Fear and Hope: Contemplating the Parousia in J. S. Bach’s Sacred Cantatas

Abstract

Despite extensive musicological writings on J. S. Bach’s sacred cantatas, little space is dedicated to the musical portrayal of the Christian doctrine of parousia (παρουσία)—Christ’s return, or second advent. This study considers the parousia concept within eighteenth-century German Lutheranism, contemplating its dichotomous fearful and hopeful interpretations. It also explores its implications for the doctrinal notions of death, judgement, and salvation, among other correlated themes as they appear in Bach’s cantatas BWV 70, 90, and 140. This essay analyzes various renditions of these themes in the cantatas along with their rhetorical and musical rendering, with the intent of distilling Bach’s perspectives of Christ’s second coming.