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Although it is not certain for what occasion this cantata was composed, it seems a fair supposition that it was intended for the Reformation Festival. You may wish to compare it to cantatas BWV 50, BWV 79 and BWV 80, for example. Like BWV 50 this cantata is incomplete, what we have left are three verses. The first and third, for full chorus are extended chorale settings. The first imposing and dignified, the third skipping along in a triple time gigue. They are both wonderful movements in their different ways. A complex duet for soprano and bass provides an island of calm between the tempestuous outer movements.

There is an excellent full blooded recording of BWV192 (as well as the other Reformation Cantatas 50, 79 and 80) by Hans-Joachim Rotzsch on Berlin Classics 0021762BC.

Copyright © Simon Crouch, 1996, 1998.