Text No. 1, 7
Paul Speratus, 1523

Text No. 2–6
Poet unknown

First performance
Sixth Sunday after Trinity,
20 July 1732 (?)

In a delicate and enchanting setting for transverse flute and oboe d’amore, the introductory chorus reveals the paradigmatic shift of Martin Luther’s doctrine with great musical grace: ultimately, it is not through “works”, achievements and deeds, but only “by grace and purest favour” that mercy and vindication can enter this world and the soothed conscience. Here, the vibrant triple metre and radiant E major key musically underscore the certitude and serenity felt by those who have thrown off the shackles of the external world and become one with God.
The following bass recitative, by contrast, draws a pessimistic study of humankind that reaches a devastatingly realistic conclusion: human weakness is the ultimate undoing of every covenant founded on law and discipline. In this sensitive rendering of the Lutheran tenet of justification by faith, both composer and librettist effectively express why humankind needs a path to salvation that is free of all calculated action.
The tenor aria presents a highly subjective commentary on the priestly certitude of the pronouncement in the bass recitative. In a tone of distress, the soloist trembles at the depths of damnation that the sinful human – the protagonist of this dramatic self-accusation – can barely escape. Set in the E minor tonality of the St Matthew Passion, the singer, driven to sheer desperation by the impossible demand, is mercilessly harried forward by the violin in a skittering gigue.
The sermon from the second movement is then resumed in a bass recitative that recalls Christ’s act of love in fulfilling God’s law on behalf of all humankind. The new beginning enabled by this ultimate sacrifice is expressed here as a fervent embrace in Jesus’ arms, and all sighs of sorrow are taken up and resolved by the bass in an arioso conclusion.
Structured as a quintet for voices, winds and continuo, the aria “Lord, thou look’st past our good labours, to the heart’s believing power,” responds to the bass recitative with a light and artistic setting that demonstrates how strict law, musically expressed as a double canon, can be rendered compassionate by the invigorating breath of love. If there is one composition that perfectly unites Bach’s ideal of an artistic realisation of divine harmony with the Lutheran doctrine of justification by faith, then it is this duet, both mellifluous and profound, which reveals the unparalleled force of combining the intimate conversation of the heart with the making of music. The pared down scoring in the middle section serves to highlight the movement’s essential message: the Highest has eyes only for “faith”; adornment and finery are dispensable.
The third bass recitative then renews its inquiry in a tone of spiritual counsel, identifying the Gospel as an enduring source of faith, ere the closing chorale issues a call for resilience and strength in the face of all abandonment and uncertainty. That tradition and the letter must be presented here to counter the “No” of the heart illustrates humanity’s great struggle in bowing to a higher power – indeed, the fact that God is at work precisely where and when his grace is most sorely missed constitutes an ethical paradox that was already more difficult for Bach’s contemporaries to resolve than any musical sophism.