Kantate, BWV 147 „Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben“
Johann Sebastian Bach composed the church cantata Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben (Heart and mouth and deed and life), BWV 147 in 1723 during his first year as Thomaskantor, the director of church music in Leipzig. His cantata is part of his first cantata cycle there and was written for the Marian feast of the Visitation on 2 July, which commemorates Mary's visit to Elizabeth as narrated in the Gospel of Luke in the prescribed reading for the feast day. Bach based the music on his earlier cantata BWV 147a, written originally in Weimar in 1716 for Advent. He expanded the Advent cantata in six movements to ten movements in two parts in the new work. While the text of the Advent cantata was written by the Weimar court poet Salomo Franck, the librettist of the adapted version who added several recitatives is anonymous.
Movements
Teil I
- I. Coro „Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben“
- II. Recitativo (Tenore) „Gebenedeiter Mund!“
- III. Aria (Alto) „Schäme dich, o Seele, nicht“
- IV. Recitativo (Basso) „Verstockung kann Gewaltige verblenden“
- V. Aria (Soprano) „Bereite dir, Jesu, noch itzo die Bahn“
- VI. Choral „Wohl mir, dass ich Jesum habe“
Teil II
- VII. Aria (Tenore) „Hilf, Jesu, hilf, dass ich auch dich bekenne“
- VIII. Recitativo (Alto) „Der höchsten Allmacht Wunderhand“
- IX. Aria (Basso) „Ich will von Jesu Wundern singen“
- X. Choral „Jesus bleibet meine Freude“