Nach dir, Herr, verlanget mich
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Nach dir, Herr, verlanget mich (To Thee, Lord, I Lift my Soul) is a cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. In Wolfgang Schmieder's catalogue of Bach's works, it is BWV 150. Much of the text is based on the 25th Psalm - the author of the additional verses is unknown.
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Earliest surviving cantata by Bach?
This is one of Bach's earliest surviving cantatas. Although the exact date is not known, it may date from Bach's late years employed in Arnstadt (where he was up to 1707) or his early years in Weimar (from 1708).
The Zwang catalogue (which lists the cantatas chronologically) dates it as the sixth of the surviving cantatas by Bach (composed 1708-1709), and places Aus der Tiefe rufe ich, Herr, zu dir (BWV 131) composed in 1707 as the earliest (see BWV#Chronological).
The music
The piece is written for soprano, alto, tenor and bass soloists, a choir and an orchestra consisting of bassoon, violins and basso continuo.
Bach was influenced by Dietrich Buxtehude (in 1705, Bach walked around 200 miles from Arnstadt to Lübeck to hear his music and organ playing) and this work is often seen as one of the clearest examples of that influence.
Bach ends this work with a passacaglia for the whole ensemble of instrumentalists and singers. The theme of this closing movement was later adapted by Johannes Brahms for the theme of his passacaglia in the finale of his Symphony No. 4.
See also
External links
- Original German text (http://www.cs.ualberta.ca/~wfb/cantatas/150.html)
- English translation of the text (http://www.uvm.edu/~classics/faculty/bach/BWV150.html)
- Another English translation (http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Texts/BWV150-Eng3.htm)