Johann Sebastian Bach
| BWV | 8 |
| Title | Dearest God, when will my death be? |
| Composed | 24th September 1724, Leipzig |
| Scoring | Choir
for 4 voices |
| Movements | 1. Choir:
Dearest God, when will my death be? 2. Aria (Tenor): Why wouldst thou then, my soul, be frightened 3. Recitative (Alto): Indeed my weak heart feels 4. Aria (Bass): So yield now, ye foolish and purposeless sorrows 5. Recitative (Soprano): Then seize, O world, all my possessions 6. Chorale: Ruler over death and living |
| Category | Spiritual Cantata |
| Event | Sixteenth Sunday after Trinity |
| Author of text | Kaspar Neumann about 1700 |
| Text 1. Choir: Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass Horn Travers flute Oboe d`amore I + II Violin I + II Viola Basso continuo |
Dearest God, when will my death be? Now my days run ever on, And the heirs of the old Adam, In whose number I, too, am, Have this for their legacy, That they for a little while, Poor and wretched, earth inhabit And then are with earth united. |
| 2. Aria: Tenor solo Oboe d`amore Basso continuo |
Why wouldst thou then, my soul, be frightened If that my final hour should strike? Each day my body draweth earthward, And there it must its rest discover Where are so many thousands laid. |
| 3. Recitative: Alto solo Violin I + II Viola Basso continuo |
Indeed my weak heart feels Fear, worry, pain: Where will my body rest discover? Who will my soul that day From its confining yoke of sin Bring freedom and deliverance? My goods will be dispersed, And whither will then all my loved ones Amid their sad despair Be torn and banished? |
| 4. Aria: Bass solo Travers flute Violin I + II Viola Basso continuo |
So yield now, ye foolish and purposeless sorrows! My Jesus doth call me: who would then not go? Nought which I desire Doth this world possess. Appear to me, blessed, exuberant morning, Transfigured in glory to Jesus I'll come. |
| 5. Recitative: Soprano solo Basso continuo |
Then seize, O world, all my possessions! Thou takest e'en my flesh and this my body, So take as well my poverty; Enough, that I from God's abundant store The highest wealth am yet to have, Enough, that there I rich and blest shall be. However, what shall I inherit Except my God's paternal love? It is, yea, ev'ry morning new (1.) And cannot perish. |
| 6. Chorale: Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass Horn Travers flute Oboe d`amore I + II Violin I + II Viola Basso continuo |
Ruler over death and living, |
| Epistle | Ephesians 3: 13-21 |
| Gospel | Luke 7: 11-17 |
| Bibletext | 1. Lamentations 3:23 |
| YouTube | Video 1; Gustav Leonhardt, 1. Choir; 2. Aria Video 2; Gustav Leonhardt, 3. Recitative; 4. Aria; 5. Recitative; 6. Chorale |
| Manuscript | Thomasschool, Leipzig; Bibliotheque Royal, Brüssel; Johann Sebastian Bach Institute, Göttingen; Bodleian library, Oxford; Estate Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy; University library, Warszawa; Bach Archive, Leipzig; Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris; Bibiltiothèque du Conservatoire, Paris |