Was mir behagt, ist nur die muntre Jagd (The lively hunt is all my heart's desire), BWV 208, also known as the Hunting Cantata, is a secular cantata composed in 1713 by Johann Sebastian Bach for the 31st birthday of Duke Christian of Saxe-Weissenfels on 23 February 1713. The aria "Schafe können sicher weiden" ("Sheep May Safely Graze"), is the most familiar part of this cantata. A performance lasts about forty minutes.

It is Bach's earliest surviving secular cantata, composed while he was employed as court organist in Weimar. The work may have been intended as a gift from Bach's employer, William Ernest, Duke of Saxe-Weimar, for his neighbouring ruler, Duke Christian, who was a keen hunter.

Bach is known to have stayed in Weißenfels in 1713 for the birthday celebrations. He went on to earn more commissions from Saxe-Weissenfels, and in 1729, Bach was appointed Royal Kapellmeister, but this position as court composer did not require residence at court.

Bach appears to have revived the work a few years after its original performance, this time in honour of Duke Ernst-August, the co-ruler of Saxe-Weimar, who was also a hunter. Bach often re-used music written for "one-off" occasions, but this cantata is unusual for the extent to which he recycled it. While he was living in Leipzig he arranged music from two arias for the church cantata Also hat Gott die Welt geliebt, BWV 68 (composed in 1725) and the final chorus for Man singet mit Freuden vom Sieg, BWV 149 (1728 or 1729). Also Bach appears to have adapted the cantata in 1742 as a name day cantata for Augustus III, BWV 208a. The score of that (version of the) cantata went lost, but it is considered largely identical to BWV 208.

TThe cantata was scored for four vocalist soloists and the instrumental parts comprised two horns, two recorders, two oboes, taille, bassoon, two violins, viola, cello, violone, and continuo. Recorders are appropriate for their pastoral associations and horns for their hunting associations. So far as is known, it is Bach's earliest work featuring horns. He is assumed to have been writing for horn players employed at the Weissenfels court, where there was a tradition of brass playing. There has been speculation that the cantata opened with a sinfonia (BWV 1046a), which has similar scoring to the cantata and is an early version of Brandenburg Concerto No. 1 in F major (BWV 1046). The sinfonia seems to be intended for more able horn players than required for the cantata, and may have been composed later.

Source: Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Was_mir_behagt,_ist_nur_ die_muntre_Jagd,_BWV_208).

I created this arrangement of the seventh Aria: "Ihr Felder und Auen" (You fields and meadows) for Oboe & Cello.