BWV 18 [Weimar version in G minor]: Cantata/ Oratorio, Orchestra Accompaniment, Conductor Score & Parts isn't in MakeMusic Cloud just yet...but it could be. Let us know you'd like to see it, and you'll help shape what comes next. In the meantime, start a free trial and dive into thousands of interactive titles your students can play along with today.

Request This Title

Tell us you want it.

Start Your Free Trial

Explore everything that's ready to play right now.
Sample Pages

No sample pages found.
Sample Audio
No sample audio found.
Sample Video
No sample videos found.
Additional Details
Series: Kalmus Choral Library
Publisher: EDWIN F KALMUS
UPC: 604634006027
SKU: 36-A448502
Instrumentation: 2(opt).0.0.1: 0.0.0.0: Hpchrd(or Org): Str (0.0.2-2-2-2.1.1): Mix Chorus

More about this title

About the Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) spent his early professional years at the Weimar court, where he served as court musician and later Kapellmeister. During this remarkably productive period from 1708 to 1717, he composed roughly 30 church cantatas, works that established the genre's artistic and spiritual potential and revealed his genius for integrating text, theology, and musical architecture.

Bach's Weimar cantatas form a crucial bridge between the simpler occasional works of his youth and the systematic cantata cycles he would later create in Leipzig. These works showcase his evolving mastery of counterpoint, his sensitivity to German poetry, and his ability to balance elaborate musical argument with direct emotional expression.

Why we love this

The Weimar version preserves Bach's original conception before later revisions obscured his initial artistic choices. Performing this G minor setting alongside the more familiar A minor Leipzig version reveals how Bach's harmonic language and orchestration evolved, and conductors benefit from the leaner orchestration's clarity of counterpoint. The cantata's compact design makes it accessible for ensembles without extensive doubling requirements, while its theological substance and musical integrity demand genuine musical engagement.

What to expect

The cantata unfolds with spiritual urgency framed in the vivid language of natural imagery. G minor lends gravity and introspection to the work's exploration of God's word as life-giving as rain and snow; the harmonic language feels both deeply felt and intellectually rigorous, inviting listeners into theological reflection rather than sentimentality.

Who it's for

Conductors seeking authentic Weimar-era Bach with manageable orchestration and proven pedagogical value. Established choral programs comfortable with German Baroque repertoire and singers able to navigate Bach's text declamation without excessive vibrato.

How to get the most out of it

  • Balance the violas carefully in the recitatives and arias; their independence from the continuo line often carries harmonic weight that gets lost if they blend too thoroughly with the basso continuo.
  • Shape the text declamation in the opening chorus to illuminate the Isaiah text's structure; Bach's phrase lengths follow the poetry's sense units rather than symmetrical patterns.
  • Coordinate the optional oboes throughout with clear sectional sound and rhythmic precision, particularly in passages where they double or answer the strings.
  • Allow the soprano and alto lines in the final chorale breathing room; these upper voices often carry the harmonic innovation that grounds the text's message.

How to use it

Pair this Weimar version with the Leipzig A minor revision in a Bach-focused concert to demonstrate his compositional growth and creative rethinking. The Sexagesima Sunday context works for liturgical programming around that liturgical calendar date, or frame it alongside other Isaiah-text settings for a thematic concert exploring how different composers approached Old Testament prophecy.

Skills your students will build

  • Reading Baroque text declamation in German with proper phrase structure and rhetorical emphasis
  • Balancing independent viola lines with basso continuo in Baroque ensemble writing
  • Understanding revision and recomposition as part of a composer's creative process
  • Navigating mixed meter and syncopation within Bach's harmonic language
  • Performing continuo accompaniment with stylistic awareness of early 18th-century practice

You May Also Like