Mein Herze schwimmt im Blut

By its very title, Mein Herz schwimmt im Blut (My heart swims in blood), we know that this is an intimate work, exploring the depths of the soul’s struggles with repentance on the journey towards redemption. It dates from Bach’s time at the Weimar court where he was appointed to head the musical establishment in 1714. While some of his works from this period are grand and expansive in conception, others—like this cantata—use modest forces to create the maximum impact. This is one of Bach’s relatively few solo cantatas, scored for just a single singer—a boy treble. The work revolves around three well contrasted arias. The first is a lament, full of unresolved grief, which cannot be comforted by the accompanying oboe. After the more worldly central solo, full of sweeping Handel-like gestures, the work ends on an optimistic note with an aria infused with the elegance of a gigue. About J.S. Bach’s Cantatas Although Bach seldom used the word, “cantata” has become the accepted term for the multi-movement church pieces and celebratory secular works composed in large numbers by Bach and his contemporaries. Bach himself wrote more cantatas than anything else, mostly during two bursts of creativity between 1713 and 1716 in Weimar, and 1723 and 1729 in Leipzig. Around 200 works survive in a wide range of styles but usually including a chorus, solo arias, linking (speech-like) recitatives and a hymn (chorale). Bach probably completed five annual cycles of church cantatas for regular Sunday worship, festivals and celebrations. Because they were occasional pieces for court and public entertainment, fewer secular cantatas survive, though some were later revised for church use.