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Gott soll allein mein Herze haben

Gott soll allein mein Herze haben (God all alone my heart shall master) is a cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. In Wolfgang Schmieder's catalogue of Bach's works, it it BWV 169. The author of the words is unknown.

The cantata was composed in Leipzig in 1726 and intended for performance on the 18th Sunday after Trinity Sunday. Like three other cantatas by Bach, Geist und Seele wird verwirret, Widerstehe doch der Sünde and Vergnügte Ruh, beliebte Seelenlust, it is written for a single alto soloist, but unlike those works it also calls for a choir to sing the concluding chorale.

The accompanying orchestra is made up of two oboes, a taille (tenor oboe), violins, viola, solo organ and basso continuo. The piece is in seven movements:

  1. Sinfonia - a purely instrumental movement with prominent part for solo organ.
  2. "Gott soll allein mein Herze haben" - an arioso for the solo alto, accompanied only by the continuo.
  3. "Gott soll allein mein Herze haben" - an aria accompanied by the continuo and featuring the solo organ.
  4. "Was ist die Liebe Gottes" - a revitative accompanied by the continuo.
  5. "Stirb in mir" - an aria accompanied by everybody except the oboes.
  6. "Doch meint es auch dabei" - another continuo-accompanied recitative.
  7. "Du süße Liebe, schenk uns deine Gunst" - the third verse of Martin Luther's chorale "Nun bitten wir den Heiligen Geist" performed by the choir and orchestra closes the cantata.

As with a number of other works, Bach reused some of his earlier works for this piece. The first movement sinfonia and fifth movement aria are believed to have their roots in a now-lost oboe concerto, possibly written during his time in Cöthen (1717-23). That same concerto is also the source of Bach's Harpsichord Concerto, BWV 1053 (around 1739).

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