Epiphany II
14 January 2024 – Today is Epiphany II, the second Sunday after Epiphany. Bach has three cantatas for you, an early one from Weimar and two from Leipzig.
Mein Gott, wie lang, ach lange?, BWV 155, was one of the monthly cantatas Bach was required to create while in Weimar, and which he performed again in Leipzig in 1724. The text is based on one of the prescribed readings for this day, the wedding feast at Cana. The libretto is from his favourite Weimar poet, Salomon Franck.
Ach Gott, wie manches Herzeleid, BWV 3, is from Bach's second Leipzig cycle and thus a chorale cantata, based on a hymn by Martin Moller (1587).
Meine Seufzer, meine Tränen, BWV 13, is from the third Leipzig cantata cycle, and also has the Cana wedding as inspiration.
Music for today
- Mein Gott, wie lang, ach lange?, BWV 155
(first performance 19 January 1716, Weimar period) - Ach Gott, wie manches Herzeleid, BWV 3
(first performance 14 January 1725, Leipzig period) - Meine Seufzer, meine Tränen, BWV 13
(first performance 20 January 1726, Leipzig period)
Playlist
WBC13-Epiphany II
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Image of the day
The Wedding Feast at Cana (1563) by Paolo Veronese (1528–1588). This magnificent large painting hangs in the Louvre opposite the Mona Lisa, so it's a pity that very many visitors do not pay it the attention it deserves. The wedding at Cana is the inspiration for the libretto for Mein Gott, wie lang, ach lange?, BWV 155, and Meine Seufzer, meine Tränen, BWV 13.