Composed for Sexagesima Sunday, which fell on February 13, 1724, Bach's Cantata No. 181 "Leichtgesinnte Flattergeister" (Scatterbrained and Shallow People) (BWV 181) sets a miserable text by an anonymous writer. Lingering on the hapless, the witless, and evil, the anonymous text is a none-too-poetic catalog of human fragility, stupidity, and cupidity. The cantata is scored for bass, alto, tenor and soprano soloists; chorus; one each of oboe, trumpet, and transverse flute; strings; and basso continuo. "Leichtgesinnte Flattergeister" starts in vile E minor, moves up a whole tone above the tonic to F sharp minor for its second movement, moves to E minor's minor dominant of B minor for the third, moves down a whole tone below the tonic to D minor for the fourth, and starts and ends its final movement in D major with a central modulation to B minor. The first movement is an angular Vivace aria for bass soloist, transverse flute, oboe, strings, and continuo. The second is a secco recitative for alto soloist and continuo that blossoms into an andante arioso a third of the way through. The third is an expressive aria for tenor soloist and piano e staccato per tutto continuo; apparently there had been a solo violin part for this movement that unfortunately was lost. The fourth is a brief secco recitative for soprano soloist and continuo. "Leichtgesinnte Flattergeister" concludes with a powerful da capo movement for chorus and full orchestra that starts and ends with a richly scored celebratory chorus, but has at its center an ethereal duet for choral sopranos and altos above an active continuo while the rest of the instruments are tacit.

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