Wahrlich, wahrlich, ich sage euch (Truly, truly I say to you), BWV 86, is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. Bach composed the cantata in Leipzig for Rogate, the fifth Sunday after Easter, and first performed it on 14 May 1724.
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Bach composed the cantata in Leipzig in his first annual cycle for the fifth Sunday after Easter, called Rogate, and first performed it on 14 May 1724.
The prescribed readings for the Sunday were James 1:22–27 and John 16:23–30, from the farewell discourses of Jesus. The theme of the cantata is a quotation from the gospel, beginning the cantata with the promise of Jesus "Verily, verily, I say unto you, whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give you". An unknown poet used as movement 3 the 16th stanza of Georg Grünwald's chorale Kommt her zu mir, spricht Gottes Sohn (1530), as the closing chorale the eleventh stanza of Es ist das Heil uns kommen her by Paul Speratus (1524). The poet hints at the question how the promise can be understood looking the reality of life. In movement 2 he uses the image of a rose with thorns to illustrate two conflicting aspects. In movements 3 and 4 he confirms the promise which has to be seen in the perspective of time. Movement 5 refers to the waiting for a promise being kept, and the closing chorale assures that God knows the right time.[1] The structure of the six movements – a gospel quotation in the beginning, chorales as movements 3 and 6, the sequence of recitative and arias – is similar to Wo gehest du hin? BWV 166, first performed one week earlier.
The cantata is scored for alto, tenor and bass soloists, a four-part choir only for the closing chorale, two oboe d'amore, two violins, viola and basso continuo. The cantus firmus of movement 3 is sung by a soprano or a soprano of the choir.[1]
The gospel quotation is given to the bass as the Vox Christi, the voice of Jesus.[2] The instruments, strings probably doubled by oboe d'amore, introduce vocal motifs which the voice picks up. The bass sings the rather long text three times, while the instruments continue playing the same motifs.[1] Julian Mincham observes: "The richness of the text, the unobtrusive nature of the melodic ideas and the gently flowing rhythms combine to create an appropriate atmosphere of dignified restraint".[3]
In movement 2, the alto is accompanied by the strings and a violin obbligato in virtuoso figuration, which may illustrate the heavenly light promised as the final fulfillment. In the chorale of movement 3, the unadorned cantus firmus in the soprano is embedded in a trio of the two oboi d'amore and the continuo. In movement 5, the last aria, a motif of five notes is first introduced by the violin and then picked up by the tenor on the words "Gott hilft gewiß" (God's help is sure). The motif is repeated in the violin again and again, as if to repeat the promise. The closing chorale is set for four parts.[1]
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