Trinitatis XVII

Trinitatis XVII or 17th Sunday after Trinitatis

1 October 2023 – Today is Trinitatis XVII or the 17th Sunday after Trinitatis. Three very classic Leipziger cantatas for you, from probably the first three cantata cycles.

Probably, because it is disputed in which year the first cantata, Bringet dem Herrn Ehre seines Namens, BWV 148, was written. The estate of Carl Philip Emmanuel Bach had always placed it in the year 1723, but the libretto is based on a text by Picander which was published in 1725, so there is discussion if the cantata predates the text or not.

The second cantata, Ach, lieben Christen, seid getrost, BWV 114, is part of the second annual cantata cycle, the so-called chorale cantata cycle, because the cantatas were based on Lutheran hymns or chorals. This cantata is based on a hymn text with the same name by Johannes Gigas (1514-1581), a German Protestant theologian, hymn writer, educator and Reformer.

Finally, Wer sich selbst erhöhet, der soll erniedriget werden, BWV 47, is from the last cantata cycle, and focuses on the prescribed reading of the day, the performance of a miracle by Jesus on the Sabbat.

Music for today

• Bringet dem Herrn Ehre seines Namens, BWV 148
  (first performance ?19 September 1723, Leipzig period)
• Ach, lieben Christen, seid getrost, BWV 114
  (first performance 1 October 1724, Leipzig period)
• Wer sich selbst erhöhet, der soll erniedriget werden, BWV 47
  (first performance 13 October 1726, Leipzig period)