Schweigt stille, plaudert nicht, BWV 211

Secular cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach

flauto traverso
2 violins
viola
cembalo
continuo

Schweigt stille, plaudert nicht (Be still, stop chattering), BWV 211,^[a] also known as the Coffee Cantata, is a secular cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. He composed it probably between 1732 and 1735. Although classified as a cantata, it is essentially a miniature comic opera. In a satirical commentary, the cantata amusingly tells of an addiction to (or rather dependence on) coffee.

History and text

Bach regularly directed a musical ensemble based at Zimmermann's coffee house called a collegium musicum, founded by Georg Philipp Telemann in 1702. The libretto suggests that some people in eighteenth-century Germany viewed coffee drinking as a bad habit. However, the work is likely to have been first performed at the coffee house in Leipzig.

The cantata's libretto (written by Christian Friedrich Henrici, known as Picander), features lines like "If I couldn't, three times a day, be allowed to drink my little cup of coffee, in my anguish I will turn into a shriveled-up roast goat".^[1]

Bach wrote no operas: the cantata was written for concert performance,^[2] but is frequently performed today fully staged with costumes.

Scoring

The work is scored for three vocal soloists in the roles

Narrator, tenor
Schlendrian (Stick in the Mud), bass
Lieschen, his daughter, soprano.

The orchestra consists of flauto traverso, two violins obbligato, viola, cembalo and basso continuo.^[3]

Movements

Movement	Title	Characters	Synopsis
1	Recitative: Schweigt stille	Narrator	The narrator tells the audience to quiet down and pay attention, before introducing Schlendrian and Lieschen.
2	Aria: Hat man nicht mit seinen Kindern	Schlendrian	Schlendrian sings in disgust of how his daughter refuses to listen to him, even after telling her 100,000 times.
3	Recitative: Du böses Kind	Schlendrian and Lieschen	Schlendrian asks his daughter again to stop drinking coffee, Lieschen defiantly tells her father to calm down.
4	Aria: Ei! Wie schmeckt der Kaffee süße	Lieschen	Lieschen sings a love song to her coffee.
5	Recitative: Wenn du mir nicht den Kaffee läßt	Schlendrian and Lieschen	Schlendrian starts giving ultimatums to his daughter, threatening to take away her meals, clothes, and other pleasures. Lieschen doesn't seem to care.
6	Aria: Mädchen, die von harten Sinnen	Schlendrian	In this sung monologue, Schlendrian tries to figure out what his daughter's weak spot is, so she absolutely couldn't want to drink coffee again.
7	Recitative: Nun folge, was dein Vater spricht!	Schlendrian and Lieschen	Schlendrian threatens to prevent his daughter from marrying if she fails to give up coffee, Lieschen has a sudden change of heart.
8	Aria: Heute noch, lieber Vater	Lieschen	Lieschen thanks her father for offering to find her a husband, and vows to give up coffee if she can have a lover instead.
9	Recitative: Nun geht und sucht der alte Schlendrian	Narrator	The narrator states that while Schlendrian goes out to find a husband for his daughter, Lieschen secretly tells potential suitors that they must let her drink her coffee if they care to marry her.
10	Trio: Die Katze läßt das Mausen nicht	Tutti	All three characters sing the moral of the story, "drinking coffee is natural".

Recordings

Emma Kirkby, Rogers Covey-Crump, David Thomas, Academy of Ancient Music, Christopher Hogwood. J.S. Bach: Coffee Cantata / Peasant Cantata. L'Oiseau-Lyre, 1987.
Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir, Ton Koopman. J.S. Bach: Complete Cantatas Vol. 4. Antoine Marchand, 1996.
Bach Collegium Japan, Masaaki Suzuki, Makoto Sakurada, Carolyn Sampson, Stephan Schreckenberger. Bach Secular Cantatas BWV 210 and BWV 211. BIS, 2004.

Notes

^ "BWV" is Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis, a thematic catalogue of Bach's works.

References

^ BWV 211 – "Schweigt stille, plaudert nicht", Emmanuel Music
^ Cantata BWV 211, Coffee Cantata, Bach Choir of Bethlehem
^ BWV 211 Schweigt stille, plaudert nicht, University of Alberta

External links

German Wikisource has original text related to this article:

Über den Caffe

Schweigt stille, plaudert nicht, BWV 211: performance by the Netherlands Bach Society (video and background information)
Schweigt stille, plaudert nicht, BWV 211: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
Schweigt stille, plaudert nicht: history, scoring, Bach website (in German)
BWV 211 Schweigt stille, plaudert nicht: English translation, University of Vermont
Bach Cantata Translations: German libretto with parallel English translation by Pamela Dellal

Cantatas by Johann Sebastian Bach by BWV number

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1040
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1138.1–1139.1
1140–1141
Anh. 5
Anh. 9
Anh. 11
Anh. 18 — ^[d]discography; ^*(doubtful); ^**~~spurious~~

Lists: Compositions
Cantatas ; Church cantatas: Chorale cantatas
Early
Weimar
1st cycle
2nd cycle
3rd cycle
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Late ; Secular cantatas

v t e Secular cantatas by Johann Sebastian Bach
BWV 30a: Angenehmes Wiederau BWV 36a: Steigt freudig in die Luft BWV 36b: Die Freude reget sich BWV 36c: Schwingt freudig euch empor BWV 66a: Der Himmel dacht auf Anhalts Ruhm und Glück BWV 134a: Die Zeit, die Tag und Jahre macht BWV 173a: Durchlauchtster Leopold BWV 193a: Ihr Häuser des Himmels, ihr scheinenden Lichter BWV 198: Mourning Ode BWV 201: The Contest between Phoebus and Pan BWV 202: Weichet nur, betrübte Schatten BWV 203: Amore traditore BWV 204: On Contentedness BWV 205: Aeolus Placated BWV 205a: Blast Lärmen, ihr Feinde BWV 206: Schleicht, spielende Wellen BWV 207: Vereinigte Zwietracht der wechselnden Saiten BWV 207a: Auf, schmetternde Töne der muntern Trompeten BWV 208: Hunting Cantata BWV 208a: Was mir behagt, ist nur die muntre Jagd BWV 209: Non sa che sia dolore BWV 210: O holder Tag, erwünschte Zeit BWV 210a: O angenehme Melodei BWV 211: Coffee Cantata BWV 212: Peasant Cantata BWV 213: Hercules at the Crossroads BWV 214: Tönet, ihr Pauken! Erschallet, Trompeten! BWV 215: Preise dein Glücke, gesegnetes Sachsen BWV 216: Vergnügte Pleißenstadt BWV 216a: Apollo and Mercurius BWV 249a: Shepherd Cantata BWV 249b: The Celebration of Genius BWV Anh. 9: Entfernet euch, ihr heitern Sterne BWV Anh. 11: Es lebe der König, der Vater im Lande BWV Anh. 18: Froher Tag, verlangte Stunden
Bach cantata List of Bach cantatas

Secular cantatas by Johann Sebastian Bach