This famous cantata was composed and performed for the first time for the feast of the Purification of Mary, on February 2, 1727, which is celebrated forty days after the birth of Jesus. The date also represents the first presentation of Jesus in the temple.
The gospel of that Sunday (Luke 2: 22-32) narrates the presentation of Jesus in the temple, and includes the story of Simeon, an elderly man to whom the Holy Spirit had revealed that he would not die without having seen the Savior of Israel. Seeing Jesus, Simeon offers a prayer (“Lord, let your servant go in peace, according to your word”).
Clearly, this cantata was highly regarded by Bach. It exists in four different versions (two for bass, one for soprano and one for alto) and was performed on multiple occasions during the composer’s lifetime. Some fragments were transcribed to the «Clavierbüchlein», keyboard tutor for Anna Magdalena, Bach’s second wife.
The cantata has a relatively simple orchestration: a single solo voice (bass, in the first version), a solo instrument that accompanies the arias (oboe), strings, and continuo. In the soprano version, the oboe was replaced by flute. The libretto, long considered anonymous, is now attributed to Christoph Birkmann, like several other cantatas from this period.
Simeon’s prayer (also known as the “Nunc dimittis” canticle) is, in paraphrased form, the first aria of the cantata. The solo oboe opens with an ascending sixth, a musical figure that appears also with other texts that express longing, on top of a texture of strings repeating a stepwise motif in thirds on a pedal point, which conveys a quiet, serene mood. The oboe’s opening theme is repeated in the voice entrance.
The second movement is a “secco” recitative that mentions Simeon and exhorts the congregation to follow him, with a small arioso fragment representing walking. As expected, the words “mit Freuden” are illustrated with a melisma in the voice.
The following aria, the central movement of the cantata, is a consummate example of a Baroque rhetorical device known as the “slumber aria.” Set to a text that encourages one’s eyes to “fall asleep” and bids farewell to the world, it’s long, unhurried and with a complex formal structure featuring a reprise of the A section in the middle of the B section. The low strings, with an optional (but frequently used) oboe da caccia doubling the first violin, frequent pauses (fermatas) and constant syncopations all lend to the aria’s breathtaking lullaby affect.
The second recitative, also “secco”, gives urgency (“now!”) to the arrival of “the beautiful” and reiterates the farewell to the world with an arioso on the words “world, good night!”.
In typical Lutheran speech, the closing aria is a celebration of death. With a rhythmic and lively instrumental line in triple meter, including solo oboe, the voice opens with a lengthy melisma on the words “freue mich” (“I’ll rejoice”) and then descends into the depths on “Tod” (“death”) in a great display of word-painting. This material is not anticipated by the opening ritornello. Structurally, the aria is through-composed with a built-in re-exposition that includes minor variations with respect to the opening section.
