This cantata would have been sung during the Advent season. The basis for the text as well as most of the melodic material for the soprano comes from the ninth and tenth verses of Martin Luther's chorale, Nun Freut euch lieben Christen g'mein. The work is scored for soprano, violin, viola da gamba, and continuo. The viola da gamba is used as a free-standing solo instrument rather than as a continuo instrument. Both the violin and viola da gamba parts frequently engage in double-stopped textures, sometimes at the same time, so that occasionally only two instruments create a four-part string texture. The soprano sings an ornamented and often rhythmically altered version of the chorale against a polyphonic web in the string parts, creating a piece not unlike Buxtehude's organ chorale preludes.

© All Music Guide

Portions of Content Provided by All Music Guide.
© 2008 All Media Guide, LLC. All Music Guide is a registered trademark of All Media Guide, LLC.