Gloria in excelsis Deo (Glory to God in the Highest), BWV 191, is a church cantata written by the German Baroque composer Johann Sebastian Bach, and the only one of his church cantatas set to a Latin text. He composed the Christmas cantata in Leipzig probably in 1745 to celebrate the end of the Second Silesian War on Christmas Day. The composition's three movements all derive from the Gloria of an earlier Missa (Kyrie and Gloria in B minor) written by Bach in 1733 for the Dresden court, which the composer would later use as the Gloria of his Mass in B minor.
| Librettist | Luke 2:14 (No.1) 4th century Trnitarian (Nos.2-3) (based on BWV 232/1) |
| Date of composition | 1745 (1741–1745) in Leipzig, Germany |
| First published | 1894 (BGA) |
| Dedicated to | Christmas Day |
| Type | Sacred Cantata |
| Tonality | D Major |
| Catalogue | BWV 191 |
| Instruments |
2x
Voice
Chorus/Choir Orchestra |
| Links | |
| Autotranslations beta |
Jean-Sébastien Bach: Gloria in excelsis Deo en ré majeur, BWV 191 Johann Sebastian Bach: Gloria in excelsis Deo in re maggiore, BWV 191 Johann Sebastian Bach: Gloria in excelsis Deo D-dur, BWV 191 |