Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben (Heart and mouth and
deed and life), BWV 147, is a church cantata by Johann
Sebastian Bach. It was written originally in Weimar in
1716 (BWV 147a) for Advent and expanded in 1723 for the
feast of the Visitation in Leipzig, where it was first
performed on 2 July 1723.
Bach composed the cantata in his first year as
Thomaskantor in Leipzig for the Marian feast "Mariae
Heimsuchung" (Visitation). The prescribed readings for
the feast day were Isaiah 11:1--5, ...(+)
Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben (Heart and mouth and
deed and life), BWV 147, is a church cantata by Johann
Sebastian Bach. It was written originally in Weimar in
1716 (BWV 147a) for Advent and expanded in 1723 for the
feast of the Visitation in Leipzig, where it was first
performed on 2 July 1723.
Bach composed the cantata in his first year as
Thomaskantor in Leipzig for the Marian feast "Mariae
Heimsuchung" (Visitation). The prescribed readings for
the feast day were Isaiah 11:1--5, the prophecy of the
Messiah, and from the Gospel of Luke, Luke 1:39--56,
Mary's visit to Elizabeth, including her song of
praise, the "Magnificat". He used as a base a cantata
in six movements composed in Weimar for the fourth
Sunday in Advent. As Leipzig observed tempus clausum
(time of silence) from Advent II to Advent IV, Bach
could not perform the cantata for that occasion and
rewrote it for the feast of the Visitation. The
original words were suitable for a feast celebrating
Mary in general; more specific recitatives were added,
the order of the arias changed, and the closing chorale
was replaced and repeated on a different verse to
expand the cantata to two parts. The words are verses 6
and 16 of the chorale "Jesu, meiner Seelen Wonne"
(1661) by Martin Jahn (de).
The music of the chorale movements is now best known
for the piano transcription by Dame Myra Hess of Hugh
P. Allen's choral version of Bach's arrangement, and is
notable under the title Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring
which approximately relates to "Jesus bleibet meine
Freude", more closely translated as "Jesus shall remain
my gladness".
Although this cantata was scored for four soloists and
a four-part choir, a festive trumpet, two oboes (oboe
d'amore, oboe da caccia), two violins, viola and basso
continuo including bassoon, I created this arrangement
for Viola & Acoustic Piano.
SHEET MUSIC