The cantata is part of Bach's first annual cycle of cantatas, which he began when he took up office as Thomaskantor in May 1723. The topic is based on the prescribed reading from the gospel of Luke, Jesus announcing the destruction of Jerusalem and cleansing of the Temple. The librettist is unknown. The cantata is structured in six movements: two choral movements frame a sequence of alternating recitatives and arias. The opening movement is based on a verse from the Book of Lamentations, a lament of the destructed Jerusalem, related to the announcement from the gospel. The text moves from reflecting God's wrath in the past to the situation of the contemporary Christian. The closing chorale, a stanza from Johann Matthäus Meyfart's hymn "O großer Gott von Macht", is a prayer culminating in the thought "do not repay us according to our sins".
Original Name | Schauet doch und sehet |
Librettist | Lamentations I: 12 (No.1) Anonymous (Nos.2-5) Johann Matthäus Meyfart (1590-1642) (No.6) |
Date of composition | 1723 in Leipzig, Germany |
Premiered | 1723, August 1st in Leipzig, Germany |
First published | 1863 (BGA) |
Dedicated to | 10th Sunday after Trinity |
Type | Sacred Cantata |
Tonality | D Minor |
Catalogue | BWV 46 |
Spoken language | German |
Instruments |
3x
Voice
Chorus/Choir Orchestra |
Links | |
Autotranslations beta |
Jean-Sébastien Bach: Behold and see, if there be any sorrow en ré mineur, BWV 46 Johann Sebastian Bach: Behold and see, if there be any sorrow in re minore, BWV 46 Johann Sebastian Bach: Behold and see, if there be any sorrow d-moll, BWV 46 |