This is among the first-rate cantatas of Bach, though his legacy is almost bizarrely consistent in comparison to other composers. Brich dem Hungrigen dein Brot (‘Bring Bread to the Hungry ‘) was premiered 23 June 1726. It was once though that this work was written for the Protestants who were forced to leave Salzburg during this period, but that theory has since fallen away. The composer was at Leipzig and, and for several months of 1726 had access to church music from the court chapel at of Meiningen, from which Bach could borrow ideas and inspiration. Duke Ernst Ludwig probably wrote the words of this cantata, and the original setting of this text was likely that of Johann Ludwig Bach, who was J.S. Bach's distant cousin and a Meiningen composer. Some cantatas, such as the 39th, written by the more illustrious Bach at this time sometimes clearly reveal the influence of these earlier-written scores. This style of the elder Bach, and the general construction of the work as a whole is often referred to as the Mannheim pattern. Brich dem Hungrigen dein Brot adheres to this style. The scheme of the score is divided into two parts, each beginning with a line biblical text. Opening with a movement based on a line from the Old Testament (Isaiah 58: 7-8) followed by recitative and aria. The second part starts with a New Testament line—Hebrew 13: 16—followed by aria (two of them), recitative, and concluded by a chorus. Within this framework, Bach manages to generate a richness of colour and polyphony that far exceeds the original, and the touches of variety make for a constant newness within a strict framework. For example, each aria is sung in a different vocal range. The same is true for recitatives, and the instrumentation of each movement varies. It is a gorgeous, edifying work.

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