Composed for the Eighth Sunday after Trinity in 1726, Bach's Cantata No. 45 "Es ist dir gesagt, Mensch, was gut ist" (He has shown you, mankind, what good is; BWV 45) is in two parts with its first part opening with a text from Micha (Chapter 6, Verse 8), its second part opening with a text from Matthew (Chapter 7, Verses 22 and 23), and closing with a chorale by Johann Hermann from 1630. The remaining movements are on texts by an unknown writer that expand the Biblical lessons of Old Testament punishment and New Testament redemption. The cantata is scored for tenor, bass and alto soloists, plus chorus and a large orchestra of pairs of transverse flutes and oboes, strings, plus basso continuo. The cantata is in festive E major with its first, sixth, and seventh movement in the tonic; its second movement in the mediant of G sharp minor; its third in the relative minor of C sharp minor; its fourth in the subdominant of A major; and its fifth in the subdominant's relative minor of F sharp minor. The first movement of "Es ist dir gesagt, Mensch, was gut ist" is a typical chorale-based opening movement albeit it on a huge scale: after the whole orchestra's massive ritornello, the chorus proclaims the verse from Micha in imitative counterpoint. The second movement is a reserved secco recitative for tenor soloist and continuo. The third is a large-scale, dark-hued aria for tenor soloist, strings, and continuo. The fourth is a briefer and more aggressively optimistic arioso for bass soloist, strings, and continuo. The fifth is a withdrawn and mournful aria in the form of a trio sonata for alto soloist, flute, and continuo. The sixth is a gloomy secco recitative for alto and continuo. "Es ist dir gesagt, Mensch, was gut ist" concludes with a full-blooded harmonization of Hermann's chorale for the entire chorus and orchestra.

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