Johann Sebastian Bach Sing now to God

1. Sing now to God Sing now to God new songs of praise,
the assembly of righteous shall greatly exalt him.
Israel shall rejoice then, then in him that made him.
The sons of Zion shall celebrate his glorious majesty;
they shall give glory to his name with their dancing:
with trumpets and the harp they all shall sing before him.
Psalms 149:1–3

2. Aria O Lord, be merciful to us,
without thy help there is no grace
in all of our endeavor.
Now therefore be our shield and light,
and do not bring our hopes to naught,
but be our help forever.
O blessed and happy shall he be
who puts his hope and trust in thee.
Text of unknown origin

Choral As any father pities

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1. Singet dem Herrn Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied,
die Gemeine der Heiligen sollen ihn loben.
Israel freue sich des, der ihn gemacht hat.
Die Kinder Zion sei’n fröhlich über ihrem Könige,
sie sollen loben seinen Namen im Reihen;
mit Pauken und mit Harfen sollen sie ihm spielen.
Psalm 149,1–3

2. Aria Gott, nimm dich ferner unser an,
denn ohne dich ist nichts getan
mit allen unsern Sachen.
Drum sei du unser Schirm und Licht,
und trügt uns unsre Hoffnung nicht,
so wirst du’s ferner machen.
Wohl dem, der sich nur steif und fest
auf dich und deine Huld verlässt.
Text unbekannter Herkunft

Choral

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Uwe Wolf
Translation (abridged): Elizabeth Robinson

The first printed edition of Johann Sebastian Bach’s motets appeared in Leipzig in 1802/03, over fifty years after the composer’s death. This was not only the first edition of the famous motets, but was also the first printed edition of Bach’s vocal works at all since 1708. It differs in some respects from our present-day editions, primarily in the inclusion in the place of the motet Lobet den Herrn of Ich lasse dich nicht, du segnest mich denn, attributed a little later to Johann Christoph Bach. In reprints of the first printed edition, accordingly, this was replaced by Lobet den Herrn, establishing the group of six motets which ultimately found their place in the Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis (Bach Works Catalog) as BWV 225–230, where they long held an undisputed position.

But doubts remain about Lobet den Herrn. There is so much which is curious about this motet, which breaks every rule, so that in the form in which it is known to us, it may well not be by Bach. On the other hand, we nevertheless believe that we find so much of Bach in it that hardly any other composer can be contemplated. We

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