Mein Herze schwimmt im Blut in C minor, BWV 199

The text was written by Georg Christian Lehms and published in Darmstadt in 1711 in the collection Gottgefälliges Kirchen-Opffer, on the general topic of a looking for redemption. The librettist wrote a series of alternating recitatives and arias, and included as movement 6 of 8 the third stanza of Johann Heermann's hymn "Wo soll ich fliehen hin". It is not known when Bach composed the work, but he performed it as part of his monthly cantata productions on the eleventh Sunday after Trinity, 12 August 1714. The solo voice is accompanied by a chamber orchestra of oboe, strings and continuo. The singer expresses in a style similar to Baroque opera the dramatic development from feeling like a "monster in God's eyes" to being forgiven. Bach revised the work for later performances, leading to three different editions in the Neue Bach-Ausgabe.