Tilge, Höchster, meine Sünden, BWV 1083

Tilge, Höchster, meine Sünden, BWV 1083, is an arrangement by Johann Sebastian Bach of Pergolesi's 1736 Stabat Mater. Bach used a German paraphrase of psalm 51 as text for his composition. The incipit translates as "Cancel, Highest, my sins". Bach wrote his version in the 1740s, slightly expanding the orchestral material.

Tilge, Höchster, meine Sünden is a musical parody of the Stabat Mater Giovanni Battista Pergolesi had composed in 1736. The parody version was made c. 1745/1747, using a German text based on Psalm 51. Bach's orchestration is richer than Pergolesi's original. Where in Pergolesi's version the viola often plays in unison with the continuo, Bach increases the independence of this instrument, thus creating the four-part harmony typical of his own style.

Bach's performance of Tilge, Höchster, meine Sünden, before Pergolesi's work was printed for the first time in 1748, is the earliest demonstrable performance of this music by Pergolesi in Germany.

Bach's version is scored for soprano and alto soloists, two concertante violin parts, two ripieno violin parts, viola, violone, violoncello, and basso continuo.

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