Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern BWV 1
BÄRENREITER URTEXT
Edited by Matthias Wendt
BA 10001
Score* € 8.50 Wind set € 10.00 Strings each € 3.00 Harpsichord € 12.95 Choral score € 3.00Vocal score (Ger/Eng)
Piano reduction by Martin Focke
BA 10001a* € 7.50
The cantata Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern BWV 1 was written for 25 March 1725, when the Feast of the Annunciation of the Blessed Mary coincided with Palm Sunday. It forms the conclusion of Bach’s cantata cycle of 1724/25.
The anonymous librettist retained the outer verses 1 and 7 of Philipp Nicolai’s text (1599) which is assigned to the feast of Epiphany according to old tradition but was also sung at the Annunciation of the Blessed Mary. Verses 2 to 6 form the basis for the tenor and bass recitatives and the soprano and tenor arias.
Bach’s composition has a particularly festive brilliance with his use of 2 horns, 2 oboes da caccia and the two concertante solo violins. The violins’ lively figurations clearly reflect an image of the shining morning star.