• Twenty-fifth Sunday after Trinity
• Epistle: 1 Thess. iv. 13-18 (Christ's second coming)
• Gospel: Matthew xxiv. 15-28 (Christ's prediction of his second coming)
• Rating: 2

A very short cantata (that will typically weigh in at little over ten minutes) with two arias separated by recitatives and topped off with a chorale. The theme is the second coming of Christ, but the terrifying aspects of it rather than the joyous. The opening aria is preceded by a very effective, agitated, orchestral introduction and the tenor soloist introduces the terrible message of the title. The second aria, this time for bass, features a virtuoso trumpet part with very fast runs. The message is uncompromising: In furious anger, the Lord will extinguish and blot out forever the light of His Word. Get a good deep bass and an outstanding trumpeter and this movement will be very effective. The final chorale is a straightforward setting except for the decidedly chromatic d-flat introduced on the word Stundelein.

Copyright © Simon Crouch, 1996, 1998.