Text
Christiane Mariana von Ziegler (1695–1760),
including a verse by Samuel Liscow (1675; movement 1)
and Jn. 3:18 (movement 5)

First performance
21 May 1725

Cantata BWV 68, written for the Second Day of Pentecost in 1725, belongs to a group of sacred works that Bach composed in the period between Easter, when he suspended work on his chorale cantata cycle, and the First Sunday after Trinity, when he commenced his new annual cantata cycle. As with most libretti in this group of nine works, the poet Christiane Mariane von Ziegler links the Gospel of John with her own recitatives and arias. Nonetheless, because the biblical passage employed is a rhymed hymn verse by Salomon Liscov (1675), the cantata conforms to the same structure as the chorale cantatas of 1724/25.

The introductory chorus, a measured siciliano ritornello in 12⁄8 time, is a bittersweet “music of faith” that stresses the connection between Christ’s birth and crucifixion as well as faith and redemption. In this setting, the highly expressive gestures and abundant pre-imitations of the lower vocal parts lend additional support to the soprano melody (doubled by horn). In these sustained lines, restrained grandeur and muted sorrow meld as perfectly as the style alternates between choral aria and cantus-firmus motet.

After this weighty music of deliverance, the following F major aria setting appears all the more light and friendly. Indeed, some listeners may even detect a distinctly feminine tone in the soothing warmth and at times gallant style that exudes from the combination of joyous text, agile soprano lines and sonorous string cantilena. The second section, a trio with obbligato violin and oboe, evolves naturally from the flowing energy of the vocal aria; listeners unaware that this charming setting is a parody of a movement from Bach’s Hunt Cantata (1713) are unlikely to note the connection.

The following bass recitative, despite its brevity, is replete with momentous theological content. Although the opening reference to Peter’s contradictory reactions during the Passion of Christ is somewhat obscure, the noble-minded declaration and the exquisite modulation in the ensuing bars decidedly proclaim the joy to be found in the promise of Jesus and in his consoling presence as a mediator between God and humankind.

The gentle, reedy timbre of the ensuing bass aria with three oboes evokes pastoral associations that, in keeping with the overture-like style of the setting, serve as a reminder of the healing birth of the King of Heaven. In this movement, Bach successfully reworks Pan’s aria from the Hunt Cantata to realise a vocally brilliant and compositionally distinctive setting whose middle section skilfully illustrates both the shattering of the Earth and the faithful prayer that banishes all of Satan’s persuasion.

While Bach’s chorale cantatas generally conclude with a four-part chorale setting, Ziegler’s libretto, which ends with a further quotation from the Gospel (John 3:18), presents a totally different challenge for the composer: true to the Evangelist’s fundamental distinction between the faithful and the damned, the text juxtaposes two contradictory statements. This inspired Bach to compose an extended double fugue whose motet-like form and doubling with trombones and cornett evokes an archaic tone, thus imbuing the setting with an eschatological solemnity that even the chiselled cadences of the brilliant closing phrase fail to lift.