Aus der Tiefen rufe ich, Herr, zu dir (From the depths
I call, Lord, to thee), BWV 131, is a church cantata by
Johann Sebastian Bach. He composed it in Mühlhausen in
either 1707 or 1708, which makes it one of Bach's
earliest cantatas. The text is based on Psalm 130.
A note on the score of the cantata indicates that the
work was commissioned by Georg Christian Eilmar,
minister of the Marienkirche (St Mary's church) in
Mühlhausen. This allows the work to be dated to
1707–08, the perio...(+)
Aus der Tiefen rufe ich, Herr, zu dir (From the depths
I call, Lord, to thee), BWV 131, is a church cantata by
Johann Sebastian Bach. He composed it in Mühlhausen in
either 1707 or 1708, which makes it one of Bach's
earliest cantatas. The text is based on Psalm 130.
A note on the score of the cantata indicates that the
work was commissioned by Georg Christian Eilmar,
minister of the Marienkirche (St Mary's church) in
Mühlhausen. This allows the work to be dated to
1707–08, the period Bach was employed as organist at
another of Mühlhausen's churches, Divi Blasii. Bach
was only 22 when he arrived in the town, but his talent
as a composer was recognised, and he wrote other
cantatas while living there. Aus der Tiefen rufe ich,
Herr, zu dir has been described as possibly Bach's
first surviving cantata, on the assumption that it was
composed not long after arrival.
The libretto is based on Psalm 130, one of the
penitential psalms. The incipit of the psalm, "Aus der
Tiefen rufe ich, Herr, zu dir", gives the cantata its
name. The anonymous librettist, possibly Eilmar,
includes in two of the movements verses from Herr Jesu
Christ, du höchstes Gut, a Lutheran chorale by
Bartholomäus Ringwaldt.
In his Bach Cantata Pilgrimage, Sir John Eliot Gardiner
performed and recorded the work with cantatas for the
Fifth Sunday after Trinity, but is not known for sure
when in the liturgical year Bach performed it, and
there has been speculation that it was written for a
special occasion.
Although originally written for oboe, violin, two
violas, bassoon and basso continuo, I created this
arrangement for Winds (Flute, Oboe, Bb Clarinet,
English Horn & French Horn) and Strings (2 Violins,
Viola, Cello & Bass).
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