Johann Sebastian Bach King of Heaven, ever welcome

The cantata King of heaven, ever welcome BWV 182 holds a special place in Johann Sebastian Bach's biography. He had been employed as organist and chamber musician at the court of Weimar since 1708; on March 2 1714, he was appointed concert master of the court. With this new post came the responsibility of performing a new original cantata every four weeks at the church service of the Weimar court. Bach’s opening piece was King of heaven, ever welcome. The cantata was first performed on Palm Sunday, March 25 1714.

In this debut composition, the newly appointed concert master demonstrated his abilities: the eight movements contain a multitude of beautiful and rewarding challenges for choir and vocal soloists alike, and in addition there is the unusual attraction of a virtuoso solo part for the recorder.

Bach then performed this cantata several times – always revising and amending it – both in Weimar and in Leipzig. Of the four versions in total, the first Leipzig version has been selected for the present new edition. Unlike the Weimar versions, it can be realized effectively using modern performance means.

This is the first Leipzig version of the cantata. An edition of the Weimar version, for performances at a1=440 Hz, is available under the number Carus 31.182/00.