BWV 201 Geschwinde, ihr wirbelnden Wind (Der Streit Zwischen Phoebus und Pan) Specific occasion unknown, probably for Zimmermann's Coffeehouse. Christian Friedrich Henrici (Picander), Ernst-Schertzhaffte und Satyrische Gedichte, Teil III (Leipzig, 1732); Facs: Neumann T, p. 346. 1729, Leipzig; also 1749; Parody: 7 → BWV 212/20; 15 → VIII/9 (BWV Anh. 19) and cf. VII/7 (BWV Anh. 10). BG 11, 2; NBA I/40. A Drama in Music Phoebus (B1), Pan (B2), Tmolus (T1), Midas (T2), Mercury (A), and Momus (S) 1. Chorus (S, A, T, B) Tutti Now hasten 2. Recit. (B1, B2, S) Phoebus, Pan, Momus (Phoebus)And thou art then so unashamed and bold To look me in the face and say it, That this thy song Is lovelier than mine by far? (Pan) How canst thou then still ask the question? The wood’s expanse doth marvel at my sound. The choir of nymphs, Which hath the reed devised by me Of seven seemly stationed levels For dancing frequently requested, To thee themselves will testify: Pan sings than all the rest more fair. (Phoebus) For nymphs thou art quite fit; But still, the gods to offer pleasure, Is this thy flute indeed too poor. (Pan) As soon my sound the air doth fill, Forth leap all the mountains and dance all the woods, Then are perforce the branches bowing, Beneath thy starry heavens Enchanted exultation springs: The birds alight before my feet, And wish from me to learn their singing. (Momus) Ha! I say, hear now Pan, This mighty Meistersinger boast! 3. Aria (S) Momus My lord, this is mere wind.
That one that as truth doth hold Which the eyes alone behold, That the fools are keen of mind, That good fortune, too, is blind, My lord, this is mere wind. 4. Recit. (A, B1, B2) Mercury, Phoebus, Pan (Mercury)Why should ye need to wrangle? Ye will ne’er twixt yourselves agree. In my opinion, though so humble, Each one of you should choose himself a man Who twixt you should his judgment speak. Let’s see, who comes to mind? (Phoebus) It’s Tmolus who my judge should be. (Pan) And Midas should now stand beside me. (Mercury) Then gather round, ye gentle people, Hear all with diligence And mark ye who the best can sing! 5. Aria (B1) Phoebus Filled with longing,
For they are my stars of morning And my spirit's very sun. 6. Recit. (S, B2) Momus, Pan (Momus) (Pan) 7. Aria (B2) Pan For dancing, for prancing now quavers my heart. 8. Recit. (A, T1) Mercury, Tmolus (Mercury) (Tmolus) 9. Aria (T1) Tmolus Phoebus, of thy melodyWas sweet Charm herself the mother. Who, though, art doth comprehends As thy tune with wonder wends, Will by it be quite transported. 10. Recit. (B2, T2) Pan, Midas (Pan) Come, Midas, now thyself pronounce How I have done. (Midas) Oh Pan! How thou hast giv'n me strength! Thy song, to me, did sound so lovely, That I at once did learn it on the spot. I shall now go here up and down the woodlands And teach the very trees to sing it. Yon Phoebus' song is too ornate; But this thine oh-so-lovely mouth Unforced did sing and lightly. 11. Aria (T2) Midas Pan's the master, let him reign!
For to each of my two ears Pan Sang a song quite matchless fine. 12. Recit. (S, A, T1, B1, T2, B2) M (Momus) (Mercury) (Tmolus) (Phoebus) (Midas) (Phoebus) (Mercury) (Pan) (Midas) 13. Aria (A) Mercury Puffed-up, swollen fervor,
And dares to the rudder go Will drown with destruction and scandal at last. 14. Recit. (S) Momus Good fellow Midas, get thee hence 15. Chorus (S, A, T, B) Tutti Soothe the heart, ye noble viols, 1. This story is based upon Ovid, Metamorphoses 11. Momus, the Greek god of ridicule, is not found in Ovid's version. Midas is the King of Lydia who befriended Dionysus and became a patron of the music of the reeds. Tmolus is a mountain of Asia Minor. Phoebus Apollo is the patron of the lyre while Pan favors the aulos, the pipe. It is probably significant that Phoebus' contest aria is accompanied by strings, reeds (oboe d'amore), and flauto traverso while Pan's aria is accompanied by violins alone. Even though the final chorus hails the noble strings and in the final recitative Momus bids Apollo pick up again his lyre, the implication of the orchestration of Phoebus' contest aria may be that his musical powers are more universal than Pan's. Whether Picander and Bach were aware that in historical fact there was in antiquity no exclusive association of the lyre with Apollo or the aulos with Dionysus, we cannot say, but Ovid does make clear that Orpheus the lyre-player was associated with both Apollo and Dionysus. 2. Presumably, Pan's flute, but see note 1, above. 3. An allusion to the flaying of Marsyas, the satyr who challenged Phoebus to a contest between lyre and aulos, (cf. Ovid, Metamorphoses 6). 4. The Schellenmütze is a cap of bells or fool's cap. The translation is rhymed to emphasize the closely spaced and amusing rhyme of the original. Grütze 'grits' is a delightful colloquialism for 'brains' or 'wit.' 5. These three lines are variants in a Ms of the
text and in the OP, and the last line is corrected again with
Birolius und ein Hortens. Quintus Hortensius Hortalus (114-50
B.C.) was a prominent orator known for his use of the new florid
(Asianic) style. He was defeated in his defense of Verres by
Cicero in 70 B.C. "Orbil" is Lucius Orbilius Pupillus, a
grammarian at Rome in the time of Cicero. Amongst his pupils was
Horace (65-8 B.C), who immortalizes him as the "Flogger" (plagosus)
in Epistles 2. 1. 69 ff. In an anecdote told in defense of
modern poetry, Horace recalls that Orbilius thrashed his students
for the slightest of errors in reciting from the old Latin poet
Livius Andronicus (3rd c. B.C.). It may be of interest that
Picander quotes from this same Epistle in the PT to BWV 193a. In
the second variant in the OP "Birolius" appears to be a clever
anagram for "Orbilius." The names Hortensius and Orbilius are
associated with the kind of stylistic controversy which must lie
behind the Picander-Bach satire. © Copyright Z. Philip Ambrose |