Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied

Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied (Sing unto the Lord a new song), for two four-part choirs, makes high demands on its performers—so high, indeed, that Bach possibly intended it to serve as a textbook example of advanced counterpoint for his pupils at the St Thomas School in Leipzig. Yet the motet’s outer movements feel more like choral showpieces designed to demonstrate the virtuosity of a particularly fine vintage of Leipzig choristers. Its manuscript dates from around 1726-27 and the piece may have been first performed to mark the October anniversary of Luther’s Reformation. Bach grabs the ear with a flurry of sibilants at the start of Singet dem Herrn, channelling the first three verses of Psalm 149 into a deliciously complex fugue that conveys his chosen text’s joyful spirit. The central slow movement offers a gentle meditation on divine compassion, with one choir presenting the words and music of an early Lutheran chorale while the other provides elaborate answering phrases. Bach sings God’s praises again in the final movement’s jubilant setting of words from Psalm 150. About J.S. Bach's Motets Church musicians during Bach’s day were raised on a diet of unaccompanied Lutheran motets, simple polyphonic pieces from the early 1600s among them. Bach gave fresh life to the form throughout his career, sometimes to stretch the vocal skills of his Leipzig choristers with virtuosic test pieces for double choir, sometimes to provide funeral music for prominent citizens, sometimes to reinforce the message of a gospel reading or other biblical text. He created five motets between the early 1710s and late 1740s, while three other motet-like works have also been attributed or misattributed to him.