Herr Jesu Christ, du höchstes Gut, BWV 113
| Herr Jesu Christ, du höchstes Gut | |
|---|---|
| BWV 113 | |
| Chorale cantata by J. S. Bach | |
Fresco of Pharisee and tax collector
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| Occasion | Eleventh Sunday after Trinity |
| Performed | 20 August 1724: Leipzig |
| Movements | 8 |
| Cantata text | anonymous |
| Chorale | "Herr Jesu Christ, du höchstes Gut" by Bartholomäus Ringwaldt |
| Vocal | SATB choir and solo |
| Instrumental |
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Herr Jesu Christ, du höchstes Gut (Lord Jesus Christ, O highest good),BWV 113, is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. He composed the chorale cantata in Leipzig for the eleventh Sunday after Trinity and first performed it on 20 August 1724. It is based on the hymn by Bartholomäus Ringwaldt (1588).
Bach composed the cantata in Leipzig for the Eleventh Sunday after Trinity as part of his second cantata cycle and first performed it on 20 August 1724. The prescribed readings for the Sunday were from the First Epistle to the Corinthians, on the gospel of Christ and his (Paul's) duty as an apostle (), and from the Gospel of Luke, the parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector ().
The text of the cantata is based on the eight stanzas of Bartholomäus Ringwaldt's hymn (1588), a song of penitence related to the tax collector's prayer "Herr, sei mir armem Sünder gnädig" (God be merciful to me a sinner). The melody is also attributed to Ringwaldt. An unknown poet kept the words unchanged in movements 1, 2, 4 and 8, but inserted recitative in movement 4. He transcribed the ideas of the remaining stanzas to arias and a recitative, keeping the beginning of stanzas 3 and 7. He treated stanzas 5 and 6 most freely, including ideas from the epistle such as the promise of mercy, which is only asked, not promised, in the chorale. He refers to several verses from different gospels to underscore that thought, in both 5 and 6, (parallel ) in 5, and in 6, paraphrased as "Er ruft: Kommt her zu mir, die ihr mühselig und beladen" (He calls: come here to Me, you who are weary and burdened). The last verse also appears in Handel's Messiah, turned in the third person: "Come unto Him, all ye that labour", in the soprano section of He shall feed His flock like a shepherd.
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