Structure and scoring Bach structured the cantata in six movements, scored for four vocal soloists (
soprano,
alto,
tenor,
bass) and
four-part choir, and a
Baroque instrumental ensemble of
cornetto, three
trombones, two
oboes,
taille, two
violins,
viola and
continuo.
Movements The cantata opens with an oboe trio playing an Italianate
ritornello of four phrases, accompanied by the strings; the roles of the two choirs are later reversed. The soprano sings a virtuosic and
melismatic
aria commanding the listener to praise God. That imperative is taken up by the full ensemble in the following movement, a chorale adopting the 'archaic'
motet form in the
stile antico. It is reminiscent of the movements which opened most of Bach's
chorale cantatas, composed as a cycle the previous year. The
cantus firmus is sung in long notes by the soprano while the lower voices add "skilful imitatory texture, partly from new themes and partly from ideas derived from the chorale line in question", as
Klaus Hofmann notes. The third movement, a bass
arioso, repeats the ascending
scalar motif of the chorus. The tenor
recitative is accompanied by sustained chordal strings and concludes on a major harmony. The continuo opens the duet aria with a two-part
ritornello – dancing eighth notes followed by fast
arpeggiated figures – that is repeated three more times during this movement. The vocal lines sing three blocks of imitative
motivic entries. In the style of Italian chamber duets, the voices first render a thought in imitation, "coming together each time for a concluding cadence". The cantata concludes with a four-part chorale in A minor. Gardiner, who had conducted several versions during the Pilgrimage, notes the moving power of this harmonisation of the "prayer for protection and sustenance in the year to come". == Recordings ==