As children we knew who was born on Christmas: the baby Jesus in the manger in Bethlehem. But at least since Angelus Silesius’ much-quoted dictum “If Christ is born a thousand times in Bethlehem and not in you – you would still be lost forever” it is no longer so clear what could be meant by the Christmas birth.
I remember with joy the Advent ritual in my family of origin, when my mother “lit the Advent wreath” every evening after dinner from the first Sunday in Advent. At first there was only a candlelight in the dark room. The rosary was prayed and at the end, “Come, your children” was sung. We children gathered around the light of the first burning candle. Who could cast which shadow with their fingers, hands, head and body? Who even dared to slide a finger slowly through the flame? Shaking hands when it got too hot. The mother’s admonitions – and yet we had to try again and again. With each passing day the prayer ritual became more monotonous, but the game with the increasing flames and the more complex shadows cast became more demanding. Finally it was Christmas – and there it was – the child in the crib made by his father under the Christmas tree. It took forever to sing all the stanzas of “O Tannenbaum”, “O du Fröhliche” and “Silent Night”, and then finally – we were allowed to open the presents.
Schoolchildren in the Mattschulhaus Wil with parents and teachers at the “Chranzen”
That Adhering to the Advent wreath ritual has become more difficult. Advent wreaths are still made in schools or parishes, or people buy one if there is no other way. But praying the rosary every day has become rare … and who picks up the son from hockey training, who picks up the daughter from judo or ballet? On which evenings do you have dinner together?
The senior web’s Christmas series on the topic of “rituals” gave me the impetus to look for a new Advent ritual. Perhaps I will let a candle burn every day from the first Sunday in Advent until December 23, as I did in my childhood, but only between the 21st and 22nd hour of the day. Maybe then I’ll hear one or two Bach cantatas from «Bachipedia» and ponder them. The favorites at the moment are the cantata BWV 151 “Süsser Solst, mein Jesus kömmt”, with a reflection by Hanns-Josef Ortheil and the cantata BWV 025 “It’s nothing healthy about my body” with a reflection by the outstanding gerontologist and Bach interpreter Andreas Kruse.
Christmas Oratorio BWV 248 from December 15, 2017, Trogen Church
Can the cantata “Sweet consolation, my Jesus comes” help to clarify the question of the birth of the historical Jesus and the “birth of God in the soul” as asked by Angelus Silesius? What does the first soprano aria contribute to the solution of the question “Who is born where”: «Sweet consolation, my Jesus is coming, /Jesus is born impudently! /Heart and soul rejoices,because my dearest god has me /now chosen for heaven.
Corona-related postponement of a performance to the Olma-Halle St. Gallen (2021)
In the cantata “There is nothing healthy about my body”, the tenor’s recitative begins with the sentence “The whole world is just a hospital”. As you read on and listen, it becomes clear why the world has become a hospital. One is tormented by a hot fever of bad lust; the other is sick of his own honor, ugly stench; the third is consumed by money addiction and throws him into the grave ahead of time. ” Hedonism, ambition or greed for money could transform the “world” into a “hospital” in the baroque era, today in times of the pandemic and climate change into individual burnout and the overheating of our planet.
In his reflections on this Bach cantata, Andreas Kruse asks: “What do seriously ill people need?” He refers to Maimonides (1134-1204), who “differentiated between (I) the prevention of diseases, (II) the treatment of acutely ill people and (III) the treatment and care of chronically ill people.” The following questions arise, for example, when looking after chronically ill people and a planet that has become chronically ill:
- How can sufferers be integrated into a caring community as an alternative to ambition, selfishness and nationalism?
- How can sustainable perspectives of meaning replace hedonism, crude consumerism and greed?
- How can chronic ailment be transformed and healed individually and across the planet using emotional and spiritual resources?
Advent opens up the possibility of practicing suitable rituals of reflection, with and without Bach’s cantatas.
By the way: The JS Bach Foundation has been providing monthly cantata concerts since 2006 and could have performed Bach’s entire vocal works with this rhythm by 2027. Bachipedia was brought into being by the JS Bach Foundation so that those interested have free access to performances, introductions to works and reflections on the Bach cantatas. More information at https://www.bachstiftung.ch and https://www.bachipedia.org.
Further reading: Andreas Kruse: Life phase of old age. Vulnerability and maturity. Heidelberg 2017, ISBN 978-3-662-50414-7; Resilience into old age – what we can learn from Johann Sebastian Bach. Wiesbaden 2015, ISBN 978-3-658-08333-5
Photos: cover photo from pixabay; Photo (Maria Wagner): “Chranzen” in the Mattschulhaus Wil; Photo (HP Schiess): Performance of the Christmas Oratorio BWV 248 “Jauchzet, rejlocket” in Trogen Church, Dec. 15, 2017; Photo (Jelena Gernert 2021): Corona-related postponement of a performance in the Olma-Halle St. Gallen.
