Du Friedefürst, Herr Jesu Christ (Thou Prince of
Peace, Lord Jesus Christ), BWV 116, is a church cantata
written by Johann Sebastian Bach in 1724 in Leipzig for
the 25th Sunday after Trinity. It was first performed
on 26 November 1724. The cantata is based on the hymn
by Jakob Ebert (1601).
Bach wrote the cantata in 1724 for the 25th Sunday
after Trinity as part of his second annual cycle of
mostly chorale cantatas. The prescribed readings for
the Sunday were from the First Epistle to ...(+)
Du Friedefürst, Herr Jesu Christ (Thou Prince of
Peace, Lord Jesus Christ), BWV 116, is a church cantata
written by Johann Sebastian Bach in 1724 in Leipzig for
the 25th Sunday after Trinity. It was first performed
on 26 November 1724. The cantata is based on the hymn
by Jakob Ebert (1601).
Bach wrote the cantata in 1724 for the 25th Sunday
after Trinity as part of his second annual cycle of
mostly chorale cantatas. The prescribed readings for
the Sunday were from the First Epistle to the
Thessalonians, the coming of the Lord (1 Thessalonians
4:13–18), and from the Gospel of Matthew, the
Tribulation (Matthew 24:25–28). The cantata text of
an unknown author is based exclusively on the chorale
in seven verses of Jakob Ebert (1601). The first and
last verse in their original wording are movements 1
and 6 of the cantata, verses 2 to 4 were transformed to
movements 2 to 4 of the cantata, and verses 5 and 6
were reworded for movement 5. The chorale is in a
general way related to the gospel.
Bach first performed the cantata on 26 November 1724,
which was that year the last Sunday of the liturgical
year.
The opening chorus is a chorale fantasia, the soprano
singing the cantus firmus and a horn playing the
melody. It is embedded in an orchestral concerto with
ritornells and interludes, dominated by the concertante
solo violin. The treatment of the lower voices differs
within the movement. In lines 1 and 2 and the final 7
they are set in homophonic block chords, in lines 3 and
4 they show vivid imitation, in lines 5 and 6 their
faster movement contrasts to the melody.
The alto aria is accompanied by an oboe d'amore, equal
to the voice part, expressing the soul's terror
imagining the judgement. The following recitative
begins as a secco, but the idea "Gedenke doch, o Jesu,
daß du noch ein Fürst des Friedens heißest!" (Yet
consider, o Jesus, that you are still called a Prince
of Peace!), close to the theme of the cantata, is
accompanied by a quote of the chorale melody in the
continuo.
Rare in Bach's cantatas, three voices sing a trio,
illustrating the "wir" (we) of the text "Ach, wir
bekennen unsre Schuld" (Ah, we recognize our guilt),
confessing and asking forgiveness together. It is
accompanied only by the continuo. The following
recitative is a prayer for lasting peace, accompanied
by the strings and ending as an arioso.
The closing chorale is a four-part setting for the
choir, horn, oboes and strings.
Although originally scored for soprano, alto, tenor and
bass soloists, a four-part choir, horn, two oboes
d'amore, two violins, viola, and basso continuo, I took
some creative license with this piece to construct a
solo Piccolo Trumpet (in A) part and an accompanying
arrangement for Strings (2 Violins, Viola & Cello).
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