CANTATAS FOR THE 11th, 12th, AND 13th SUNDAYS AFTER TRINITY

JS BACH

Siehe zu, daß deine Gottesfurcht nicht Heuchelei sei (See to it, that your fear of God be not hypocrisy), BWV 179 
Lobe den Herrn, meine Seele (Praise the Lord, my soul), BWV 69a 
Du sollt Gott, deinen Herren, lieben (You shall love God, your Lord), BWV 77 
Sanctus in C major, BWV 237

A stirring Sanctus in C major, and three cantatas with big statements: BWV 179 preaches against hypocrisy with marvelous directness; BWV 77 illustrates the second of Jesus’ two commandments recounted in the gospel narratives – to ‘love thy neighbour as thyself’ – in a potent musical doctrine foreshadowing Brahms’s German Requiem; and BWV 69a enjoins us to praise the Lord and ‘do not forget what good He has done for you!’ with brilliant trumpet trills and vigorous arpeggios.