Gott, wie dein Name, so ist auch dein Ruhm (God, as
Your name is, so is also Your praise), BWV 171, is a
church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach, written for
New Year's Day. It was probably first performed on 1
January 1729.
The prescribed readings for the feast day were from the
Epistle to the Galatians, "by faith we inherit"
(Galatians 3:23--29), and from the Gospel of Luke, the
Circumcision and naming of Jesus (Luke 2:21). The words
for the first movement are taken from Psalms 48:11...(+)
Gott, wie dein Name, so ist auch dein Ruhm (God, as
Your name is, so is also Your praise), BWV 171, is a
church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach, written for
New Year's Day. It was probably first performed on 1
January 1729.
The prescribed readings for the feast day were from the
Epistle to the Galatians, "by faith we inherit"
(Galatians 3:23--29), and from the Gospel of Luke, the
Circumcision and naming of Jesus (Luke 2:21). The words
for the first movement are taken from Psalms 48:11,
movements 2 to 5 were written by Picander (published
1728), and the final chorale is by Johannes Hermann,
the second verse of his hymn "Jesu, nun sei
gepreiset".
The first movement dealing with the universal praise of
God's name is a choral fugue with independent trumpets,
the first trumpet also playing the fugue theme. Bach
reworked this music to the Patrem omnipotentem,
factorem coeli et terrae of his Mass in B minor. The
reflection of the name of Jesus is close to the reading
of the day and similar to part IV of Bach's Christmas
Oratorio, written for New Year's Day of 1734. The tenor
aria is accompanied by two instruments not specified in
the manuscript score, perhaps violins. The soprano aria
is a parody of an aria from Zerreißet, zersprenget,
zertrümmert die Gruft, BWV 205, with a virtuoso violin
solo. The bass recitative begins as an arioso, only
accompanied by the continuo, leading to prayer and a
recitative accompanied by two oboes, concluding in an
arioso with the oboes. The final chorale is taken from
Jesu, nun sei gepreiset, BWV 41, and its
instrumentation is similar to the opening chorus
here.
Although this cantata was written for soprano, alto,
tenor and bass soloists, a four-part choir, three
trumpets, timpani, two oboes, two violins, viola and
basso continuo, I created this arrangement for Woodwind
Quartet (Flute, Oboe, Bb Clarinet & Bassoon).
