Meinen Jesum lass ich nicht (BWV 124) was composed for the First Sunday after Epiphany in 1725 (January 7) and thus belongs to Bach’s second yearly cycle of cantatas for Leipzig which, until Easter 1725, consisted entirely of chorale cantatas. Cantata No. 124, like most of these works, takes unaltered the text and melody of the first and last verses of the hymn and turns them into a fully elaborated opening chorus and a simple closing chorale; the remaining verses are transformed into recitatives and arias are and freely set. The text of the hymn is only remotely connected with the reading from the Gospel of the 12-year-old Jesus in the Temple; it treats the finding of Jesus there allegorically and above all shows how hollow are the world, life on earth and the fear of death for one who has found Jesus. The imagery of the period, both in thought and language, results in death and terror being more convincingly depicted than their opposites. Bach corrects this one-sideness by immediately introducing the oboe d'amore in a concertante role, as a symbolic instrument on the positive side, into the opening chorus, which is otherwise quite simple; he also entrusts to it in the first, particularly vivid, aria, in a cantilena which complements and concertises with the voice part, even more clearly, the emotion of "ich lasse meinen Jesum nicht” (Jesus, never leave I thee) while the strings depict ”Furcht und Schrecken” (My soul from out my body rending). The duet, accompanied only by the continuo, symbolises on the one hand "entziehe dich eilends” (away, now my heart) by extensive canonic arrangement of the voice parts, on the other the ”wahre Vergnügen” (true contentment) in heaven by a dance-like melodic line and dance-like periodicity, into which the canonic duet is completely incorporated. The final chorale, in spite of the relatively rich ornamentation of the inner parts, harks back to the simpler form of expression heard in the opening chorus.
Mit Fried und Freud ich fahr dahin (BWV l25) was composed for February 2, 1725 (Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary). The text selected was that of Luther’s rendering of the Nunc Dimittis, because this forms part of the Gospel for that Feast. As with other chorale cantatas for that yearly cycle, the first and last verses are unaltered; the second verse, elaborated into a recitative, forms the third movement of the cantata and, in addition, is paraphrased in the first aria. The duel and the last recitative are recast from the third verse of the hymn. Bach’s composition is on an incomparably larger scale than that of Cantata No. 124, but at the same time it is simpler and more direct in its emotional language. The great opening chorus combines continuously flowing 12/8 movement with poetic interpretation of the text (”sanft und stille” - safe abiding; “der Tod ist mein Schlaf worden” - I will sleep, sleep ever). The ensuing alto aria combines flute, oboe d’amore and voice, over a continuo to be played ”tutto ligato” in a soaring, almost sentimental trio movement of particular tonal beauty, marked by the constant use of appoggiaturas. The recitative and chorale are given substance and held together in an arioso manner by an obbligato motif for strings, The silencing of this motif for the last line "im Tod und auch im Sterben” (from Death and from damnation) and its intense chromaticism are extremely effective. The duet for tenor and bass finds inspiration in the text for its exceptional motivic concentration, equally affecting all the parts, and in the turns and octave leaps of its motifs: light fills ”den ganzen Kreis der Erden” (thruout the whole earth's broad expanse); in the middle section specific tone-painting is employed. The final Chorale is surprisingly simple after such a wealth of wonderful and tonally varied movements.
Erhalt uns, Herr, bei deinem Wort (BWV 126) composed for Sexagesima Sunday 1725 (February 4), is based upon an extended version of the Luther hymn from which Bach's unknown author has taken, unaltered, the first and third verses (which are the same as Luther’s verses 1 and 3), and the sixth and seventh (Luther’s German version of the Da pacem and an additional verse by Johann Walter); the remaining verses are paraphrased. The bellicose spirit ofthe first verse inspired Bach to write real battle music, characterised by aggressive anapaestic rhythms and a virtuoso trumpet part. Both the tenor aria, particularly the exuberant coloratura passages of the middle section which echo something of the urgency of the chorus, and the bass aria, in which the extravagant text is set to a melody leaping over two octaves and rapidly descending passages in the continuo, indicate that Bach had at his disposal on that Sunday not only a virtuoso trumpeter, but also first-class vocal soloists. The tenor aria is followed, just as in Cantata No. 125, by an arioso which interprets the lines of the chorale in passages of recitative. These are sung by the alto and tenor in turn; the lines of chorale are sung by both; whichever voice joins in is given the chorale tune, the other singing in counterpoint. The final chorale is relatively simple, terminating, however, in a richly harmonised Amen.
Herr Jesu Christ, wahr' Mensch und Gott (BWV 127), written for Quinquagesima Sunday 1725 (February 11) provides a commentary on the Gospel for that Sunday, Christ’s prophecy of His Passion and Resurrection and the healing of the blind man (Luke 18), in a hymn by Paul Eber which is actually a funeral hymn. Bach stresses its relevance to Passion and Resurrection by superimposing a number of symbols in the orchestral writing of the opening chorus: recorders as mourning instruments, dotted rhythms representing mourning (or scourging), the insistent repetition of the first line of the hymn, containing the key ideas "Herr", "Mensch", "Gott" (Lord, Man, God), and - mainly in the violins - the use of the chorale "Christe, du Lamm Gottes” (Christ, Thou Lamb of God). After a recitative, paraphrasing verses 2 and 3 of the hymn, there follows an equally unusual soprano aria in which the staccato chords of the recorders and the figures in the oboe played concertante with the voice each express transcendence in its own way (”Die Seele ruht in Jesu Händen” - My soul will rest in Jesus’ keeping), while the pizzicato of the basses, which runs through the whole aria, is revealed in the middle section as the sound of the death knell (strings). In strong contrast there follows a representation of the Last judgement which is quite exceptional in Bach’s works. An accompanied recitative, in which the trumpet acts as the last trump, leads into the comforting words of Jesus set in a pattern in which a passage of chorale recitative, accompanied only by the continuo, alternates with a verse of aria with strings and trumpet. By virtue of the fact that the chorale recitative consists entirely of repetitions and variants of the first line of the hymn tune, which has already been all-pervading in the opening chorus, the text of this line is again brought continually to our attention, the dramatic impact of the Last Judgement and its exegetic profundity being inextricably interwoven. The final chorale begins simply, but ends with a setting ot the last line "bis wir einschlafen seliglich” (until we come to Thee above) which is as bold as it is vivid.