BWV 29
| Wir danken dir, Gott, wir danken dir | |
|---|---|
| BWV 29 | |
| Sacred cantata by J. S. Bach | |
First page of the autograph manuscript of the organ obbligato part in the opening Sinfonia
|
|
| Related |
|
| Occasion | Ratswechsel |
| Performed | 27 August 1731: Leipzig |
| Movements | 8 |
| Cantata text | anonymous |
| Bible text | |
| Chorale | "Nun lob, mein Seel, den Herren" by Johann Gramann |
| Vocal | SATB choir and solo |
| Instrumental |
|
Wir danken dir, Gott, wir danken dir (We thank you, God, we thank you),BWV 29, is a sacred cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. He composed it in Leipzig in 1731 for Ratswechsel, the annual inauguration of a new town council, and first performed it on 27 August of that year. The cantata was part of a festive service in the Nikolaikirche. The cantata text by an unknown author includes in movement 2 the beginning of Psalm 75, and as the closing chorale the fifth stanza of Johann Gramann's "Nun lob, mein Seel, den Herren". Bach scored the work in eight movements for four vocal parts and a festive Baroque orchestra of three trumpets, timpani, two oboes, strings, an obbligato organ and basso continuo. The organ dominates the first movement Sinfonia which Bach derived from a Partita for violin. The full orchestra accompanies the first choral movement and plays with the voices in the closing chorale, while a sequence of three arias alternating with two recitatives is scored intimately.
Bach used the music from the choral movement for both the Gratias agimus tibi and Dona nobis pacem of his Mass in B minor.
Bach composed the cantata in 1731 for Ratswechsel, the inauguration of the new town council, which was celebrated annually in a festive service in the Nikolaikirche on the Monday following the feast day of St. Bartholomew (24 August). It was not a democratic election, but a "ceremonial transfer of office" of council members who were appointed. The service was not part of the liturgical year with cantata texts related to prescribed biblical epistle and gospel readings. For the same occasion, Bach had already written the cantata Preise, Jerusalem, den Herrn, BWV 119, in his first year in Leipzig, 1723. For the Ratswechsel service, he could count on the entire council (his employer) listening, probably also civil servants and representatives of the Elector's administration for the region. The musicologist Klaus Hofmann notes: "It was an opportunity for Bach to show how sacred music was flourishing under his direction and to present himself as a composer."
...
Wikipedia