2 FEBRUARY 2025 At home, alone, on a frosty and vibrantly sunny morning, I celebrate Candlemas, aka The Presentation (of Christ in the Temple). See Luke, 2:22-40. A ‘principal feast’ in the Church of England.
Mary and Joseph present Jesus at the Temple, as required in the Torah. On arrival they encounter the aged Simeon. According to the gospel, he had been promised that "he should not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ" (Luke 2:26). Simeon then uttered the prayer that would become known as the Nunc Dimittis, or Canticle of Simeon, which prophesied the redemption of the world by Jesus:
"Lord, now let your servant depart in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel". (Luke 2:29–32).
Bach wrote his Cantata “Ich habe genug” (BWV 82) to celebrate the feast in February 1727. I first encountered it 30+ years ago, as part of my unfocussed grazing of the Bach Cantatas. It is written for bass, is (IMO) hauntingly beautiful and with just a hint of the melancholy I regard as evidence (in any art form or person) of having understood something important about life’s adventure.
Simeon has seen the promised child and has held in his arms this infant who is the incarnation of all hope. It has given him all he needs or wants. The encounter leaves the old man perfectly ready to die. “It is enough” (“Ich habe genug”).
You could say that the work is about making a proper accomodation with the prospect of one's death. The encounter fills Simeon with such gratitude, hope, and joy that he is ready for this, when it comes. What a marvellous disposition just prior to The Great Liberation.
Below, German baritone Christian Gerhaher with members of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra
Mary and Joseph present Jesus at the Temple, as required in the Torah. On arrival they encounter the aged Simeon. According to the gospel, he had been promised that "he should not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ" (Luke 2:26). Simeon then uttered the prayer that would become known as the Nunc Dimittis, or Canticle of Simeon, which prophesied the redemption of the world by Jesus:
"Lord, now let your servant depart in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel". (Luke 2:29–32).
Bach wrote his Cantata “Ich habe genug” (BWV 82) to celebrate the feast in February 1727. I first encountered it 30+ years ago, as part of my unfocussed grazing of the Bach Cantatas. It is written for bass, is (IMO) hauntingly beautiful and with just a hint of the melancholy I regard as evidence (in any art form or person) of having understood something important about life’s adventure.
Simeon has seen the promised child and has held in his arms this infant who is the incarnation of all hope. It has given him all he needs or wants. The encounter leaves the old man perfectly ready to die. “It is enough” (“Ich habe genug”).
You could say that the work is about making a proper accomodation with the prospect of one's death. The encounter fills Simeon with such gratitude, hope, and joy that he is ready for this, when it comes. What a marvellous disposition just prior to The Great Liberation.
Below, German baritone Christian Gerhaher with members of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra