Johann Sebastian Bach The heavens laugh, the earth exults in gladness

The heavens laugh, the earth exults in gladness
rejoicing in the child she bore;
the Saviour lives,
the Highest is triumphant,
and loosened from the bonds of death.
No longer is the grave his prison,
our blessed Lord is now arisen.

A longed for day!
Come, soul, again rejoice,
thou, soul, rejoice.
The first and last,
the Alpha and Omega,
he who to purge our guilt
once lay be death imprisoned,
is now arisen from the grave.
The Lord was dead,
and see! again he liveth!

...

Der Himmel lacht! Die Erde jubilieret
und was sie trägt in ihrem Schoß.
Der Schöpfer lebt! Der Höchste triumphieret
und ist von Todesbanden los.
Der sich das Grab zur Ruh erlesen,
der Heiligste kann nicht verwesen.

Erwünschter Tag!
Sei, Seele, wieder froh!
Das A und O,
der erst und auch der letzte,
den unsre schwere Schuld
in Todeskerker setzte,
ist nun gerissen aus der Not!
Der Herr war tot,
und sieh, er lebet wieder!
Lebt unser Haupt,
so leben auch die Glieder.

...

Michael Märker
Translation: John Coombs

For Easter Sunday in 1715, which fell on the 21 April, Johann Sebastian Bach composed at Weimar the cantata Der Himmel lacht! Die Erde jubilieret (The heavens laugh, the earth exults) BWV 31. He took the text from Salomon Franck’s annual cycle Evangelisches Andachts-Opffer (Weimar 1715). We know from printed copies of the texts that two performances later took place in Leipzig on 9 April 1724 and 25 March 1731, and a further performance may have occurred in 1735.

The words are based on the Easter Gospel, the account of the Resurrection of Jesus, which is first joyfully celebrated. Then follows a call to the faithful: every Christian must make the Resurrection a reason to renew himself spiritually, so as to complete a kind of inner Resurrection himself. Thus it is necessary that we must suffer with Christ. Longing for death, the Christian is led by Jesus to eternal life.

For his scoring – which changed slightly from performance to performance – Bach called upon a five-part choir, three trumpets and timpani, three oboes, taille and bassoon, strings (with violas divisi) and basso continuo. The work opens with what is perhaps the

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