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Mit Fried und Freud ich fahr dahin, BWV 125

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Simeon's Song of Praise by Aert de Gelder, around 1700–1710

Mit Fried und Freud ich fahr dahin (With peace and joy I depart), BWV 125, is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. He composed the chorale cantata in Leipzig in 1725 for the Feast of the purification of Mary and first performed it on 2 February 1725. The text is based on the chorale in four stanzas by Martin Luther, a paraphrase of the Nunc dimittis, published in 1524.

History and words

Bach wrote the chorale cantata in his second year in Leipzig for the Feast of Purification.[1] The prescribed readings for the feast day were taken from the book of Malachi, "the Lord will come to his temple" (Malachi 3:1–4), and from the Gospel of Luke, the purification of Mary and the presentation of Jesus at the Temple, including Simeon's canticle Nunc dimittis (Luke 2:22–32).

Luther's chorale in four stanzas is a paraphrase of this canticle, "With peace and joy I depart in God's will".[2]

Scoring and structure

The cantata is scored for four soloists, soprano, alto, tenor, and bass, a four-part choir, two oboes, two violins, viola, and basso continuo.[1]

1. Coro: Mit Fried und Freud ich fahr dahin
2. Aria (alto): Ich will auch mit gebrochnen Augen
3. Recitativo e chorale (bass): O Wunder, daß ein Herz – Das macht Christus, wahr’ Gottes Sohn
4. Aria (tenor, bass): Ein unbegreiflich Licht
5. Recitativo (alto): O unerschöpfter Schatz der Güte
6. Chorale: Er ist das Heil und selig Licht

References

  1. ^ a b Dürr, Alfred (1971). Die Kantaten von Johann Sebastian Bach (in German). Vol. 1. Bärenreiter-Verlag. OCLC 523584.
  2. ^ "Mit Fried und Freud / Text and Translation of Chorale". bach-cantatas.com. 2005. Retrieved 26 January 2012.

Sources

The first source is the score.

General sources are found for the Bach cantatas. Several databases provide additional information on each single cantata:

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