Wir danken dir, Gott, wir danken dir

"Wir danken dir, Gott, wir danken dir" ("We thank you, God, we thank you") is a cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. In Wolfgang Schmieder's catalogue of Bach's works, it is BWV 29.

The piece was written for the occasion of the election of a new town council in Leipzig in 1731 (the cantatas number 119, "Preise Jerusalem, den Herrn", and 120, "Gott, man lobet dich in der Stille", were written for a similar occasion). It was first performed on August 27 of that year.

The instrumentation reflects the festive occasion for which it was written: soprano, alto, tenor and basso soloists, four-part choir, solo organ and an orchestra consisting of two oboes, three trumpets, timpani, violins, violas and basso continuo.

The piece is in eight movements:

#Sinfonia - an arrangement of the prelude from Bach's E major "Partita" for solo violin. A solo organ plays the original violin part, while the orchestra adds an accompaniment.
#"Wir danken dir, Gott, wir danken dir" - a chorus sung and played by the whole ensemble. This was later adapted as the "Gratias" and "Dona Nobis" of Bach's "Mass in B minor". The text is from the 75th psalm.
#"Halleluja, Stärk und Macht" ("Halleluja, strength and might") - a tenor da capo aria, accompanied by a solo violin and continuo.
#"Gottlob! es geht uns wohl!" ("Praise God! It is well for us!") - a recitative sung by the solo bass.
#"Gedenk an uns mit deiner Liebe" ("Consider us with your love") - an aria for the soprano in the rhythm of a siciliana, accompanied by oboe, strings and continuo.
#"Vergiß es ferner nicht, mit deiner Hand" ("Do not forget later, with your hand") - a recitative sung by the alto with a final "Amen" from the chorus.
#"Halleluja, Stärk und Macht" ("Halleluja, power and might") - a reprise of the first part of the tenor aria, but now with solo organ rather than violin, and sung by the alto.
#"Sei Lob und Preis mit Ehren" ("Glory and praise with honor be") - the fifth verse of Johann Gramann's chorale, "Nun lob, mein Seel, den Herren" played and sung by the whole ensemble.

Music Files

20th Century adaptation

The Sinfonia movement experienced a period of crossover popularity in 1968 when Wendy Carlos created an exuberant rendition of it for electronic synthesizer (at the time a novelty) for the album "Switched-On Bach".

ee also

*List of cantatas by Johann Sebastian Bach

External links

*
* [http://www.bach-cantatas.com/BWV29.htm Information from bach-cantatas.com]
* [http://www.emmanuelmusic.org/notes_trans/transl_cantata/bwv029.htm German text with English translation]
* [http://www.emmanuelmusic.org/notes_trans/notes_cantata/bwv029.htm Programme notes by Craig Smith]