Gott, man lobet dich in der Stille, BWV 120

Gott, man lobet dich in der Stille BWV 120
Sacred cantata by J. S. Bach
Nikolaikirche, where the inauguration of a new Leipzig town council was annually performed
Related	BWV 120a, 120b movement 2 base for Et expecto of the Mass in B minor
Occasion	Ratswechsel
Performed	1728 (1728)?: Leipzig
Movements	6
Cantata text	anonymous
Chorale	Herr Gott, dich loben wir
Vocal	SATB choir and solo
Instrumental	3 trumpets timpani 2 oboes d'amore 2 violins viola continuo

Gott, man lobet dich in der Stille (God, You are praised in the stillness),BWV 120, is a sacred cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. He composed it in Leipzig for the occasion of Ratswechsel, the inauguration of a new town council in a church service, probably in 1742. Parts of the cantata appeared in a wedding cantata (BWV 120a) and a cantata (BWV 120b) commemorating the Augsburg Confession in 1730. Bach reworked the choral second movement for the Symbolum Nicenum of his Mass in B minor.

Bach composed the cantata in Leipzig for the inauguration of the newly elected town council, which took place in a festive service at the Nikolaikirche on the Monday following St. Bartholomew's Day (24 August). A first performance in 1728 or 1729 was regarded as likely, but more recent sources such as Klaus Hofmann date it to 1742. The autographed score of that performance is preserved, with the heading "J. J. Concerto à 4 Voci. due Hautb. due Violini, Viola, 3 Trombe, Tamburi è | Continuo". Parts of the cantata appear in the wedding cantata Herr Gott, Beherrscher aller Dinge, BWV 120a and a cantata Gott, man lobet dich in der Stille, BWV 120b for the 200th anniversary of the Augsburg Confession in 1730. The latter work's music is lost, only parts of the former cantata are extant.

Bach reworked the first part of the second movement Jauchzet, ihr erfreuten Stimmen for the Et expecto resurrectionem mortuorum in the Symbolum Nicenum (Credo) of his Mass in B minor.