Johann Sebastian Bach Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott

1. Choral A mighty fortress is our God,
a stronghold never failing.
He helps us when with troubles fraught
and freely grants his caring.
The evil enemy,
attacks us with glee
his weapons are cruel,
treachery would rule,
on earth is none beside him.

2. Aria (Soprano e Basso) All those born of God are praising
and in victory rejoicing.

With all our strength is nothing done,
for soon we are defeated.
For us the right defense has come,
whom God himself selected.

Those who by the blood of Christ

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1. Choral Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott,
ein gute Wehr und Waffen.
Er hilft uns frei aus aller Not,
die uns itzt hat betroffen.
Der alte böse Feind,
mit Ernst ers itzt meint;
groß Macht und viel List
sein grausam Rüstung ist,
auf Erd ist nicht seinsgleichen.

2. Aria (Soprano e Basso) Alles, was von Gott geboren,
ist zum Siegen auserkoren.

Mit unser Macht ist nichts getan,
wir sind gar bald verloren.
Es streit’ vor uns der rechte Mann,
den Gott selbst hat erkoren.

Wer bei Christi Blutpanier

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No hymn is as closely associated with the figure of Martin Luther and the Reformation as Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott. The hymn which Luther wrote in 1527, based on Psalm 46, became the confessional hymn of the Protestant movement soon after it was written. With his chorale cantata for Reformation Day, Johann Sebastian Bach paid a unique homage to the Lutheran hymn. It is the introductory chorale movement for chorus on the first verse of the hymn in particular which sets the work apart from the majority of Bach’s church cantatas. With its 114 breves, the movement has no equal in its form. The architectural concept, as it were, is unique. Here a four-part choral motet, in which all the lines of the hymn are treated individually in fugal form, is overarched by the outer orchestral parts with a canon on the same hymn melody.

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