J.S. Bach: Tritt auf die Glaubensbahn, BWV 152 - The Church Cantatas, Vol. 178

Cantata 152 ‘Tritt auf die Glaubensbahn’ is one of the cantatas which Bach composed every month as concertmaster of the ducal court in Weimar. He held this position from March 1714 until his departure for Cöthen in December 1717. If Bach indeed wrote cantatas on a monthly basis then some 40 Weimar cantatas should survive. But only about half of them, some 20, are known. Cantata 152, to a text by Bach’s favorite Weimar poet Salomon Franck, was intended for the Sunday after Christmas, 30 December 1714. The work is scored for soprano and bass soloists, recorder, oboe, viola d’amore, viola da gamba and basso continuo, with no role at all for a choir. The cantata therefore begins with a Sinfonia rather than an opening chorus, introduced by four slow bars with richly ornamented lines for the flute, oboe and viola d’amore, and followed by a lively and buoyant fugue. No.2 is a bass aria resembling a trio sonata for bass, oboe and basso continuo; a particular feature is the flood of semiquavers to the word ‘Bahn’