On 2 March 1714 Bach was appointed concertmaster of the Weimar court capelle of the co-reigning dukes Wilhelm Ernst and Ernst August of Saxe-Weimar. As concertmaster, he assumed the principal responsibility for composing new works, specifically cantatas for the Schlosskirche (palace church), on a monthly schedule. He wrote the cantata for the 20th Sunday after Trinity. The prescribed readings for the Sunday were from the Epistle to the Ephesians, "walk circumspectly, ... filled with the Spirit" (Ephesians 5:15–21), and from the Gospel of Matthew, the parable of the great banquet (Matthew 22:1–14). The cantata text was provided by the court poet Salomon Franck, published in Evangelisches Andachts-Opffer (1715). He refers to the gospel and reflects how essential it is to follow the loving invitation of the Lord. Franck's language is rich in contrasts, such as Seelengift und Himmelsbrot (poison for the soul and bread of heaven), and of images derived from the Bible, such as Der Himmel ist sein Thron (Heaven is his throne) after Isaiah 66:1. The closing chorale is stanza 7 of Johann Rosenmüller's hymn "Alle Menschen müssen sterben" (1652).

Librettist (incomplete)
Date of composition 1716
Premiered 1715, November 3rd in Weimar, Germany
Dedicated to 20th Sunday after Trinity
Type Sacred Cantata
Tonality A Minor
Catalogue BWV 162
Instruments 4x Voice
Chorus/Choir
Orchestra
Links
Autotranslations beta Jean-Sébastien Bach: Ach! ich sehe, itzt, da ich zur Hochzeit gehe en la mineur, BWV 162
Johann Sebastian Bach: Ach! ich sehe, itzt, da ich zur Hochzeit gehe in la minore, BWV 162
Johann Sebastian Bach: Ach! ich sehe, itzt, da ich zur Hochzeit gehe a-moll, BWV 162