Text No. 1
Martin Luther, 1524

Text No. 2, 3, 5
Erdmann Neumeister, 1714

Text No. 4
Quote from Revelation 3:20

Text No. 6
Philipp Nicolai, 1599

First performance
First Sunday in Advent,
2 December 1714

The introductory chorus presents Bach’s first attempt at melding the form of an instrumental overture with a chorale chorus. This combination not only lent a touch of courtly elegance to the new church year and the entrance of the heavenly king, but also linked his new duties as Concertmaster with his responsibility to compose monthly cantatas for the “Weg zur Himmelsburg” chapel, which was destroyed by fire in 1774. The French influence on the setting comes clearly to the fore in the fugal middle section (assigned to the third line of the chorale), as is clear to see in the marking of “gai” and the old-fashioned scoring of two viola parts and unisono violins. The resulting solemn yet celebratory aura also lends the chorale – reminiscent of a Gregorian chant – precisely the archaic tone that Bach favoured in his organ arrangements of the same early-reformation hymn. The ambitious combination of overture and chorale certainly reflected the revolutionary spirit of Neumeister, the cantata’s librettist, but at the same time, the style also confirmed all the prejudices levelled at modern “sacred cantatas”. Nevertheless, by emphasising secularisation, Bach proved in his stirring overturechorus that new approaches and devout music were not mutually exclusive endeavours.
The tenor recitative gives a brief outline of the Advent story before melding into an arioso setting that appears to observe the “approaching light” of the Saviour through the beatific eyes of a child. The tenor aria then turns to address the fact that Advent signifies the start of a new church year. With the words “Advance thy name in rank and honour, Uphold thou every wholesome doctrine, The pulpit and the altar bless!”, Neumeister, an experienced court preacher and superintendent, seeks God’s blessing for the upcoming period of office. That this requires unity in faith and the will to heed the example of Christ is illustrated by the unison scoring of the strings and the use of 9⁄ 8 time, a metre reminiscent of the Trinity.

After this sedate pastor’s idyll, the recitative “See now, I stand before the door” has the effect of a healing shock: God’s kingdom is neither distant nor abstract. Accompanied by the unusual musical gesture of pizzicato chords, Jesus Christ himself knocks at the door and, in all his penury and glory, requests entry. With this bold shift in tone, Bach transforms Neumeister’s deliberate use of Jesus’ words to an unsettling compositional climax: a sermon from on high in well-turned phrases is one thing, but when Christ himself arrives and speaks, the effect is quite another – and more direct and fundamental than all theology put together. In good Lutheran style, Jesus’ appearance here is not interpreted spiritually, but expressed by reference to the sacrament of communion, thus revealing in the briefest of spaces the actual presence of the living Christ.

After such a compelling Advent message, no further ado is required, but simply the childlike belief of the faithful soul, in keeping with the mystic roots of Lutheran doctrine. This is expressed in a da-capo aria “Open wide, my heart and spirit”, scored for soprano and continuo. Despite its apparent simplicity, the inspired setting reveals in its industrious continuo line a wealth of emotion and joyous anticipation that is essentially peerless even within Bach’s own extensive oeuvre. Indeed, the picture of contentment and beatitude that emerges in just 52 bars is one of extraordinary artistry and grace.