Trinitatis XIV

Trinitatis XIV or 14th Sunday after Trinitatis

10 September 2023 – Today is Trinitatis XIV or the 14th Sunday after Trinitatis. Three cantatas for you, from the three Leipzig cantata cycles.

The prescribed reading of the day, the miraculous healing of ten lepers by Jesus, is the inspiration for Es ist nichts Gesundes an meinem Leibe, BWV 25. It is a very rich and colourful cantata, which is probably explained by the fact that the following day the orchestra and choir had to perform the 1723 Ratswechsel cantata, Preise, Jerusalem, den Herrn, BWV 119, and that they could use the practice.

Jesu, der du meine Seele, BWV 78, a chorale cantata from the second cycle, is based on a hymn by Johann Rist (1607-1667), a German poet, who may also have written the base melody.

In 1726 Bach was working on his third cycle but not at such a high tempo as his two previous cycles. After performing a series of cantatas by his cousing Johann Ludwig, he then creates seven cantatas based on librettos by Duke Ernst Ludwig I of Sachsen-Meiningen, who also wrote the libretti for his cousin. Wer Dank opfert, der preiset mich, BWV 17, is one of those cantatas, and focuses on a specific aspect from the reading of the day, namely that only one of the ten lepers, a Samaritan, thanked Jesus after his healing.

Music for today

• Es ist nichts Gesundes an meinem Leibe, BWV 25
  (first performance 29 August 1723, Leipzig period)
• Jesu, der du meine Seele, BWV 78
  (first performance 10 September 1724, Leipzig period)
• Wer Dank opfert, der preiset mich, BWV 17
  (first performance 22 September 1726, Leipzig period)

Extra information