Warum betrübst du dich, mein Herz

Some of Bach’s cantatas contain more darkness than light, but Warum betrübst du dich, mein Herz? (Why trouble yourself, my heart?) charts the ultimately rewarding journey of the beleaguered soul from deep distress to eventual solidity of faith and trust in God. First heard in 1723, it’s an original, experimental work, often simultaneously old-fashioned in the archaic motet-like style of some of the choral writing, and cutting-edge in the dramatic way passages of anxious questioning from the solo voices (recitative) are answered by the chorus in the reassuring words of a well-known hymn (chorale). This powerful scene (“Er kann und will dich lassen nicht”) is the spiritual turning point of the work, and the growing faith that God will indeed come to the believer’s rescue is solidified in the following tenor recitative “Ach, süsser Trost”. The cantata ends joyously with the return of the reassuring hymn heard earlier, now intricately elaborated and buoyed up by a brilliant orchestral accompaniment. 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.