Ach Gott, wie manches Herzeleid, BWV 3

Ach Gott, wie manches Herzeleid BWV 3
Chorale cantata by J. S. Bach
Thomaskirche, Leipzig 1885
Occasion	Second Sunday after Epiphany
Performed	14 January 1725 (1725-01-14): Leipzig
Movements	6
Cantata text	anonymous
Chorale	"Ach Gott, wie manches Herzeleid" by Martin Moller
Vocal	SATB soloists and choir
Instrumental	horn trombone 2 oboes d'amore 2 violins viola continuo

Ach Gott, wie manches Herzeleid (Oh God, how much heartache),BWV 3, is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. He composed the chorale cantata in Leipzig for the Second Sunday after Epiphany and first performed it on 14 January 1725. It is based on the hymn published by Martin Moller in 1587.

Bach composed the cantata in his second year as Thomaskantor in Leipzig as part of cantata cycle of chorale cantatas, for the second Sunday after Epiphany. The work is based on a hymn without evident connection to the prescribed readings. It is a meditation on Jesus as a comforter in distress, based on a medieval model. An unknown librettist reworked the ideas of the 18 stanzas in six movements, retaining the words of stanzas 1, 2 and 18 as movements 1, 2 and 6. Similarly, Bach retained the choral melody in three movements, set as a chorale fantasia in the opening chorus with the bass singing the cantus firmus, as a four-part setting with interspersed recitatives in the second movement, and in the closing chorale. He scored the cantata for two oboes d'amore, strings and continuo, with an added trobone to support the bass in the first movement, and a horn to support the soprano in the last movement.

Bach composed the cantata in his second year as Thomaskantor in Leipzig as part of his second annual cycle, planned to consist only of chorale cantatas based on Lutheran hymns. He wrote the cantata for the second Sunday after Epiphany. The prescribed readings for the Sunday were taken from the Epistle to the Romans (we have several gifts – ) and from the Gospel of John (the Marriage at Cana – ).