BWV 8

Liebster Gott, wenn werd ich sterben?

Dear God, when will I die?

Cantata Complete

About this Work

Cantata BWV 8, entitled Liebster Gott, wenn werd ich sterben? ("Beloved God, when shall I die?"), is a choral cantata (Choralkantate) belonging to the cycle of choral cantatas from Bach's second year as Thomaskantor in Leipzig (1724-1725). It was premiered on September 24, 1724, at St. Nicholas Church (St. Nikolaikirche) in Leipzig. Bach composed it for the sixteenth Sunday after Trinity. The readings for the day included Luke 7:11-17 (the resurrection of the young man of Nain), which is thematically related to the reflection on death, resurrection, and trust in God.

The work is based on the Lutheran hymn Liebster Gott, wann werd ich sterben by Caspar Neumann, written around 1690 (five stanzas). The melody was composed by Daniel Vetter in the early 1690s and first published in 1713. Bach used the text of the hymn literally in the outer movements (stanza 1 in the opening chorus and the final stanza in the concluding chorale). An unknown librettist paraphrased the middle stanzas for the recitatives and arias, focusing on meditation on death, the passage of time, and faith in divine salvation.

The cantata consists of six movements:

  1. Chorus – Liebster Gott, wenn werd ich sterben? (stanza 1 of the hymn, extensive choral fantasy with cantus firmus in the soprano, accompanied by repetitive motifs evoking the ticking of a clock or the passage of time).
  2. Aria (tenor) – With oboe d'amore obbligato.
  3. Recitative (alto).
  4. Aria (soprano) – With obbligato transverse flute and pizzicato strings.
  5. Recitative (bass).
  6. Choral – Final verse of the hymn, harmonized for four voices.

The opening chorus is particularly famous for its symbolic sound (repetitive "tick-tock" on the flute and continuo, representing the fleeting nature of life).

Instrumentation

  • Transverse flute (or piccolo in some sources).
  • Two oboes d'amore.
  • Horn or taille (doubling the cantus firmus in the opening chorus).
  • 2 violins.
  • Viola.
  • Basso continuo.
  • Four-part choir (SATB).
  • Soloists: soprano, alto, tenor, and bass.

The instrumentation is notable for the obbligati of flute and oboe d'amore, which lend a pastoral and contemplative tone, reinforcing the theme of peaceful death and trust in God.

Movements

6 movements

Instrumentation
Horn Choir Flute Oboe d'amore Viola Violin Basso Continuo
Text
Original (German)
Liebster Gott, wenn werd ich sterben?
Meine Zeit läuft immer hin,
Und des alten Adams Erben,
Unter denen ich auch bin,
Haben dies zum Vaterteil,
Dass sie eine kleine Weil
Arm und elend sein auf Erden
Und denn selber Erde werden.
Translation
Dearest God, when will I die?
My time is always running out,
And the old Adam's heirs,
Among whom I am also,
Have this for a father's portion,
That they may be a little while
To be poor and miserable on earth
And then become earth itself.

Instrumentation
Oboe d'amore Tenor Basso Continuo
Text
Original (German)
Was willst du dich, mein Geist, entsetzen,
Wenn meine letzte Stunde schlägt?
Mein Leib neigt täglich sich zur Erden,
Und da muss seine Ruhstatt werden,
Wohin man so viel tausend trägt.
Translation
What do you want to be afraid of, my spirit?
When my last hour strikes?
My body is bowing daily to the earth,
And there must be its resting place,
Where so many thousands are carried.

Instrumentation
Violin Viola Contralto Basso Continuo
Text
Original (German)
Zwar fühlt mein schwaches Herz
Furcht, Sorge, Schmerz:
Wo wird mein Leib die Ruhe finden?
Wer wird die Seele doch
Vom aufgelegten Sündenjoch
Befreien und entbinden?
Das Meine wird zerstreut,
Und wohin werden meine Lieben
In ihrer Traurigkeit
Zertrennt vertrieben?
Translation
Although my weak heart feels
Fear, worry, pain:
Where will my body find rest?
Who will free the soul
From the yoke of sin
Free and release it?
Mine will be scattered,
And where will my loved ones go
In their sadness
Driven apart?

Instrumentation
Flute Viola Violin Bass Basso Continuo
Text
Original (German)
Doch weichet, ihr tollen, vergeblichen Sorgen!
Mich rufet mein Jesus: wer sollte nicht gehn?
Nichts, was mir gefällt,
Besitzet die Welt.
Erscheine mir, seliger, fröhlicher Morgen,
Verkläret und herrlich vor Jesu zu stehn.
Translation
But give way, you foolish, futile worries!
My Jesus calls me: who should not go?
Nothing that pleases me,
Possesses the world.
Appear to me, blessed, joyful morning,
Glorified and glorious to stand before Jesus.

Instrumentation
Soprano Basso Continuo
Text
Original (German)
Behalte nur, o Welt, das Meine!
Du nimmst ja selbst mein Fleisch und mein Gebeine,
So nimm auch meine Armut hin;
Genug, dass mir aus Gottes Überfluss
Das höchste Gut noch werden muss,
Genug, dass ich dort reich und selig bin.
Was aber ist von mir zu erben,
Als meines Gottes Vatertreu?
Die wird ja alle Morgen neu
Und kann nicht sterben.
Translation
Only keep, O world, what is mine!
You yourself take my flesh and my bones,
So accept my poverty too;
Enough that out of God's abundance
Must still become the highest good,
Enough that I am rich and blessed there.
But what is there to inherit from me,
Than my God's father's faithfulness?
That becomes new every morning
And cannot die.

Instrumentation
Horn Choir Flute Oboe d'amore Viola Violin Basso Continuo
Text
Original (German)
Herrscher über Tod und Leben,
Mach einmal mein Ende gut,
Lehre mich den Geist aufgeben
Mit recht wohlgefasstem Mut.
Hilf, dass ich ein ehrlich Grab
Neben frommen Christen hab
Und auch endlich in der Erde
Nimmermehr zuschanden werde!
Translation
Ruler over death and life,
Make my end good for once,
Teach me to give up the ghost
With courage right well conceived.
Help me to have an honest grave
Beside pious Christians
And also finally in the earth
Never again be put to shame!

Recordings

Listen on IDAGIO Karl Richter · Münchener Bach-Orchester, Münchener Bach-Chor

Information

Year 1724
Place Leipzig
Occasion Sixteenth Sunday after Trinity
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