The cantata is based upon Jakob Ebert's hymn "Du Friedefürst, Herr Jesu Christ". It matches the Sunday's prescribed gospel reading, the Tribulation from the Gospel of Matthew, in a general way. The hymn's first and last stanza are retained unchanged in both text and tune: the former is set as a chorale fantasia, the latter as a four-part closing chorale. An unknown librettist paraphrased the inner stanzas as alternating arias and recitatives. Bach scored the cantata for four vocal soloists (soprano, alto, tenor, bass), a four-part choir and a Baroque instrumental ensemble of natural horn, enforcing the soprano in the hymn tune, two oboes d'amore, strings and basso continuo.

Librettist Jakob Ebert (1549-1614) (Hymn)
Date of composition 1724
Premiered 1724, November 26th in Leipzig, Germany
Dedicated to 25th Sunday after Trinity
Type Sacred Cantata
Tonality A Major
Catalogue BWV 116
Spoken language German
Instruments 4x Voice
Chorus/Choir
Orchestra
Links
Autotranslations beta Jean-Sébastien Bach: Du Friedefürst, Herr Jesu Christ en la majeur, BWV 116
Johann Sebastian Bach: Du Friedefürst, Herr Jesu Christ in la maggiore, BWV 116
Johann Sebastian Bach: Du Friedefürst, Herr Jesu Christ A-dur, BWV 116