My God alone this heart possesses
Cantata for the 18th Sunday after Trinity BWV 169, 1726
Bach's cantata "My God alone this heart possesses" BWV 169 is from his third annual cantata cycle in Leipzig; it was first performed on 20 October 1726 for the 18th Sunday after Trinity. As recent research has shown, the text was written by the Leipzig student, Christoph Birkmann. With the exception of the final chorale, this is a cantata for solo alto with, of course, a rich orchestral scoring consisting of three oboes, obbligato organ and strings. The first purely instrumental movement can be traced back to an instrumental concerto, which has been lost, after Bach had also composed the Keyboard Concerto in E major BWV 1053. The lyrical-vocal highpoint of the cantata is the fifth movement, which is also based on the concerto and it shows off Bach's arranging artistry to the highest degree. Among the movements are an aria-like recitative vocal movement, as well as another aria with an almost virtuoso organ accompaniment.
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Additional product information
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Composer
Johann Sebastian Bach
| 1685-1750Johann Sebastian Bach is one of the most important composers of Western music history. He came from a widely ramified musical dynasty, which produced numerous musicians and organists in the Thuringian-Saxon area.
Bach vocal
Ever since Carus-Verlag was founded in 1972, publishing the music of Johann Sebastian Bach has been a special focus for us. In the 2017 Reformation anniversary year we completed the Bach vocal project. Bach's complete sacred vocal works are now available in modern Urtext editions, together with performance material. A complete edition of all the full scores is also available in a high quality box set. Personal details
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Editor
Ulrich Bartels
| 1965
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Songwriter / Librettist
Christoph Birkmann
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Translator
Henry Drinker
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Translator
Robert Scandrett
| 1925-2014
Reviews
... Das Layout ist angenehm und praxisnah ...
Kirchenmusik im Bistum Limburg, 2/2019
Frequent questions about this work
Which situation is the transposed organ part intended for?
Bach planned this cantata with concertante organ for the organs in the main Leipzig churches. These were tuned a whole tone higher (c. a1=466 Hz, ‘Chorton’ [choir/organ pitch] than strings and woodwinds (a1=415 Hz, ‘Kammerton’ [chamber pitch]). In order to allow for this difference, the organ part was notated a whole tone lower (in C major instead of D major). Today, many Baroque organs are still tuned to a higher pitch. In order to enable performances to take place in such churches, we offer the transposed organ part in C major (31.169/47). Especially in a cantata with obbligato organ, the use of a historical organ is appropriate. For all other performance situations where there is no difference in pitch, there is a normal, untransposed organ part in D major (31.169/49).
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