The cantata is, as John Eliot Gardiner notes, "generally accepted to be Bach's very first church cantata." Gardiner conducted in 2000 the Bach Cantata Pilgrimage and performed the cantata in the church for which it was then probably composed, at Bach's time called "Neue Kirche" (new church), now the Johann-Sebastian-Bach-Kirche. The libretto alternates between biblical verses and free contemporary poetry, which is common in Bach's later cantatas, but rare among his early cantatas. The text of movements 2, 4, and 6 are selected psalm verses, . The author of the poetry is unknown. On the basis of the text, it has been suggested that the work was written for a penitential service.
History and text
Nach dir, Herr, verlanget mich, BWV 150
Nach dir, Herr, verlanget mich, BWV 150 | History and text
On the basis of the text, it has been suggested that the work was written for a penitential service. Sorry. I cannot find the answer based on the context. Bach's original score is lost. The music survives in a copy made by C F Penzel, one of Bach's last pupils, after the composer's death. He scored it for four soloists, a four-part choir, and a small Baroque instrumental ensemble of two violins, bassoon and basso continuo.
what is nach dir, herr, verlanget mich, bwv 150?
user
An extant cantata or a piece of music .
assistant
where is this music from?
user
The original piece is lost and this survives in a copy made by C F Penzel.
assistant
who composed this score?
user
Bach.
assistant
what is the history behind this score?
user
Bach's original score is lost. The music survives in a copy made by C F Penzel, one of Bach's last pupils, after the composer's death. The date of composition is not known, and sources differ as to when and where Bach composed the work. However, the balance of opinion has moved towards a date at the beginning of Bach's career. It is not currently in dispute that it is one of Bach's earliest surviving cantatas. Suggestions for the place of composition have been: The Bach scholar Andreas Glöckner argued in 1988 that the cantata may have been composed in Arnstadt.
Nach dir, Herr, verlanget mich, BWV 150 | History and text
Many scholars think that it may be the earliest extant cantata by Bach, possibly composed in Arnstadt in 1707.
Nach dir, Herr, verlanget mich, BWV 150 | Introduction
The scoring is unique in Bach's cantatas, but was frequently used by Italian composers such as Alessandro Scarlatti. Bach's son Friedemann Bach arranged the work by adding a second trumpet and timpani.
Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen, BWV 51 | History and words
Bach's score is lost, and some parts seem to be missing as well.
Ach! ich sehe, itzt, da ich zur Hochzeit gehe, BWV 162 | History and words
The autograph score is held by the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin (Preußischer Kulturbesitz). The cantata was originally published in 1851 as in the first volume of the Bach-Gesellschaft Ausgabe (BGA), edited by Moritz Hauptmann. The New Bach Edition (Neue Bach-Ausgabe, NBA) published the score in 1981, edited by George S. Bozarth, with the critical commentary published in 1984.
Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein, BWV 2 | Manuscripts and publication
The Bach scholar Alfred Dürr concludes from the autograph that only the middle section of the third movements and the chorale were composed in 1723 with certainty. The other parts may rely on a former unknown secular or church cantata, according to the conductor John Eliot Gardiner and the musicologist Tadeshi Isoyama.
Erforsche mich, Gott, und erfahre mein Herz, BWV 136 | History and words
Bach's original score is lost. A set of autograph parts has survived and is kept in the Bach-Archiv Leipzig. The parts were copied from the autograph score by six scribes, four of them known by name, including the composer. A manuscript score by Franz Hauser, dating from c. 1820–1839, is held by the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin – Preußischer Kulturbesitz. It bears a comment on page 178: "Nach den auf der Thomasschule befindlichen / Original / : Autograph: / Stimmen in Partitur gebracht. / Lp. d 16. Oct. 33. / fHauser" (After the original autograph parts in the "Thomasschule", rendered in a score, Leipzig, 16 October 1833).
Christ lag in Todes Banden, BWV 4 | Manuscripts and publication
Bach structured the cantata in seven movements, an opening instrumental sinfonia and four choral movements interspersed by only two arias. He scored it for four soloists (soprano, alto, tenor and bass), a four-part choir, and a small Baroque instrumental ensemble of two violins (Vl), bassoon (obbligato) (Fg) and basso continuo. The duration of the cantata is about 17 minutes. In the following table of the movements, the scoring follows the Neue Bach-Ausgabe. The keys and time signatures are taken from Alfred Dürr, using the symbol for common time (4/4). The continuo, playing throughout, is not shown.
Nach dir, Herr, verlanget mich, BWV 150 | Structure and scoring
In the following table of the movements, the scoring follows the Neue Bach-Ausgabe. The keys and time signatures are taken from the book by Bach scholar Alfred Dürr, using the symbols for common time (4/4) and "alla breve" (2/2). The instruments are shown separately for winds and strings, while the continuo, playing throughout, is not shown.
Ach Herr, mich armen Sünder, BWV 135 | Structure and scoring
On 10 June 2008 Ortus published the score, based on two 19th-century manuscript sources:
Wo Gott der Herr nicht bei uns hält, BWV 1128 | Publication
Bach revised the whole cantata, writing a new score with detailed improvements, possibly first performed on 12 April 1735.
Ein Herz, das seinen Jesum lebend weiß, BWV 134 | History and words
In the following table of the movements, the scoring follows the Neue Bach-Ausgabe. The keys and time signatures are taken from Alfred Dürr, using the symbol for common time (4/4).
Wer Dank opfert, der preiset mich, BWV 17 | Structure and scoring
Bach composed this cantata for the 21st Sunday after Trinity. However, the score was "cut to pieces and sold to private individuals" in the 1800s; the work as it now exists is a reconstruction. The prescribed readings for the day were , and . The text for movements 2 to 5 was written by Picander. The sixth movement is an anonymous chorale written before 1603.
Ich habe meine Zuversicht, BWV 188 | History and text
The autograph score is lost, its last documented owner being Christian Friedrich Penzel, one of Bach's last students and a copyist of his works. The original parts are kept in the Bach-Archiv Leipzig. They were copied from the lost autograph score by four scribes, three of them known by name, including the composer. A set of three duplicate parts is kept in the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin – Preußischer Kulturbesitz as D-B Mus. ms. Bach St 384, Faszikel 1. They were copied by five scribes, of which three are known by name: Christian Gottlob Meißner, Wilhelm Friedemann Bach and Johann Andreas Kuhnau.
Mit Fried und Freud ich fahr dahin, BWV 125 | Manuscripts and publication
The music in seven movements survives in an incomplete state. Only two vocal parts are extant (soprano and alto). The parts for tenor and bass are missing. The instrumental parts which survive are for two oboes, two violins and viola. The continuo line is missing completely, as are parts for any additional instruments deployed by Bach. For a festive occasion he typically scored trumpets and timpani.
Ihr Tore zu Zion, BWV 193 | Scoring and structure
Bach structured the cantata six movements and scored it for soprano and bass soloists, and a Baroque instrumental ensemble of oboe d'amore, two violins, viola, violoncello piccolo, organ and basso continuo. Klaus Hofmann summarizes: "Bach has clothed his music in the 'wedding garments' of exquisite scoring".
Ich geh und suche mit Verlangen, BWV 49 | Scoring and structure
This cantata commemorates the 200th anniversary of the Augsburg Confession. It was first performed 26 June 1730 in the St. Thomas Church, Leipzig. The music for the piece is now lost, but can be partially reconstructed from , which is known to share some of the musical material. This related work was composed for the "Ratswechsel", the inauguration of a new town council, and has a festive scoring with trumpets and timpani. The words are found in Picander's , Leipzig, 1732. The chorale is by Martin Luther.
Gott, man lobet dich in der Stille, BWV 120b | History and text
The scholar Hans-Joachim Schulze identified in 2010 a remarkable acrostic in the concluding four movements (which he described in the 2010 "Bach-Jahrbuch", the journal of the Neue Bachgesellschaft). Adjusting for transposition errors by the copyist, the initial letters should spell DOKTOR CONRAD MECKBACH and plausibly therefore the work was composed to mark this Mühlhausen councillor's 70th birthday in April 1707. On this basis the cantata may date from Bach's time in Arnstadt. Possibly the cantata was heard a few weeks later after the end of Lent, and thus it may have formed a test-piece for the Mühlhausen appointment, composed in Arnstadt with Bach's supporter Meckbach in mind.
Nach dir, Herr, verlanget mich, BWV 150 | History and text
Both Bach's autograph score and the parts used for the cantata's first performance survive. The score, previously owned by Wilhelm Friedemann Bach, Philipp Spitta and Paul Wittgenstein, among others, came in the possession of the Library of Congress in 1948. The original parts remained in Leipzig, where they were entrusted to the Bach Archive in the 20th century. BWV 648 is a chorale prelude for organ transcribed from the cantata's fifth movement. It was first published around 1748 as fourth of the "Schübler Chorales". The music of the cantata's closing movement is included in the Dietel collection, a 1730s manuscript containing 149 of Bach's four-part chorales.
Meine Seel erhebt den Herren, BWV 10 | Manuscripts and editions
In the following table of the movements, the scoring and keys and time signatures are taken from Alfred Dürr, using the symbol for common time (4/4). The instruments are shown separately for winds and strings, while the continuo, playing throughout, is not shown.
Erforsche mich, Gott, und erfahre mein Herz, BWV 136 | Scoring and structure
In a middle section, the angels are asked to open heavenly meadows, to see Jesus soon ("Kommt, ihr Engel, … Öffnet mir die Himmelsauen, meinen Jesum bald zu schauen"). The aria is scored for alto, two violins, viola, cello, organ, and bells. The bells may have been part of the organ itself.
Schlage doch, gewünschte Stunde, BWV 53 | History, text and scoring
The cantata is structured in two parts, Part I of three movements to be performed before the sermon, Part II of four movements after the sermon. Bach scored it for four vocal soloists (soprano (S), alto (A), tenor (T) and bass (B)), a four-part choir SATB, and a Baroque instrumental ensemble of two oboes (Ob), two violins (Vl), two violas (Va) and basso continuo (Bc). The title of the autograph score reads: "Domin. 14 post Trin. / Wer Dank opfert, der preiset mich / a / 4 Voci / 2 Hautb. / 2 Viol. / Viola / e Contin. / di / J.S.Bach".
Wer Dank opfert, der preiset mich, BWV 17 | Structure and scoring
The duration is given as 17 minutes. In the following table of the movements, the scoring follows the Neue Bach-Ausgabe of the later version. The keys and time signatures are taken from the book on all cantatas by the Bach scholar Alfred Dürr, using the symbols for common time (4/4). The continuo, playing throughout, is not shown.
Ach Gott, wie manches Herzeleid, BWV 58 | Scoring and structure
The score was begun 15 March 1927 in Kassel and completed on June 14; the premiere took place on 6 May 1928 at the Festspiele Wiesbaden and was followed by a production in Leipzig.
Schwergewicht | Performance history
The melody is the same for both hymns and first appeared in Wolflein Lochamer's "Lochamer-Liederbuch" (around 1455). The poet's own verse for the two movements is also similar, as if the author expected the composer to repeat the music, but Bach set them differently, even contrasting. Bach performed the cantata presumably first on 5 January 1727. He performed it again on 4 January 1733 or 3 January 1734. Only this later version survived, for which Bach had added oboes to the orchestra and wrote a new third movement. The surviving continuo part of the original aria suggests a significantly different character.
Ach Gott, wie manches Herzeleid, BWV 58 | History and text
A manuscript copy from the 18th century by Bach's student Heinrich Nikolaus Gerber identified Bach as the composer of the work, and on this basis it was published as Bach's in the 19th century, and given the number 160 in the "Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis". Other 18th-century manuscripts attributed the work to Telemann: authenticated as a work by this composer the piece was assigned the number 1:877 in the "Telemann-Werke-Verzeichnis". It is one of the works that Bach had copied out so that he could perform it as part of his employment in Leipzig.
Ich weiß, daß mein Erlöser lebt, TWV 1:877 | History
It is not known when the work was composed. Some scholars, for example Martin Geck, have questioned the attribution to Bach. In the twentieth century the authoritative Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis catalogue included it in a set of motets (listed as BWV 225–231). In retrospect, the BWV numbering seems somewhat arbitrary as a grouping of the Bach motets: recent scholarship includes more works among the motets. However, "Lobet den Herrn" has often been recorded with others from BWV 225-229. It is the only one of the set to be scored for four voices (most of the others are for double SATB choir). It is also unusual in that (lightly scored) instrumental accompaniment is specified.
Lobet den Herrn, alle Heiden, BWV 230 | History
Bach composed the cantata for a wedding in Leipzig probably in 1729, "in great haste", according to Klaus Hofmann, looking at Bach's handwriting and mistakes made by the copiers. The music is generally agreed to be of high quality. Bach adapted the opening chorus for the "Et expecto resurrectionem mortuorum" section of the Mass in B minor, a composition which is widely hailed as one of the greatest in musical history. The music survives in an incomplete state. There is a fragmentary autograph score and some parts written by various scribes: only the vocal parts, a viola part and three continuo parts are extant.
Herr Gott, Beherrscher aller Dinge, BWV 120a | History and text
Bach structured the work in six movements. Like other cantatas written during this period in Weimar, it is scored for a small ensemble, four soloists, and a Baroque instrumental ensemble of corno da tirarsi (likely added in Leipzig), two violins, viola, and basso continuo, including bassoon in movement 1. Only the chorale is set for four voices.
Ach! ich sehe, itzt, da ich zur Hochzeit gehe, BWV 162 | Scoring and structure
In 2000, the American performer and scholar Joshua Rifkin argued that a more plausible solution of this puzzle is that the author of BWV 50 was not Bach at all, but an unknown (but highly gifted) composer of the era. The suggestion is controversial. The prescribed readings for the day were from and ; this movement draws from Revelation 12:10. Its text is """".
Nun ist das Heil und die Kraft, BWV 50 | History and text
The autograph score and parts are held by the Berlin State Library, which is part of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation. The fascicle numbers are D-B Mus.ms. Bach P 118 for the score ("Partitur") and D-B Mus.ms. Bach ST 58 for the parts ("Stimmen"). It was published in 1863 in volume 12 of the Bach-Gesellschaft Ausgabe (BGA), edited by Wilhelm Rust. The New Bach Edition (Neue Bach-Ausgabe, NBA) published the score in 1990, edited by Matthias Wendt, with critical commentary published a year later. It was later published by Carus-Verlag in 1999 as part of "Stuttgarter Bach-Ausgaben", a complete edition of Bach's vocal works.
Ich will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen, BWV 56 | Manuscripts and publication
As only the continuo part of the first version of the central aria movement survived, it is unknown if the text was also changed.
Ach Gott, wie manches Herzeleid, BWV 58 | History and text
The oldest extant source of the music of the Kyrie–Gloria Mass for double choir, BWV Anh. 167, BNB I/An/3, is a manuscript score dating from the 1730s, which is partially written by Johann Sebastian Bach.
Kyrie–Gloria Mass for double choir, BWV Anh. 167 | History
This work was written around 1736 or 1737, and so may have been premiered before the first known performance at the grave-side ceremony for Count on October 11, 1740. The Count was Governor of Leipzig and known to Bach who had presented a couple of congratulatory works to him. The fact that the accompaniment exists in two versions suggests that there was a subsequent revival of the work in the 1740s. The text is a 1610 hymn by Martin Behm.
O Jesu Christ, meins Lebens Licht, BWV 118 | History and text
The cantata is scored for soprano and bass vocal soloists, four-part choir, oboe, violin, and basso continuo. Because no complete copy of the work survives, it is possible that there were originally more than the four movements now known. In particular, another aria is thought to have preceded the final movement.
Der Friede sei mit dir, BWV 158 | Scoring and structure
Friedrich Hofmeister Musikverlag published the score of the pasticcio in 1997 as "Passionskantate "Wer ist der, so von Edom kömmt" (Pasticcio)". The editors of this publication were Andreas Glöckner and Peter Wollny. In the New Bach Edition the three Bach movements appeared in Series I (Cantatas), Volume 41, edited by Andreas Glöckner. The facsimile of the Farlau manuscript (D-B Mus. ms. 8155) is available on-line for instance at the website of the Berlin State Library and at the Bach Digital website.
Wer ist der, so von Edom kömmt | Score editions
Scores Books Online sources
Wir danken dir, Gott, wir danken dir, BWV 29 | Bibliography
Bach structured the cantata in six movements. An opening chorus and a closing chorale frame a sequence of alternating arias and recitatives. Bach scored the work for four vocal soloists (soprano (S), alto (A), tenor (T), bass (B)), a four-part choir and a festive Baroque instrumental ensemble of three trumpets (Tr) and timpani (Ti), two oboes (Ob), two violins (Vl), viola (Va), and basso continuo. The heading of the autograph score reads: "J.J. Festo Circumcisionis Xsi. Concerto . à 4 Voci. 3 Trombe, Tamburi, 2 Hautb. 2 Violini, Viola e Contin: di Bach", which means "Jesus help. Feast of the circumcision of Christ.
Gott, wie dein Name, so ist auch dein Ruhm, BWV 171 | Structure and scoring
Bach scores an unusual flauto piccolo (descant recorder in D) as an obbligato instrument in an aria contemplating the sorrow of missing Jesus, who is addressed as a doctor who shall heal the wounds of sins. Bach scores a trumpet in only one movement, an aria expressing the joy about the predicted return of Jesus. The cantata in six movements closes with a chorale, the ninth stanza of Paul Gerhardt's hymn "".
Ihr werdet weinen und heulen, BWV 103 | Introduction
Stylistic comparison with other works such as , suggests that Bach wrote it already in his Weimar period (1708–1717).
Fürchte dich nicht, BWV 228 | History
Bärenreiter published several editions of the score of BWV 1127: A high resolution digital facsimile of D-WRz B 24 became available on the HAAB and Bach Digital websites.
Alles mit Gott und nichts ohn' ihn, BWV 1127 | Score editions
The final movement is a setting of the final stanza of "Lobt Gott, ihr Christen alle gleich", a Christmas carol with words and melody by Nikolaus Herman published in 1560. Bach first performed the cantata on 27 December 1725. It was performed again between 1728 and 1731. The autograph score and parts are now held by the Kunstsammlungen der Veste Coburg in Germany.
Süßer Trost, mein Jesus kömmt, BWV 151 | History and text
He scored the cantata for two oboes d'amore, strings and continuo, with an added trobone to support the bass in the first movement, and a horn to support the soprano in the last movement.
Ach Gott, wie manches Herzeleid, BWV 3 | Introduction
"Nach dir, Herr, verlanget mich", BWV 150 was possibly first performed on the third Sunday after Trinity, . The authenticity of the cantata has been doubted. One of Pachelbel's works appears to be referenced in the cantata.
Bach's early cantatas | "Nach dir, Herr, verlanget mich", BWV 150
/ d. J.S. Bach". In the following table of the movements, the scoring follows the Neue Bach-Ausgabe. The keys and time signatures are taken from Alfred Dürr, using the symbol for common time (4/4). The continuo, playing throughout, is not shown.
Herr Christ, der einge Gottessohn, BWV 96 | Structure and scoring
The latter work's music is lost, only parts of the former cantata are extant. Bach reworked the first part of the second movement for the "Et expecto resurrectionem mortuorum" in the "Symbolum Nicenum" (Credo) of his Mass in B minor.
Gott, man lobet dich in der Stille, BWV 120 | History
Bach led the Thomanerchor in the first performance. The earliest possible date is 1 January 1729, but it could have been also a year later or two.
Gott, wie dein Name, so ist auch dein Ruhm, BWV 171 | Background and words
Bach structured the cantata in six movements with choral movements framing two pairs of recitative and aria. He scored it for four vocal soloists (soprano (S), alto (A), tenor (T) and bass (B)), a SATB mixed choir, and an orchestra of tromba da tirarsi (Baroque slide trumpet) (tir), two oboes (Ob), two violins (Vl), viola (Va), and basso continuo (Bc) including bassoon (Fg). The title of the autograph score reads "J.J. Concerto Dominica 13 p- Trinitatis" (J.J. concerto for the 13th a. Trinity, J.J. being short for Jesu juva (Jesus help).
Du sollt Gott, deinen Herren, lieben, BWV 77 | Structure and scoring
The following aria is a paraphrase of . The cantata is closed by the second stanza of Johann Heermann's hymn "O Gott, du frommer Gott" (1630). The cantata is a symmetrical structure around the central Gospel quotation, beginning with the Old Testament and leading to the chorale. Bach first performed the cantata on 11 August 1726.
Es ist dir gesagt, Mensch, was gut ist, BWV 45 | History and words
"Scores" "Books" "Online sources"
Erhalt uns, Herr, bei deinem Wort, BWV 126 | Bibliography
An unknown librettist kept the first and the last stanza and paraphrased the inner stanzas in a sequence of recitatives and arias. Stanzas 2 and 3 were transformed to a recitative, stanza 4 to an aria, stanza 5 to a recitative, stanzas 6 and 7 to another aria.
Herr Jesu Christ, wahr' Mensch und Gott, BWV 127 | History and words
The musicologist Klaus Hofmann notes: "It was an opportunity for Bach to show how sacred music was flourishing under his direction and to present himself as a composer." The cantata text of "Wir danken dir, Gott" by an unknown author includes in movement 2 the first verse of Psalm 75 () and as the closing chorale the fifth stanza of Johann Gramann's hymn of praise "" (1540). Bach first performed the cantata on 27 August 1731. In 1733, he adapted the music of the first choral movement with only minor changes for the of his Kyrie-Gloria Mass for the Dresden court, on a text expressing the same idea in Latin.
Wir danken dir, Gott, wir danken dir, BWV 29 | History and words
The cantata in five movements is richly scored for three vocal soloists (soprano, tenor and bass), a four-part choir, trumpet, two recorders, two oboes, two violins, viola and basso continuo.
Herr Jesu Christ, wahr' Mensch und Gott, BWV 127 | Scoring and structure
The cantata in six movements is scored for four vocal soloists (soprano, alto, tenor, and bass), a four-part choir, cornett to double the chorale melody, two oboes d'amore, two violins, viola, and basso continuo.
Ich freue mich in dir, BWV 133 | Scoring and structure
The last three movements of the autograph score differ from the Leipzig performance parts, leading some to conclude they were originally part of an earlier composition, possibly the lost 1717 Weimar Passion.
Ich armer Mensch, ich Sündenknecht, BWV 55 | Music
Bach structured the cantata in five movements in a symmetrical arrangement of two framing duets surrounding recitatives and a central aria. Bach scored the work for two vocal soloists (soprano (S) and bass (B)), and a Baroque instrumental ensemble of originally two violins (Vl), viola (Va), and basso continuo. John Eliot Gardiner, who conducted the Bach Cantata Pilgrimage in 2000, notes that the scoring for just two voices and strings was probably intended to ease the workload of musicians who had a busy time during the Christmas season. In the later version, Bach added a trio of two oboes (Ob) and taille (Ot).
Ach Gott, wie manches Herzeleid, BWV 58 | Scoring and structure
Bach scored the cantata for four vocal soloists, a four-part choir, and a Baroque instrumental ensemble of different flutes and oboes, strings and continuo. All movements are set in the major mode, in keeping with the festive text, and several movements resemble dances.
Schmücke dich, o liebe Seele, BWV 180 | Introduction
Bach structured the cantata in seven movements. The text and tune of the hymn are kept in the outer choral movements, a chorale fantasia and a four-part closing chorale, which frame a sequence of recitatives and arias, one recitative with a chorale cantus firmus. Bach scored the work for four vocal soloists (soprano, alto, tenor, bass), a four-part choir and a Baroque instrumental ensemble of two recorders (Fl), flauto traverso (Ft), two oboes (Ob), two violins (Vl), viola (Va), violoncello piccolo (Vp) and basso continuo. The title page of the autograph score reads: "CONCERTO. / Dominica 20 post Trinit: / Schmücke dich o liebe Seele etc.
Schmücke dich, o liebe Seele, BWV 180 | Structure and scoring
Bach wrote five movements, a chorus and four arias, and concluded with the fifth verse of the chorale "" by Christian Keymann. Bach first performed the cantata on 6 December 1716.
Wachet! betet! betet! wachet! BWV 70 | History and words
Bach structured the cantata in five movements and scored it for a soprano soloist and a Baroque instrumental ensemble of trumpets (Tr), two violins (Vl), viola (Va), and basso continuo (Bc). The title of the autograph score reads: "Dominica 15 post Trinitatis / et / In ogni Tempo. / Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen. / à / Soprano solo / 1 Tromba* / 2 Violino / Viola / e / Continuo / di / Joh:Seb:Bach". It is the only church cantata by Bach scored for solo soprano and trumpet. The duration is given as 20 minutes. In the following table of the movements, the scoring follows the "Neue Bach-Ausgabe".
Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen, BWV 51 | Structure and scoring
In the following table of the movements, the keys and time signatures are taken from the Bach scholar Alfred Dürr, using the symbol for common time (4/4). The instruments are shown separately for brass, woodwinds and strings, while the continuo, playing throughout, is not shown.
Ach, lieben Christen, seid getrost, BWV 114 | Structure and scoring
The autograph score bears the title: "Dominica 2 post Epiphanias / Ach Gott! Wie manches Hertzeleyd. / à / 4 Voci. / 2 Hautb: d'Amour / 2 Violini / Viola. / e Continuo / di J. S. Bach", which means "Sunday 2 after Epiphany ... for four voices, 2 oboes d'amore, 2 violins, viola and continuo by J. S. Bach". In the following table of the movements, the scoring and keys follow the Neue Bach-Ausgabe. The keys and time signatures are taken from the book on all cantatas by the Bach scholar Alfred Dürr, using the symbol for common time (4/4).
Ach Gott, wie manches Herzeleid, BWV 3 | Scoring and structure
It was first issued in November 1892 with another dedication to Max von Oberleithner, by Doblinger, as well as a vocal and piano reduction score by Cyrill Hynais. The work is issued by Franz Grasberger in Band XX/6 of the "".
Psalm 150 (Bruckner) | History
Bach structured the cantata in six movements, framing alternating recitatives and arias by an opening chorale fantasia and a closing four-part chorale. He scored it for soprano, alto, tenor and bass soloists, a four-part choir, and an ensemble of Baroque instruments: horn (Co) or (later) trombone to enforce the hymn tune, flauto traverso (Ft), flauto piccolo (Fp) or (later) violino piccolo, two oboes (Ob), two violins (Vl), viola (Va), cello (Vc), and basso continuo. The title page of the autograph score reads: "Concerto. / Dominica 18. post. Trinit: / Herr Christ der einge Gottes Sohn etc. / a / Traversiere / 2 Hautbois / 2 Violini / Viola / Canto / Alto / Tenore / Basso / e / Continuo.
Herr Christ, der einge Gottessohn, BWV 96 | Structure and scoring
The entries are taken from the listing on the Bach-Cantatas website. Instrumental groups playing period instruments in historically informed performances are marked green under the header .
Gott, wie dein Name, so ist auch dein Ruhm, BWV 171 | Recordings
Bach composed this cantata in Leipzig between 1726 and 1727 for an unknown occasion. The text is drawn from the work of Christian Friedrich Hunold. Hunold and Bach are assumed to have met, but the librettist died in 1721, which is well before the cantata appears to have been composed. The music of the closing aria was reused in the wedding cantata "Vergnügte PleißenStadt", BWV 216 of 1728.
Ich bin in mir vergnügt, BWV 204 | History and text
The composer revised the score in 1995, and in 2002 devised a minimum scoring for just ten instruments. This version was premiered on 27 July 2002 at the Stockhausen Courses for New Music in Kürten, under the composer’s direction, and recorded shortly afterward by the same performers for release on compact disc (; ; ).
Europa-Gruss | History
The cantata in six movements is scored for four vocal soloists (soprano, alto, tenor and bass), a four-part choir, corno, two oboes, two violins, viola, and basso continuo.
Herr, gehe nicht ins Gericht mit deinem Knecht, BWV 105 | Scoring and structure
As the cantata shares music with other compositions, particularly BWV 120.1, but also BWV 1006 and BWV 137 (two earlier works), it can be reconstructed. On this basis, the instruments can be assumed to be those specified in the other works including oboes d'amore, trumpets and timpani. The names of bride and groom are not known. He has been assumed to be a minister of religion, deducted from the text "" (Lord, begin and pronounce your blessing / on this, your servant's house).
Herr Gott, Beherrscher aller Dinge, BWV 120a | History and text
Bach structured the cantata in six movements and scored it for a soprano soloist, a four-part choir (only for the final chorale), and a Baroque instrumental ensemble of two horns, three oboes, bassoon, two violins, viola, and basso continuo.
Falsche Welt, dir trau ich nicht, BWV 52 | Scoring and structure
Other authorities had doubted this attribution, for example Philipp Spitta, who in the first edition of his Bach biography mentioned Johann Christoph Bach as the composer, but in the second added that "the source evidence didn't permit a definite attribution". "Ich lasse dich nicht" in two movements was found, written partly in Bach's hand, in the "Altbachisches Archiv", a collection of music of the Bach family which the Bach scholar Christoph Wolff rediscovered in Kiev in 1999. Bach scholars now assume that J. S. Bach composed the first movement, possibly during his Weimar period around 1712. The chorale is a transcription of one of his organ pieces and was possibly added in the 19th century.
Ich lasse dich nicht, BWV Anh. 159 | History and context
No composer's autograph of the cantata is extant. The cantata is listed as Fp‑Inc 6 in the Bach Repertorium of Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (BR-CPEB). According to the Bach Gesellschaft edition the cantata was composed for Easter.
Ich lebe, mein Herze, zu deinem Ergötzen, BWV 145 | History and words
The obbligato writing in the aria, which appears better suited to flute than the ""violino"" specified in Penzel's copy, is cited in support of the hypothesis that it was originally written for a different occasion. Joshua Rifkin has proposed the dates 15 April 1727 or 30 March 1728 for the premiere of the surviving Easter version. The prescribed readings for this day were from the Acts of the Apostles, the sermon of Paul in Antiochia (), and from the Gospel of Luke, the appearance of Jesus to the Apostles in Jerusalem (). The librettist is unknown but may have been Salomon Franck, quoting hymn stanzas by Johann Georg Albinus and Martin Luther.
Der Friede sei mit dir, BWV 158 | History and text
/ 2 Violini / 1 Viola / Violoncello. / S:A:T:B: / col Basso per l'Organo / di / GSBach". The duration is given as 22 minutes. The music of the chorale is lost; it may have been noted in a simple setting on a separate sheet, as in the similar case of "Nur jedem das Seine", BWV 163, composed four weeks earlier. For practical purposes the same verse, closing "Ihr, die ihr euch von Christo nennet", BWV 164, in 1725, may be used. In the following table of the movements, the scoring follows the Neue Bach-Ausgabe, and the abbreviations for voices and instruments the list of Bach cantatas.
Bereitet die Wege, bereitet die Bahn, BWV 132 | Structure and scoring
Bach first performed the cantata, on 25 July 1723, at the Thomaskirche in Leipzig.
Herr, gehe nicht ins Gericht mit deinem Knecht, BWV 105 | History and text
Bach led the first performance of the cantata on 14 January 1725.
Ach Gott, wie manches Herzeleid, BWV 3 | History and words
Bach structured the cantata in seven movements. The chorale tune is used in movements 1, 4 and 7, as a chorale fantasia, a chorale sung by a solo voice, and a four-part closing chorale. These three movements frame two sets of aria and recitative. Bach scored the work for four vocal soloists (soprano (S), alto (A), tenor (T) and bass (B)), a four-part choir, and a Baroque instrumental ensemble of horn (Co) to double the soprano, flauto traverso (Ft), two oboes (Ob), two violins (Vl), viola (Va), and basso continuo. The title of the autograph score reads: "Dom: 17 post Trin: / Ach lieben Xsten seyd getrost / a 4 Voc: / Corno / 2 Hautbois / 2 Violini / Viola / con / Continuo / di / Sign:JS:Bach".
Ach, lieben Christen, seid getrost, BWV 114 | Structure and scoring
The cantata in five movement is scored for three soloists (soprano, alto and tenor), a four-part choir, two oboes, two oboes da caccia, two violins, viola, basso continuo, an obbligato violin and an obbligato bassoon.
Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ, BWV 177 | Scoring and structure
She used the eighth stanza of Paul Gerhardt's hymn "" (1653) as a closing chorale, sung to the same melody as "". Bach first performed the cantata on 27 May 1725. It was the conclusion of Bach's second year of cantata compositions in Leipzig.
Es ist ein trotzig und verzagt Ding, BWV 176 | History and words
While the first publication mentioned two melodies to which the words could be sung ("" and ""), the melody associated with the text today appeared first in Görlitz in 1611. The hymn is contained with this melody in the hymnal by Gottfried Vopelius on page 140. Johann Hermann Schein composed a choral setting as part of his in 1627. Johann Sebastian Bach composed a four-part setting, BWV 285, which is without text. It was published as No. 196 in the collection of chorales by Johann Philipp Kirnberger und Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach. Bach's biographer Philipp Spitta counts the hymn tune as one of the few attributed to Bach.
Da der Herr Christ zu Tische saß | History
The keys and time signatures are taken from Alfred Dürr, using the symbol for common time (4/4). The instruments are shown separately for winds and strings, while the continuo, playing throughout, is not shown.
Erhalt uns, Herr, bei deinem Wort, BWV 126 | Structure and scoring
Bach scored the work for four vocal parts and a small ensemble of Baroque instruments, two recorders, two violas da gamba and continuo. The work is opened by an instrumental Sonatina, followed by through-composed sections which have been assigned to four movements. The structure is symmetrical around a turning point, when the lower voices, who contemplate the Old Covenant, are overcome by a soprano calling for Jesus.
Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit, BWV 106 | Introduction
Bruckner composed the song on a text of Heinrich von der Mattig on 19 October 1877 in memory of his friend Joseph Seiberl, who died on 10 June 1877. The piece was performed nine days later by the Liedertafel Sängerbund in the St. Florian Abbey. The work, of which the original manuscript is stored in the Library of Congress in Washington, was first issued in Band XXIII/2, No. 28a of the "".
Nachruf, WAB 81a | History
/ di / J.S.Bach"". The score begins with the line "" ("J.J. Sunday 19 after Trinity, Cantata for solo voice, and instruments"), making it one of the few works Bach termed a "cantata". Its length is reportedly 21 minutes. In the following table, the scoring follows the ("New Bach Edition"). The keys and time signatures are from Alfred Dürr, and use the symbol for common time. The continuo, played throughout, is not shown.
Ich will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen, BWV 56 | Structure and scoring
The unknown composer wrote this piece for the First Sunday after Epiphany. The librettist is also unknown.
Gedenke, Herr, wie es uns gehet, BWV 217 | History and text
The surviving music consists of parts for soprano and alto voices, representing the characters of Neiße and Pleiße respectively. The instrumental forces are unknown, but for two numbers Bach drew on music he had composed for earlier cantatas, which may suggest a range of instrumental colour was called for. One parody source is a duet for alto and tenor from "Zerreißet, zersprenget, zertrümmert die Gruft", BWV 205, a festively scored work premiered in 1725. The parody source of movement 3 was "Ich bin in mir vergnügt", BWV 204, scored for soprano soloist, flauto traverso, two oboes, two violins, viola, and basso continuo and also premiered in the 1720s.
Vergnügte Pleißenstadt, BWV 216 | Scoring and structure
The set has a title page and parts for violin I and II, and continuo. The score for the first movement was first published by Anton Diabelli around 1835 with a Latin text, "Da pacem nobis Domine". The cantata was originally published in 1878 as in volume 26 of the Bach-Gesellschaft Ausgabe (BGA), edited by Alfred Dörffel. The New Bach Edition (Neue Bach-Ausgabe, NBA) published the score in 1994, edited by Uwe Wolf, with the critical commentary published the same year. A critical edition was published by Breitkopf, edited by Eva-Maria Hodel. Another was published by Carus in 2008, edited by Wolfram Enßlin, which also provided a singable English version.
Mit Fried und Freud ich fahr dahin, BWV 125 | Manuscripts and publication
The autograph score was inherited by C.P.E. Bach. The music was not published until 1891 when it appeared as part of the first complete edition of the composer´s work, the Bach-Gesellschaft-Ausgabe. The editor of the volume in question was Alfred Dörffel. Ziegler published the text in a collection of her work, along with the other ones set by Bach. These printed versions are slightly different from the texts used in the cantatas, and this is believed to be the result of the composer modifying the libretti with which he was presented. In the case of "Sie werden euch in den Bann tun" the differences between the printed version and that set by Bach are less than in the preceding cantatas such as .
Sie werden euch in den Bann tun, BWV 183 | Publication
In the following table of the movements, the scoring follows the Neue Bach-Ausgabe. The keys and time signatures are taken from the Bach scholar Alfred Dürr, using the symbol for common time (4/4). The instruments are shown separately for winds and strings, while the continuo, playing throughout, is not shown.
Es wartet alles auf dich, BWV 187 | Structure and scoring
The work is scored for tenor and bass vocal soloists, four-part choir, flute, oboe, oboe d'amore, two violins, viola, and basso continuo. The work has five movements:
Ich lasse dich nicht, du segnest mich denn, BWV 157 | Scoring and structure
"Scores" "Books" "Online sources"
Erschallet, ihr Lieder, erklinget, ihr Saiten! BWV 172 | Cited sources
The definitive version of the score was written from October to 13 November 1877 in Prague.
Stabat Mater (Dvořák) | History
Bach structured the cantata in seven movements and scored it for four vocal soloists (soprano (S), alto (A), tenor (T) and bass (B)), a four-part choir, and a Baroque orchestra of three trumpets (Tr), timpani (Ti), three oboes (Ob), two violins (Vl), violas (Va), bassoon (Fg), violone (Vo), and basso continuo (Bc). The title of the autograph score reads simply: "J.N.J. Festo Michaelis. / Man singet mit Freuden etc. di I.S.Bach." In the following table of the movements, the scoring and keys follow the Neue Bach-Ausgabe. The time signature is provided using the symbol for common time (4/4). The continuo, playing throughout, is not shown.
Man singet mit Freuden vom Sieg, BWV 149 | Scoring and structure
The duchess's birthday cantata was set by Bach (in 1726 or earlier), but the music is lost.
Schwingt freudig euch empor, BWV 36c | History and text
She concluded the text with the second stanza from Paul Gerhardt's hymn "". Much of her text was based on the "metaphysical" readings of the Gospel of John. Bach first performed the cantata on 20 May 1725.
Wer mich liebet, der wird mein Wort halten, BWV 74 | History and text
For the outer movements, he reused earlier compositions from two different cantatas, adding to their orchestration for a festive occasion. Bach performed the cantata again in 1737 and 1742.
Was Gott tut, das ist wohlgetan, BWV 100 | History and text
Bach first performed the cantata on 3 November 1726.
Ich geh und suche mit Verlangen, BWV 49 | History and words
The cantata is, as John Eliot Gardiner notes, "generally accepted to be Bach's very first church cantata." Gardiner conducted in 2000 the Bach Cantata Pilgrimage and performed the cantata in the church for which it was then probably composed, at Bach's time called "Neue Kirche" (new church), now the Johann-Sebastian-Bach-Kirche. The libretto alternates between biblical verses and free contemporary poetry, which is common in Bach's later cantatas, but rare among his early cantatas. The text of movements 2, 4, and 6 are selected psalm verses, . The author of the poetry is unknown. On the basis of the text, it has been suggested that the work was written for a penitential service.
Nach dir, Herr, verlanget mich, BWV 150 | History and text
The entries to the following listing are taken from the selection on the Bach Cantatas Website. Instrumental groups playing period instruments in historically informed performances are marked green.
Erforsche mich, Gott, und erfahre mein Herz, BWV 136 | Recordings
Concerto for 4 voices, 3 trumpets, timpani, 2 oboes, 2 violins, viola and continuo". The duration is given as 22 minutes. In the following table of the movements, the scoring follows the Neue Bach-Ausgabe. The keys and time signatures are taken from the book on all cantatas by the Bach scholar Alfred Dürr, using the symbols for common time (4/4) and "alla breve" (2/2). The continuo, playing throughout, is not shown.
Gott, wie dein Name, so ist auch dein Ruhm, BWV 171 | Structure and scoring