Composed for the Second Sunday after Easter, which fell on April 23, 1724, Bach's Cantata No. 104 "Du Hirte Israel, höre" (You shepherd of Israel, hear us) (BWV 104) sets an anonymous text starting with a verse from Psalm 80 and ending with a chorale hymn by Kornelius Becker from 1598. As a musical sermon based on the Gospel according to John 10, 12-16, the story of the Good Shepherd, Bach uses all the panoply of pastoral images: a piping trio of oboes, tripping triplets in triple time, drone basses, and many examples of specific depiction of the text. The cantata is scored for tenor and bass soloists, chorus, a pair of oboes plus taille, strings, and basso continuo. "Du Hirte Israel, höre" begins in bucolic G major with its first movement in the tonic, its second and third movements in B minor, its fourth and fifth movements in D major, and its sixth in A major. The first movement is a heartening setting of the Psalm verse as a lilting chorale for full orchestra and chorus. The four inner movements of the cantata form pairs of recitatives followed by arias, the former for tenor soloist and the latter for bass soloist. The very brief and very gloomy second movement starts as a secco recitative, which becomes an Andante arioso in its final bars. The third movement is an ornate tenor aria in the form of a trio sonata with obbligato oboe d'amore. The fourth movement is a secco recitative followed by the gracious fifth movement's aria with strings and the first violin doubled by a single oboe d'amore. "Du Hirte Israel, höre" closes with a grand harmonization of Becker's chorale for the entire chorus and orchestra.

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