He who loves me, he will keep my saying (I) Cantata for the 1st day of Pentecost by Johann Sebastian Bach 4-Part - Sheet Music

SB vocal soli, SATB choir, 2 trumpets, timpani, 2 violin, viola, basso continuo (Soli SB, Coro SATB, 2 Tr, Timp, Vl solo, 2 Vl, Va, Bc) - Grade 3

SKU: CA.3105900

Cantata for the 1st day of Pentecost. Composed by Johann Sebastian Bach. Edited by Reinhold Kubik. Arranged by Reinhold Kubik. This edition: Paperbound. Carus digital: Sheet music as PDF. Sacred vocal music, Cantatas, Whitsun, Reformation day. Full score. Composed 1723. BWV 59. 40 pages. Duration 14 minutes. Carus Verlag #CV 31.059/00. Published by Carus Verlag (CA.3105900).

ISBN 9790007043278. 8.27 x 11.69 inches. Key: C major. Language: German/English. Text: Erdmann Neumeister.

Some mystery surrounds the genesis of the cantata Wer mich liebet, der wird mein Wort halten (He who loves me, he will keep my sayings), BWV 59. Although the surviving parts attest to a performance on Whit Sunday in 1724, the score was in fact written well before the move to Leipzig, giving rise to the assumption that Bach had already performed the cantata at the city’s University Church before taking up his post as Thomaskantor. In any case, the cantata, based on a text by Erdmann Neumeister and with only four movements, is decidedly in the chamber-music style, even if the opening duet features a suitably festive ensemble for such a major holy day, namely with trumpets and timpani. The chorale – the only choral movement – appears as the 3rd movement (following an accompagnato). The cantata ends with an aria for solo violin, bass and basso continuo. Apart from the accompagnato, Bach reused all movements in later sacred cantatas. This may indicate that the composer (or his listeners?) was ultimately unsatisfied by the unusual form; yet this is precisely the reason why we regard it today as one of the very special cantatas.