Er rufet seinen Schafen mit Namen (BWV 175), composed on a text by Christiane Mariane von Ziegler, is based on the parable of the Good Shepherd, whose sheep know His voice and follow after Him. This Gospel text acquires actuality through its interpretation, namely, as stated in the recitative (No. 5): ”When our deluded senses do not heed what He is saying to us" - here piety asserts itself against the priority of reason. The closing chorale takes up the ninth verse of the hymn “O Gottes Geist, mein Trost und Rat" by Johann Rist (1651); Bach accompanies it in seven parts with the melody of the Lutheran hymn ”Komm, Heilger Geist, Herre Gott" from
the Whitsun Cantata No. 59, composed before 1725. Musically the pastoral mood is emphasized by the instrumentation with three recorders (Nos. 1, 2, 7) and by the siciliano rhythm so characteristic of pastoral pieces.
In this cantata and in the other one also composed to a Ziegler text Bach shows a general tendency to virtuoso instrumental accompaniment: in the tenor aria “Es dünket mich, ich seh dich kornmen" (No. 4), a ”parody" of the secular aria "Dein Name gleich der Sonnen geh,” from Cantata No. 173a, an obbligato violoncello piccolo is called for. "The small, fivestringed Bach violoncello piccolo, usually held on the arm, as opposed to the considerably bigger violoncello piccolo (da garnba)” (Ulrich Drüner) was used by Bach from about 1724 onwards. In contrast to this, he comments on the news of Jesus’ victory over the devil and death in the bass aria ”Öffnet euch, ihr beiden Ohren” (No. 6) with two trumpets.
In Es ist ein trotzig und verzagt Ding (BWV 176) Bach transfers the interpretation of text and emotion to the structure and melodic shaping of the opening chorus, a large-scale fugue. The fugal theme is built up on the contrast between the defiantly soaring C minor triad and its upward scale passage to a ”despairingly” descending chromaticism. These two so very different examples of human behaviour are given a more profound significance by means of the reminder in the recitative (No. 2) of Nicodemus, who only dared to visit Jesus at night, and of Joshua, during whose battle with the Ammonites the sun stood still so long until victory was certain. The following dallying gavotte aria (No. 3) indicates that consolation is near with cheerful triplet figurations: the Spirit of God must rest on Man. The second aria (No. 5), too, finds consoling, encouraging words in a dancelike style, using an oboe da caccia and two oboes to emotionally interpret the encouragement of the timid, faint-hearted senses, the summons to give thanks and praise God. The four-part closing chorale, which used the eigth verse of the Paul Gerhardt hymn "Was alle Weisheit in der Welt” (1653) as text and the melody of the Luther chorale "Christ, unser Herr, zum Jordan kam," establishes a connection to the opening chorale: Here, too, the movement develops out of conflict, namely that between the modal chorale melody and its major-minor harmonisation.
For Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ (BWV 177) Bach took over the text of the hymn of the same name by Johann Agricola (1529?). This was one of the main hymns for the Fourth Sunday after Trinity, and Bach had already used it as the closing chorale in the cantata Barmherziges Herze der ewigen Liebe, BWV 185 (1715). The final and opening chorus of Cantata No. 177 are also identical with the familiar chorale melody of the five-verse hyrnn. In the opening chorus the melody lies in the soprano of the four-part setting. But before the soprano states the first line of the hymn, bass, alto and tenor enter one after the other to the text ”lch ruf” with a significant motive, the rising anacrusic fifth G - D. This motive is also heard right at the beginning in the first oboe and forms, together with a virtuoso passage on the concertante solo violin, the material for the independent texture of the orchestral setting. The instrumentation consists of two oboes, strings, continuo and the solo violin already mentioned. This instrumentation is treated differently in the three arias and partlyaugmented: Verse 2 is a continue movement, verse 3 with oboe da caccia a trio movement, verse 4 with violin and bassoon a very charming quartet movement. The intended element of intensification can be clearly heard. In the course of this the formal structure and the thematic material depart further and further from the starting point, the chorale melody. The return to a simple four-part setting in the final chorus, the fifth verse, is then all the more effective. This chorus, too, undergoes an intensification of expression: ornaments and passing notes make the texture more dense and loosen it at the same time.
Wo Gott der Herr nicht bei uns hält (BWV 178) is based on the hymn of the same name whose text is an adaptation of the 124th Psalm by Justus Jonas (1524). Of the eight verses, six have been retained unchanged. As in Cantata No. 177, this opening chorus is also accompanied by an orchestral setting with an independent texture, into which the chorale melody sung by the choir is integrated line by line. This is presented by the soprano, accompanied by the horn. Homophonic sections characterise the stability which the Lord God provides; they alternate with polyphonic, rhythmically lively passages as commentary on the raging of the enemy. The fact that the instrumental themes remain the same compels these contrasts to create an overwhelming unity. Although the chorale verses in Nos. 2 and 5 are extended by means of inserted recitatives, the two movements are considerably different from each other. In No. 2 the alto presents the chorale tune alone in minims, with a quaver counterpoint in the continuo, the insertions being set as secco recitative; in No. 5 the insertions are divided between bass, tenor and alto, the choral setting is four-part, and the continuo part is based on a triadic motif. The charming tenor aria (No. 6) introduces the topical reference of the cantata: Here ”tottering reason" is musically represented by syncopations and ”tottering" figures and confronted with the harsh chordal summons of the pious ”Schweig!” (be silent). The dramatic confrontation calms down only temporarily in the Adagio of the middle section, where the listener is “refreshed with consolation" on a fermata. The cantata closes with a simple four-part chorale setting.
The unknown librettist of Siehe zu, daß deine Gottesfurcht nicht Heuchelei sei (BWV 179) also seems to have been inspired by orthodox zeal. The opening chorus, a fugue in motet style, is based on a text from Sirach 1: 34. The two contrasting fugal themes are developed from the text: the conflict between hypocrisy and service to God. At the end of the fugue the "false heart" is musically interpreted in a short canon at the filth by means of descending chromatic motion. In the tenor aria (No. 3), introduced by a secco recitative, the hypocrite, who can "shine so brilliantly,” is represented by sliding syncopations, while in the soprano aria (No. 5) two oboes da caccia beg for mercy with beseeching gestures. The final chorale based on the melody ”Wer nur den lieben Gott läßt walten” takes up this entreaty for consolation and mercy once more in a rhythmically varied setting. Bach used three movements of this cantata again later in so-called ”parody technique”: the first movement for the "Kyrie eleison" and the third movement for the "Quoniam” of the Mass in G, BWV 236 (1737), and the fifth movement for the Qui tollis of the Mass in A, BWV 234.