Bach Cantatas, Vol. 2 - F. Werner (Erato 10-CD)

designed symmetrically, ürith the change from the OId to the New Testament providing the fulcrum:
Sonatina Chorus Solo Solo
E flat E flat C minor C minor
C minor
F minor
Chorus Duet
F minor B flat minor/
A flat/
C minor
Chorus and Fugue
E flat
The chorus in F minor is the formal and spiritual centre of the work; it is also its most complex
movement. In a fugato which makes use of archaic ideas (Old Testament), an effective, indeed
sensitive soprano line ("Even so, come, Lord Jesus" Revelations 22:20) and a chorale melody
-
("Ich hab' mein' Sach' Gott heimgestellt" t have put myself in God's hand) played on the
recorder are joined together in a unique, intellectual -
and musical combination which fades away
into the second part of the cantata dealing with salvation through Christ. The outer movements are
more direct and simple, and the gentle orchestration (recorders and viole da gamba) is appropriate
to its function as a funeral cantata.
Preise, Jerusalem, den Herrn, BWV 119 was written for the Leipzig city council inauguration on 30
August 1723, in Bach's first year of office there. As had been customary since the sixteenth century
for such services on secular or semi-secular occasions, the text draws heavily on the Psalms, with
some lines from Luther's German translation of the Te Deumproviding the final chorale. Equally in
accordance with tradition is the opulent orchestration (four trumpets, timpani, two flutes, three
oboes, strings) which removes any doubt that the authority celebrated here is really "in the image of
God", as stated in the text. The opening chorus is incorporated into a French overture; the tenor aria