J.S. Bach: Wer sich selbst erhöhet, der soll erniedriget werden, BWV 47 - Church Cantatas, Vol. 80

Cantata 47 ‘Wer sich selbst erhöhet, der soll erniedriget werden’ for the 17th Sunday after Trinity, 13 October 1726, opens with a complex and monumental choral movement in G minor. After a 45-bar instrumental introduction a long choral fugue commences, with vivid illustration at such words as ‘erhöhet’ and ‘erniedriget’. This large-scale movement of no less than 228 bars is occasionally intersected by chordal writing. No.2, an aria in D minor, has a thinner instrumentation with soprano, organ obbligato and basso continuo. In a later version Bach replaced the organ by a solo violin. The energetic obbligato organ or violin part seems to embody the words ‘Wer ein wahrer Christ will heissen, muss der Dehmut sich befleissen.’ The texture of the bass aria No.4, preceding the final chorale, resembles that of a string quartet, with the bass singer, oboe, violin and basso continuo joining forces very much as equal partners in consort-like writing. Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach Artists: Netherlan