Bach's Cantata No. 77 "Du sollt Gott, deinen Herren, lieben" (Love your God, the Lord) (BWV 77) was composed for the Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity, which fell on August 22, 1723. It sets a text by an anonymous librettist based on the line from the Gospel According to St. Luke 10:27 that furnishes the text for its opening movement and ending with a setting of a chorale by David Denicke from 1657. The cantata is scored for bass, soprano, tenor and alto soloists, chorus, a pair of oboes, strings, and basso continuo and an obbligato tromba da tirarsi in the first, fifth, and sixth movements. "Du sollt Gott, deinen Herren, lieben" is in G major with its first and fourth movements in the tonic, its second movement in the subdominant of C major, its third movement in the minor supertonic of A minor, its fifth movement in the minor dominant of D minor, and its sixth movement in the major dominant of D major. The first movement, a choral fantasia for full forces, is an amazing example of Bach's mastery of musical symbolism: the outer voices of trumpet and bass are in canon, the bass in long note values (God's law), and the trumpet enters ten times above it in shorter note values (the "Ten Commandments," man's law), while the central voices imitate, invert, and reverse the canons. The second movement is a brief secco recitative for soloist and continuo. The third movement is a woodwind-dominated aria in the form of a trio sonata for soprano soloist, a pair of oboes, and bassoon-led continuo. The fourth movement is a recitative for tenor soloist, strings, and continuo. The fifth is a brilliant da capo aria in the form of a trio sonata for alto soloist, trumpet, and continuo. "Du sollt Gott, deinen Herren, lieben" concludes with a solemn harmonization of Denicke's chorale for chorus and full orchestra colla parte.

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