Ich bin ein guter Hirt (I am a Good Shepherd), BWV 85,
is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. He
composed it in Leipzig for the second Sunday after
Easter and first performed it on 15 April 1725.
Bach composed the cantata in his second annual cycle in
Leipzig for the second Sunday after Easter, called
Misericordias Domini. The prescribed readings for that
Sunday were from the First Epistle of Peter, Christ as
a model (1 Peter 2:21–25), and from the Gospel of
John, the Good Shep...(+)
Ich bin ein guter Hirt (I am a Good Shepherd), BWV 85,
is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. He
composed it in Leipzig for the second Sunday after
Easter and first performed it on 15 April 1725.
Bach composed the cantata in his second annual cycle in
Leipzig for the second Sunday after Easter, called
Misericordias Domini. The prescribed readings for that
Sunday were from the First Epistle of Peter, Christ as
a model (1 Peter 2:21–25), and from the Gospel of
John, the Good Shepherd (John 10:11–16).
According to John Eliot Gardiner, the poet is likely
the same as for two preceding cantatas, Bleib bei uns,
denn es will Abend werden, BWV 6, and Am Abend aber
desselbigen Sabbats, BWV 42, before Christiana Mariana
von Ziegler became the poet for the following cantatas
of the period. The three cantata texts were probably
written for Bach's first year in Leipzig, but postponed
due to the workload of the first performance of the St
John Passion that year. They are a sequence on themes
from the Gospel of John. The poet opens the cantata
with the beginning from the Gospel, verse 11. Movement
2 explains that being a Good Shepherd was realized in
the Passion. The thought is commented by the first
stanza of Cornelius Becker's hymn "Der Herr ist mein
getreuer Hirt" (1598), a paraphrase of Psalm 23. The
poet refers In movement 4 to verse 12 of the Gospel,
the contrast of the shepherd who is awake to watch over
the sheep, whereas the hired servants sleep and neglect
them. Movement 5 names love as the shepherd's
motivation to care for the sheep. The cantata ends with
the chorale "Ist Gott mein Schutz und treuer Hirt", the
fourth stanza of Ernst Christoph Homberg's hymn "Ist
Gott mein Schild und Helfersmann" (1658).
In the first movement, the bass as the vox Christi
sings "I am a good shepherd", framed by instrumental
ritornellos. The motif on these words appears already
four times in the ritornello. The movement is between
aria and arioso, with the oboe as a concertante
instrument in "a mood of tranquil seriousness". The
alto aria is accompanied by an obbligato violoncello
piccolo. The chorale stanza is sung by the soprano on
the tune of "Allein Gott in der Höh sei Ehr" by
Nikolaus Decius, with a slightly ornamented melody,
whereas the two oboes play a theme in ritornellos which
is derived from the first line of the tune.
The only recitative is a miniature sermon, accompanied
by the strings accenting phrases of the text. Movement
5 is the only movement in the cantata in pastorale
rhythm. The strings, violins and viola's, play in
unison, so in the low register. Thus the tenor voice
frequently appears as the highest part, beginning with
three times "Seht" (look). Gardiner observes the
similarity to the alto aria "Sehet, Jesus hat die Hand"
in the St Matthew Passion (#60 in the Neue
Bach-Ausgabe), both in the theme "pastoral love
emanating from the cross", and the music, described as
"rich, flowing melody and gently rocking rhythm". The
closing chorale is a four-part setting.
Although originally scored for four vocal soloists
(soprano, alto, tenor and bass), a four-part choir only
in the chorale, two oboes, two violins, viola,
violoncello piccolo and basso continuo, I created this
arrangement for Oboe, French Horn & Strings (2 Violins,
Viola & Cello).
