Preise, Jerusalem, den Herrn, BWV 119

As Thomaskantor, Bach served as music director of Leipzig and had to compose not only for music in the four major churches but also for public municipal functions. The Ratswechsel was celebrated with an annual church service at the Nikolaikirche on the Monday after St. Bartholomew, August 24. It was not a democratic election, but a "ceremonial transfer of office" of council members who were appointed. Early in his career he had written at least one cantata for the equivalent service at Mühlhausen. There are five surviving cantatas for the Ratswechsel at Leipzig, and librettos of three more, BWV Anh. I 3, 4 and 193. The other four extant cantatas are Ihr Tore zu Zion, BWV 193, composed for the occasion in 1727 but partly lost, Wir danken dir, Gott, wir danken dir, BWV 29, composed for the occasion in 1731, Gott, man lobet dich in der Stille, BWV 120, adapted from earlier cantatas for wedding and homage probably in 1742, and Lobe den Herrn, meine Seele, BWV 69, adapted from Lobe den Herrn, meine Seele, BWV 69a, for the occasion in 1748. The text was written by an unknown librettist who included psalm verses (from Psalms 147, 85 and 126) and lines from Martin Luther's German Te Deum "Herr Gott, dich loben wir". To suit the event for which it was written, these are all turned into hymns of thanking and praising God for Leipzig's prosperity and asking him to protect the city in the future. Bach led the Thomanerchor in the performance on 30 August 1723. == Scoring and structure ==

Bach structured the cantata in nine movements with choral movements as a frame and in movement 7, otherwise alternating recitatives and arias. He scored it for four vocal soloists (soprano (S), alto (A), tenor (T) and bass (B)), a four-part choir, and an orchestra of four trumpets (Tr), timpani (Ti), two recorders (Fl), three oboes (Ob), two of them also playing oboes da caccia (Oc), two violins (Vl), viola (Va), and basso continuo (Bc). 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. == Music ==

Even among other festive music written by Bach, this work's scoring for four trumpets is unusual. It is characterised by a very solemn character and the attributes of courtly homage music, such as the opening chorus in the form of a French overture or fanfare-like trumpet interjections in the bass recitative. Bach created a work that in musical terms corresponds less to sacred music and more to the type of secular music for a princely court, as had been required of him during his time in office in Köthen. Only in its final two movements does Bach again use simple forms to emphasize the work's character of a church cantata, implying that earthly powers do not last, but God – the supreme ruler – is entitled to have the last word. 1 The cantata opens with a French overture, unusual in featuring the chorus in the faster middle section. At the time of Louis XIV an overture in this style was played when the king and his entourage entered a performance. Bach's music expresses a similar respect for the authority of the town councils. Analysis of corrections show that Bach probably used an instrumental piece composed earlier, and that the characteristic upward run on the first word "Preise" was added later. The text from psalm 147,12–14a addresses Jerusalem, but the Leipzig congregation understood it as their city. 6 A soprano recitative, "''''''" (Now! we acknowledge it and bring to You), expresses thanks for God's gift and acknowledgement of the burden on the people serving as town council, those who did it the last year and those who succeed. 7 A choral movement confirms "''''''" (The Lord has done good things for us). The movement is structured like a da capo aria, with a fugue in the opening and repeat, while the contrasting middle section is mostly homophonic. A long ritornello theme features an "imperious" trumpet melody, which is played four times during the movement. The voices then enter from the lowest to the highest, with the fugal section based on the first phrase of . Additional instruments then lead to a climax. In the middle section motifs from the ritornello are played "above and between" the voices. One fanfare motif appears also in Bach's first Brandenburg Concerto and would later be used in the bass aria '' in the Christmas Oratorio''. The Bach scholar Klaus Hofmann assumes, reflecting its secular character as a hunting signal and fanfare, that the movement is derived from an earlier homage cantata. 8 A very short alto recitative, "''''''" (Finally! Since You have established us as Your people), is harmonically "adventurous". 9 The cantata ends with the ninth stanza from Luther's German Te Deum, "''''''" (Help Your people, Lord Jesus Christ), a prayer for further help and preservation. It is a four-part setting "with the subtlest touches of flamboyance" in a chorale. No individual parts for the cantata have survived; and the score provides only the four-part setting without mentioning which instruments would play with which voice. Hofmann imagines that there might have been additional parts for trumpets and timpani for an ending to match the opening of the cantata. == Recordings ==

The entries in the table are taken from the selection on the Bach Cantatas Website. Ensembles playing period instruments are marked by green background. }} }} }} }} }} }} }} == 2015 performance ==

The cantata was performed in the opening concert of the Bachfest Leipzig on 12 June 2015, celebrating 1000 years since the first recorded mention of Leipzig and the 850th anniversary of the Nikolaikirche. A line from the libretto was the festival's motto for the occasion: "So herrlich stehst du, liebe Stadt!" (So gloriously you stand, dear city!). The cantata was performed at the Nikolaikirche by Ute Selbig, Britta Schwarz, Patrick Grahl, Jochen Kupfer, the Thomanerchor and the Händelfestspielorchester Halle, conducted by Gotthold Schwarz. == Notes ==