Johann Sebastian BachSchauet doch und sehet, ob irgendein Schmerz sei“Behold and see if any grief is like my grief” Bach composed at least three cantatas for the Tenth Sunday after Trinity. We have the works he wrote for his Leipzig congregation in 1723, 1724, and 1726. Of the first of these, John Eliot Gardiner has written: Just once in a while in the course of the Trinity season, with its almost unremitting emphasis on the things every good Lutheran should believe, from the Nicene Creed to the Ten Commandments, the Lord’s Prayer, the Catechism and so on, comes a vivid shaft of New Testament history and narrative reference to the…

Johann Sebastian BachWas frag ich nach der Welt“What do I ask for from the world”(Cantata BWV 94) In composing this cantata for the Ninth Sunday after Trinity, Bach had (as usual) the biblical readings for that Sunday in mind. The Epistle for that day is from the tenth chapter of I Corinthians. St. Paul reminds his readers how, during the long sojourn in the wilderness awaiting entry into the Promised Land, God was displeased with the sinful behavior of many of the Israelites. Believers should heed what must be learned from the bad exampled of their predecessors. Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust…

Johann Sebastian BachWo Gott der Herr nicht bei uns hält“If the Lord God does not stay with us”(Cantata BWV 178) The Gospel reading for the Eighth Sunday after Trinity is St. Matthew 7:15–21, the text that inspires the vigorous spirit evident in this cantata composed for this Sunday. Conductor John Eliot Gardiner characterizes the mood of the cantata as one of “dire warning against hypocrites and false prophets.” The opening chorus is quite clear about the necessity of divine protection: If the Lord God does not stay with uswhen our enemies rageand if he does not support our causein heaven high above,if he is not Israel’s protection|and does not himself…

Johann Sebastian BachEs ist dir gesagt, Mensch, was gut ist “You have been told, mankind, what is good”(Cantata BWV 45) One of three cantatas composed by Bach for use on the Eighth Sunday after Trinity, Es ist dir gesagt, Mensch, was gut ist, is a musical homily inspired by the Gospel reading for the day (St. Matthew 7:15–21). (The entire text of the cantata is here. A description of another cantata for this week — BWV 136, Erforsche mich, Gott, und erfahre mein Herz, “Search me, God, and know my heart” — is on this page) The work opens with a chorus which takes its text from the prophet Micah:…

Johann Sebastian BachWas willst du dich betrüben“Why do you want to distress yourself”(Cantata BWV 107) Composed for use on the Seventh Sunday after Trinity, the text and a prominent melody used in this cantata are based on a hymn. Before it was sung as a hymn, the melody was first published in France and originally sung with a secular text about the plight of an innocent young girl. The earliest known publication of that folk song was in Lyon in 1557. As early as 1563, poet and composer Ludwig Helmbold (1532–1598) adapted it for use as a hymn. Bach employed the melody in three of his cantatas, including BWV 107,…

Johann Sebastian BachEs ist das Heil uns kommen her“Salvation has come to us”(Cantata BWV 9) This is one of two extant cantatas that Bach composed for use on the Sixth Sunday after Trinity. (The other work for hat Sunday, BWV 170, is discussed here.) Two of the movements in BWV 9 use a stanza from a Lutheran hymn — Es ist das Heil uns kommen her — by pastor and poet Paul Speratus (1489–1551). According to the Bach Cantatas Website, Speratus’s “preliminary studies were carried on at a German university. But his great desire for knowledge drew him on to Paris and Italy, where he studied philosophy and law. He…

Johann Sebastian BachVergnügte Ruh, beliebte Seelenlust“Contented peace”(Cantata BWV 170) In the summer of 1726, J. S. Bach wrote two cantatas for solo alto based on texts by Georg Christian Lehms (1684–1717). Bach had already composed eight cantatas that set to music the words of this short-lived poet and novelist. The Epistle reading for the Sixth Sunday after Trinity reminds believers of the deliverance from sin that accompanies their salvation, while the Gospel reading warns of the danger of judgment meted out as a penalty for unloving acts. The lush opening aria of BWV 170 echoes the blessings celebrated in the Epistle, while the four later movements (two arias and two…

Johann Sebastian BachSiehe, ich will viel Fischer aussenden“See, I shall send forth many fishermen”(Cantata BWV 88) One of two cantatas by J. S. Bach composed for the Fifth Sunday after Trinity is Siehe, ich will viel Fischer aussenden (“See, I shall send forth many fishermen”). The text is inspired by that Sunday’s Gospel reading in which Jesus announces to St. Peter that he will transform him into a fisher of men. While most of Bach’s cantatas commence with a movement sung by the entire choir, this one begins with the words of Jesus sung in a long aria by a bass soloist. Notice in the performance embedded below how frequently…

Johann Sebastian BachIch ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ“I call to you, Lord Jesus Christ”(Cantata BWV 177) The text for the cantata that Bach composed in 1732 for the Fourth Sunday after Trinity is based on a hymn/chorale written by Johann Agricola (1492–1566). The five stanzas of Agricola’s hymn comprise a sequence of entreaties to God: “Bestow your grace on me . . . do not let me despair . . . pardon me also at this hour . . . give me a new life . . . give me constancy until the end . . . if temptation now comes, Lord, defend me.” You may read the entire…

Johann Sebastian BachEin ungefärbt Gemüte“An unstained character”(Cantata BWV 24) Ein ungefärbt Gemüte is one of three cantatas that Bach wrote for use on the Fourth Sunday after Trinity. Inspired by the Gospel reading, the text by pastor/theologian Erdmann Neumeister (1671–1756) presents a series of reflections and admonitions on the merciful, generous, forgiving, and candid character of true disciples. As Julian Mincham summarizes the text of the cantata, “The theme is essentially two sided: one part expresses God’s honesty and the positive outcomes that eventuate when the uncorrupted Christian’s mind allows itself to be encompassed by His goodness. The other is the almost ferocious and venomous attack on the hypocrites who…