Cantata 153 was composed during Bach’s first year in Leipzig, for the first Sunday after New Year in 1724. As he had done several times in this period, Bach continues to experiment with the use of multiple chorales in his cantatas. In this case, the unknown librettist unusually chose to open the work with a chorale (first stanza of a hymn by David Denicke of 1646, which gives the cantata its title), then incorporated a second one as movement 5 (fifth stanza of a chorale by Paul Gerhardt dating from 1653), and closed with three full verses (16-18) of a text by Martin Moller of 1587. Movement 3 is a verbatim biblical quote (Isaiah 41:10).

The Gospel for this Sunday is Matthew 2: 13-23, which narrates the Holy Family’s flight into Egypt as Herod was looking for baby Jesus to kill him, and how Herod ordered all boys under two years old near Bethlehem to be murdered. The libretto uses this story to reference the believer’s harm and prosecution at the hand of their enemies, and to pray for God’s help against them. The Gospel narrative is only directly incorporated into the bass recitative (movement 7).

Given that in 1724 the first Sunday of the Year fell right on January 2nd, it’s reasonable to assume that Bach wanted to give his choir a bit of a break after the busy holiday season and before the big opening chorus of Cantata 65, which he had lined up for Epiphany, just four days away. Whether he prompted his librettist to open BWV 153 with a simple chorale or he procured the right libretto in some other way, is unknown. The chorales in the piece could have been sung by four soloists which would have completely spared the choir from participating in the performances.

The cantata is modestly scored for strings, continuo, and four voices (SATB, with no solo role for the soprano). The opening chorale, carefully chosen to set the tone for the whole libretto, is simply set in four-part harmony, with the orchestra reinforcing the voices. It leads to a secco recitative for the alto, in which the first prayer for help is articulated.

Movement 3 is the Isaiah text, which represents the voice of God reassuring the believer of his presence and help. As he often did when setting “Vox Dei” or “Vox Christi” quotes, Bach assigned the movement to the bass solo. He labeled it “arioso” given its shorter length and relatively less development. The motif of a wide upward leap, found repeatedly in the basso continuo line as well as on the voice, could be interpreted as illustrating the help stated in the text.

A tenor secco recitative then follows which includes some interesting word painting, such as the fast sixteenth notes to illustrate the bow being drawn. The recitative turns into an arioso twice, first with chromatic turns over a walking bass line in eighths on the mention of death, and in the last line to articulate the prayer for help.

This leads to the second chorale, whose text reassures us of God’s steadfastness. This melody, with different harmonizations, was also used by Bach in Cantata 135, as well as in the St. Matthew Passion. If we think of this chorale as closing the first half of the cantata, we transition now into its second part, which contains two substantial arias connected with a recitative.

First is a bravura aria for the tenor, accompanied by strings and continuo. The upper strings are given fast, high-energy runs. Octave jumps on the bass, long melismas on the voice and pervasive dotted rhythms all serve to illustrate the text, which continues to speak of the perils faced by the believer at the hands of their enemies. The musical treatment was undoubtedly prompted by the strong imagery in the text: raging storms, floods, and flames. It’s notable how all the agitation comes to a standstill on the mention of “my peace” (“meine Ruh”).

The bass recitative that links the arias is the only movement that directly alludes to the Gospel story, even mentioning Herod by name. A quick melisma of 32nd notes illustrates “Flüchtling” (“fugitive”). The last two verses, with their reassuring message, become an arioso, marked “andante”. These two lines become the “turning point” of the cantata, and lead to an upbeat alto aria in the form of a minuet, accompanied by the strings and continuo. At the mention of “jubilation” the tempo accelerates, with the characteristic long vocalization on the last word of the aria, “Freuden” (“joy”).

The three full stanzas of the closing chorale retain the dance-like quality of the aria by staying in a ternary meter. The text is a statement of joy and a prayer for continued help from God.