Amore traditore, BWV 203

Amore traditore (Treacherous love), BWV 203, is a secular cantata composed by Johann Sebastian Bach in Köthen between 1718 and 1719, while he was in the service of the court of Leopold, Prince of Anhalt-Köthen. Bach wrote the unusual work on an Italian libretto for a bass soloist and harpsichord.

Background

After an extended period at the court of Weimar, Bach was Kapellmeister at the court of Leopold, Prince of Anhalt-Köthen between 1717 and 1723, directing a qualified musical ensemble. As the court was Reformed, he had no obligations to compose church music, but focused on instrumental works. He had no choir at his disposition, but several excellent singers who sometimes stayed for a short period. He later wrote about this period:

There I had a gracious Prince, who both loved and knew music, and in his service I intended to spend the rest of my life.

History and text

Bach composed this cantata in Köthen in 1718 or 1719 for an unknown occasion. Its librettist and first performance are also unknown. Unusually for Bach, the text is Italian; only one other cantata (BWV 209) has Italian text. The text is very similar to the text of a cantata by Nicola Fago.

The composition of Amore traditore may have been prompted by the visit of Johann Gottfried Riemschneider, a famous bass, at the court in Köthen in 1718-19. Bach wrote a work to entertain, and to showcase two musicians, the singer and a virtuoso harpsichordist.

Scoring and structure

The cantata is based on the Italian solo cantata tradition. It is structured in three movements, alternating arias and a connecting recitative, and scored for a solo bass and keyboard (and possibly cello or viola da gamba).

1. Aria: Amore traditore
2. Recitative: Voglio provar
3. Aria: Chi in amore ha nemica la sorte

Music

The first aria includes a flowing bass line and strong ritornello theme. The movement is in da capo form and features long melismas and a very high vocal range. The secco recitative is short but not harmonically cohesive. The final movement is also a da capo aria, with three lines of counterpoint and a complex keyboard part.

Recordings

• Jacques Villisech, Gustav Leonhardt. J. S. Bach: Cantatas BWV 203 & BWV 209. Telefunken, 1964.
• Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir, Ton Koopman Bach: Complete Cantatas, Vol. 2. Erato, 1995
• Klaus Mertens, Ton Koopman. Ton Koopman Plays Bach. Naxos, 2000.
• Dominik Wörner, il Gardellino. Solo Cantatas for Bass. Passacaille 2013.
• Bach Collegium Japan, Masaaki Suzuki, Dominik Wörner. Bach Secular cantatas Vol. 7. BIS SACD.

References

Cited sources

• Dürr, Alfred; Jones, Richard D. P. (2006). "Die Zeit, die Tag und Jahre macht, BWV 134a". The Cantatas of J. S. Bach: With Their Librettos in German–English Parallel Text. Oxford University Press. pp. 20, 284, 797–798, 809–813. ISBN 978-0-19-929776-4.
• Jones, Richard D. P. (2013). "I.4 Sacred and secular: the vocal works". The Creative Development of Johann Sebastian Bach, Volume II: 1717–1750: Music to Delight the Spirit. Oxford University Press. pp. 106–108. ISBN 978-0-19-150384-9.
• Wolff, Christoph (2002). Johann Sebastian Bach: The Learned Musician. W. W. Norton & Company. p. 187. ISBN 978-0-39-307595-3.

External links

• Amore traditore, BWV 203: performance by the Netherlands Bach Society (video and background information)
• Amore traditore, BWV 203: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
• BWV 203 – "Amore traditore": English translation, Emmanuel Music
• Amore traditore, BWV 203: Free scores at the Choral Public Domain Library (ChoralWiki)
• "Cantata BWV 203 Amore traditore". Bach Cantatas Website. Retrieved 14 December 2012.
• BWV 203 Amore traditore: English translation, University of Vermont
• BWV 203 Amore traditore: text, scoring, University of Alberta (in German)
• Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750) / Cantata BWV 203 "Amore traditore" Breitkopf & Härtel