Was willst du dich betrüben (BWV 107), written for the Seventh Sunday after Trinity, is probably from the second annual cycle that Bach wrote at Leipzig; certainly it was performed on July 23, 1724. It is a chorale cantata, as are the majority of works in that cycle. a most unusual feature, however, is the fact that although the hymn text is used unchanged throughout, the music of stanzas 2 to 6, which are set as "modern" recitatives and arias, bear virtually no resemblance to the chorale tune, which is that of "Von Gott will ich nicht lassen”. This work is, therefore, a foreign body in the cycle of 1724/25, anticipating the later chorale cantatas (BWV 137, 129, 117, 192, 112, 177, 97 and 100). It may well be that Bach was obliged to use the chorale text in its original form in July 1724, because the usual arranger was not available, or perhaps because he had written it when visiting Cöthen. This expedient later developed into the genus "chorale cantata.”
No less unusual are the musical details of the work. The first stanza is set as a spacious chorale with the decorated melody in the soprano line; the instrumental ritornello and the chorale are not, however, thematically or stylistically linked but simply follow one another, the ritornello performing the function of expressing the sentiments of sadness and consolation to which the words refer. The second stanza takes the form of a recitative which eventually develops into an arioso; the salient words of the text- "joy" and "salvation through God" - are highlighted with a degree of emphasis that would hardly be possible in a true aria. Stanzas 3 to 6 are arias arranged in the medieval binary "Bar" form a-a-b, as is the whole chorale: two Stollen of two lines each and an Abgesang of four lines. Stanzas 3 and 6 are in the major, the orchestration is somewhat fuller, the style almost dancelike in its buoyancy, the inflection positively modern, almost in the galant manner; the chorale does not appear at all. The middle stanzas are in the minor; they are more lightly scored and contrast with one another in accordance with their texts. Stanza No. 4 depicts Satan rising up and raging in a quasi-ostinato continuo motif and wild coloratura. Stanza No. 5 presents "seine Ehren" (his honour) and ”deine Seligkeit” (your bliss) as a pleasant pastoral scene; this is the only time, except in the first and last stanzas, that the hymn tune is used to emphasise the main message of the text. "Er richts zu seinen Ehren” is the first line with emhellishinents, and "was Gott will, das geschieht” (what God wills, that prevails) repeats, in augmentation, the last line. In the final stanza the customary four-part chorale is built into an extended instrumental siciliano, recalling the end of the fifth stanza, whichat the beginning paraphrases the hymn tune; a highly effective four-har epilogue ending in the major appears to comment once again on the emotional progression from sadness to sure faith.
Es ist euch gut, dass ich hingehe (BWV 108), composed for the Fourth Sunday after Easter of 1725 (April 29) is based on a text by Christiane Mariane von Ziegler, as are Cantata Nos. 103, 87, 128, 183, 74, 68, 175 and 176, which were written for consecutive feast days in the second annual cycle. They are based on two excerpts from the Gospel of the day, John 16:7 (No. 1) and 16:13 (No. 4), which also provide the key points of the composition. The opening piece is a powerful arioso in which the bass represents the voice of Christ, with a wide-ranging virtuoso melody for the oboe d’amore; No. 4 is a chorus consisting of three separate fugues, in which the third subject is analogous to that of the first, producing a free da capo effect. The other movements, which interpret various aspects of these biblical texts, are consequently of less significance. In the tenor aria a virtuoso  solo violin paints musical pictures on the key words "Zweifel” (doubt), "glaube” (believe) and ”gehst du fort” (though you depart); the brief recitative preceding the choral fugue is rich in harmonic interest. The alto aria is accompanied by the full string complement and, once again, a solo violin, which expresses the tenderly yearning heart with its dancelike and sensitive line, while the words ”Segen" (blessing) and ”Herrlichkeit" (glory) are illustrated by virtuoso coloratura passages. The final number is a richly harmonised four~part chorale.
Ich glaube, lieber Herr, hilf meinem Unglauben (BWV 109), was written for the 21st Sunday after Trinity and first performed on Octoher 17, 1723. It is by an anonymous librettist, as are most of the cantatas of the first Leipzig cycle. Though the Gospel for the day is John 4: 46-54, the cantata is based on Mark 9: 24. It deals with the peril of Man who vacillates between belief and unbelief finally to be saved by his faith. This text is set in a symmetrical framework in which the opening chorus is balanced by a mighty extended chorale. The inner movements, a tenor and an alto aria each with its own recitativo, are arranged in ascending keys, as befits the overall sentiment: B flat-E minor, E minor, C-D minor F; the first chorus is in D minor, the final chorale in A minor. The opening chorus highlights the antithesis of belief and unbelief by its strikingly differentiated writing, which tosses the vocal and instrumental motifs backwards and forwards, thereby profoundly symbolising the interrelation of belief and unbelief. In the two arias this interrelation is explorled into extreme contrasts, but as they succeed one another the ultimate solution contained in the last movement is already indicated: yacillation and uncertainty, fear and pain are illustrated by the great technical demands of the aria in E minor, whereas the aria in F, which almost sounds like a minuet in its lilting, simple clarity, is imbued with faith and confidence.
Unser Mund sei voll Lachens (BWV 110), written for Christmas Day 1725, is the only Bach cantata set to words from the morning cycle of a set of cantatas for the year 1711 by Georg Christian Lehms entitled Gottgefalliges Kirchen-Opffer. The unusual layout of the cantata, which has virtually no recitative at all, is attributable to the arrangement of the original text. The scope and approach ot the work are appropriate to the special importance of Christmas Day, as is the sequence of keys, centred on D, a festive key in which the trumpet was pitched in Bach’s day: D - B minor - F sharp minor - A - F sharp minor - A - D - B minor - B. The joyous accents are further highlighted by a number of parodies which also allude to the meaning of the work. Ths the colossal opening chorus is an adaptation of the overture to the Suite for Orchestra in D (BWV 1069), thereby establishing the association between Christ’s entry into the world and the arrival of a ruler. The duet is based on the interpolation ”Virga Jesse floruit” in the Magnificat in F flat (BWV 243a) - a double allusion to the text of the Canticle itself and also to the relevance of the words of the duet ”Glory be to God in the highest” to the words of the Magnificat. Finally, the devotional and ioyful aspects of Christmas are catered for by the symbolic significance of the scoring: two flutes in No. 2 indicate the lowliness of Christ born as Man; solemn ascending string chords in No. 3 the majestas Domini; the oboe d’amore (No. 4) suggests the love ot God and his Son towards mankind, and the trumpet calls in No, 6 change the typical sounds of martial music into the clarion call that awakens Christendom to the jubilation of Christmas.