(Praise the Lord, Jerusalem), BWV 119, is a sacred cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. He composed it in Leipzig for Ratswechsel, the inauguration of a new town council, and first performed it on 30 August 1723.
Bach composed the cantata in his first year as Thomaskantor in Leipzig, about three months after taking office at the end of May 1723. A festive service at the Nikolaikirche was an annual event, celebrating the inauguration of a new town council, always held on the Monday after St. Bartholomew (August 24). The text by an anonymous poet includes psalm verses and an excerpt from Martin Luther's German Te Deum. It is focused on acknowledgement of authority as a gift of God, thanks for past blessings, and prayer for future help.
The cantata is structured in nine movements, three of them choral (1, 7, 9), the others alternating arias and recitatives. The orchestra is large and representative, with four trumpets, timpani, two recorders and three oboes, in addition to strings and basso continuo. Bach led the Thomanerchor in the first performance.
In 2015 the cantata was performed by the Thomanerchor at the place of its premiere on 12 June, opening the Bachfest and celebrating both the 1000th anniversary of the first recorded mention of Leipzig and the 850th anniversary of the Nikolaikirche.
History and words
As Thomaskantor, Bach served as music director of Leipzig and had to compose not only for music in the four major churches but also for public municipal functions. The Ratswechsel was celebrated with an annual church service at the Nikolaikirche on the Monday after St. Bartholomew, August 24. It was not a democratic election, but a "ceremonial transfer of office" of council members who were appointed. The service was not part of the liturgical year with cantata texts related to prescribed biblical epistle and gospel readings. For the Ratswechsel service, Bach could count on the entire council (his employer) listening, and probably also civil servants and representatives of the Elector's administration for the region. The musicologist Klaus Hofmann notes: "It was an opportunity for Bach to show how sacred music was flourishing under his direction and to present himself as a composer."
The cantata was Bach's first for the occasion in Leipzig. Early in his career he had written at least one cantata for the equivalent service at Mühlhausen. There are five surviving cantatas for the Ratswechsel at Leipzig, and librettos of three more, BWV Anh. I 3, 4 and 193. The other four extant cantatas are Ihr Tore zu Zion, BWV 193, composed for the occasion in 1727 but partly lost, Wir danken dir, Gott, wir danken dir, BWV 29, composed for the occasion in 1731, Gott, man lobet dich in der Stille, BWV 120, adapted from earlier cantatas for wedding and homage probably in 1742, and Lobe den Herrn, meine Seele, BWV 69, adapted from Lobe den Herrn, meine Seele, BWV 69a, for the occasion in 1748.
The text was written by an unknown librettist who included psalm verses (from Psalms 147, 85 and 126) and lines from Martin Luther's German Te Deum "Herr Gott, dich loben wir". To suit the event for which it was written, these are all turned into hymns of thanking and praising God for Leipzig's prosperity and asking him to protect the city in the future.
Bach led the Thomanerchor in the performance on 30 August 1723.
Scoring and structure
Bach structured the cantata in nine movements with choral movements as a frame and in movement 7, otherwise alternating recitatives and arias. He scored it for four vocal soloists (soprano (S), alto (A), tenor (T) and bass (B)), a four-part choir, and an orchestra of four trumpets (Tr), timpani (Ti), two recorders (Fl), three oboes (Ob), two of them also playing oboes da caccia (Oc), two violins (Vl), viola (Va), and basso continuo (Bc).
In the following table of the movements, the scoring follows the Neue Bach-Ausgabe. The keys and time signatures are taken from the Bach scholar Alfred Dürr, using the symbol for common time (4/4). The instruments are shown separately for winds and strings, while the continuo, playing throughout, is not shown.