Johann Sebastian Bach Jesu, meine Freude

Jesu, my salvation,
and my heart’s possession,
Jesu, all my joy,
with what great desiring,
with what deep despairing,
I have longed for thee!
Lamb of God, O well-belov’d,
here on earth no joy allures me;
nothing less can please me.
Johann Franck 1653, „Jesu, my salvation“ (verse 1)

There can be no ungodliness in those
who truly are in Jesus Christ,
those who follow not their passions,
but the Spirit.
Romans 8:1

Lord, thou dost defend me
from the storms around me
and the enemy.
Let the devil taunt me;
let the world affront me;
Jesus is with me.
Though storms crash, though lightnings flash,
and though sin and hell afflict me;
Jesus will protect me.
Jesu, my salvation (verse 2)

For the new law of Spirit,
the law that wakes to life all that are in Jesus,
has delivered me from all the law of sin and of destruction.
Romans 8:2

Yes, though Satan hates

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1. Choral: Jesu, meine Freude Jesu, meine Freude,
meines Herzens Weide,
Jesu, meine Zier.
Ach, wie lang, wie lange
ist dem Herzen bange
und verlangt nach dir!
Gottes Lamm, mein Bräutigam,
außer dir soll mir auf Erden
nichts sonst Liebers werden.
Johann Franck 1653, „Jesu meine Freude“ (Str. 1)

2. Es ist nun nichts Verdammliches Es ist nun nichts Verdammliches
an denen, die in Christo Jesu sind,
die nicht nach dem Fleische wandeln,
sondern nach dem Geist.
Römer 8,1

3. Choral: Unter deinem Schirmen Unter deinem Schirmen
bin ich vor den Stürmen

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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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