One of Bach's earliest cantatas, "Bereitet die Wege, bereitet die Bahn" (Prepare the way, prepare the path) (BWV 132) was composed for the Fourth Sunday of Advent, which fell on December 22, 1715. The first five movements of the cantata sets a text by Salomon Franck's Evangelisches Andachts-Opfer, which had been published that year in Weimar. The sixth and final movement apparently set a text by Elisabeth Creuziger, but that movement has unfortunately been lost and it has become customary to utilize the closing chorus from Bach's Cantata No. 164 "Ihr, die ihr euch von Christo nennet" (BWV 164) as a substitute. The cantata is scored for soprano, tenure, bass and alto soloists, chorus, oboe, strings, and basso continuo. "Bereitet die Wege, bereitet die Bahn" is in bright A major with its first, second, and presumably its final movements in the tonic; its third movement in the dominant of E major, its fourth in the subdominant of D major, and its fifth in the minor supertonic of B minor. The first movement is an extended da capo aria in swaying 6/8 time for soprano with obbligato oboe, strings, and continuo. The second starts as a secco recitative that blossoms into a florid arioso for tenor soloists and highly embellished continuo. The third is an aria for bass soloists with obbligato cello and continuo and the fourth is a recitative for alto soloists and strings. The fifth movement is an aria for alto soloists with richly ornamented violin solo and continuo.

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