Johann Sebastian Bach: Wir danken dir, Gott, wir danken dir (vla): Viola Solo

Bach’s cantata Wir danken dir, Gott, wir danken dir of 1731, composed for the inauguration of the Leipzig town council, is one of the cantatas which has an obbligato organ part. In the introductory Sinfonia (an arrangement of the opening movement of the Partita in E for solo violin) and the final aria, the organ has a prominent solo part. The final aria is a transposed repetition of the first aria in the cantata, which frames its central section as a motto “Halleluja, Stärk und Macht sei dem allerhöchsten Namen”. However, the high point of the cantata is the magnificent choral movement which precedes the first “Halleluja”. Bach also re-used this music later in the “Gratias” and “Dona nobis pacem” sections of the Mass in B minor.New revised edition.