Ein ungefärbt Gemüte, BWV 24

Ein ungefärbt Gemüte (An unstained spirit), BWV 24, is a church cantata composed by Johann Sebastian Bach.

It was composed in Leipzig in 1723 for the fourth Sunday after Trinity, which fell that year on 20 June, date of the work's premiere.

The prescribed readings for the Sunday were from the Epistle to the Romans, Romans 8:18–23, "For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God." and from the Sermon on the Mount: Luke 6:36–42, the admonition to "be merciful", "judge not". The texts are of mixed authorship, with Erdmann Neumeister responsible for those of movements 1, 2, 4 and 5, Johann Heermann for that of the final chorale, and the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 7, verse 12, for that of the third movement.

The chorale theme O Gott, du frommer Gott (Zahn 5148) is of unknown authorship, but it was used by Heermann to set his hymn to music in 1630 and appeared in virtually all hymnals by the end of the following decade.

Contents

Scoring and structure

The piece is scored for clarino, oboes I/II, oboes d'amore I/II, violins I/II, viola, and basso continuo, along with three vocal soloists (altus, tenor, bass) and four-part choir. It is in six movements:

  1. Aria: "Ein ungefärbt Gemüte" for altus, strings, and continuo.
  2. Recitativo: "Die Redlichkeit ist eine von den Gottesgaben" for tenor and continuo.
  3. (Coro): "Alles nun, das ihr wollet" for choir, clarino, oboes, strings, and continuo.
  4. Recitativo: "Die Heuchelei ist eine Brut" for bass, strings and continuo.
  5. Aria: "Treu und Wahrheit sei der Grund" for tenor, oboes d'amore, and continuo.
  6. Chorale: "O Gott, du frommer Gott" for choir, clarino, oboes, strings, and continuo.

Recordings

References

Sources

External links