Trinitatis XVI

Sunday 15 September 2024

Trinitatis XVI or 16th Sunday after Trinitatis

15 September 2024 – Today is Trinitatis XVI or the 16th Sunday after Trinitatis. No less than four cantatas for you today.

Komm, du süße Todesstunde, BWV 161, dates from the Weimar period and the others from his first three annual cycles in Leipzig.

There are two versions of the bass aria "Doch Weichet, Ihr Tollen, Vergeblichen Sorgen" of Liebster Gott, wenn werd ich sterben?, BWV 8. The alternate version dates from 1746-1747, and has been recorded by both Ton Koopman and Masaaki Suzuki. I've added Koopman's alternate version directly after the original, performed by Philippe Herreweghe and the Collegium Vocale (on Deezer the original is performed by the Netherlands Bach Collegium with Pieter-Jan Leusink as conductor).

You may recognise the opening bars of the alto aria "Willkommen! will ich sagen" in the last cantate, Wer weiß, wie nahe mir mein Ende?, BWV 27: it echoes the opening lines of Antonio Vivaldi's "Spring" of the Four Seasons, which was published the year before in 1725. Consider it a Bach hat tip to another great composer.

Music for today

  • Komm, du süße Todesstunde, BWV 161
    (first performance ? 27 September 1716, Weimar period)
  • Christus, der ist mein Leben, BWV 95
    (first performance 12 September 1723, Leipzig period)
  • Liebster Gott, wenn werd ich sterben?, BWV 8
    (first performance 24 September 1724, Leipzig period)
  • Wer weiß, wie nahe mir mein Ende?, BWV 27
    (first performance 6 October 1726, Leipzig period)

Extra information

The Netherlands Bach Society website has more information and a performance of BWV 8:
https://bachvereniging.nl/en/bwv/bwv-8/