''Mein Odem ist schwach'' (My breath is weak),

BWV The (BWV; ; ) is a catalogue of compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach. It was first published in 1950, edited by Wolfgang Schmieder. The catalogue's second edition appeared in 1990. An abbreviated version of that second edition, known as BWV2 ...

222, is a church cantata composed by

Johann Ernst Bach II Johann Ernst Bach (28 January 1722 – 1 September 1777) was a German composer of the Classical Period. He was the son of Johann Bernhard Bach. Life Johann Ernst Bach, the son of Johann Bernhard Bach, was born in Eisenach and baptized on Janua ...

. It had been accredited to

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard w ...

. The intended occasion and the librettist are unknown.

Scoring and structure

The cantata is scored for soprano, alto and bass soloists,

SATB SATB is an initialism that describes the scoring of compositions for choirs, and also choirs (or consorts) of instruments. The initials are for the voice types: S for soprano, A for alto, T for tenor and B for bass. Choral music Four-part harm ...

choir, two

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

viola The viola ( , also , ) is a string instrument that is bow (music), bowed, plucked, or played with varying techniques. Slightly larger than a violin, it has a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of ...

and organ. It is six movements: #Aria (bass): ''Mein Odem ist schwach'' #Aria (alto): ''O seid mir sehnsuchtsvoll geküßt'' #Chorus: ''Unser Wandel ist im Himmel'' #Chorale: ''Wie du mir, Herr, befohlen hast'' #Chorale: ''Lass mich nur, Herr, wie Simeon'' #Chorus: ''Wir aber sind getrost und haben vielmehr Lust''

Motet ''Unser Wandel ist im Himmel''

The

motet In Western classical music, a motet is mainly a vocal musical composition, of highly diverse form and style, from high medieval music to the present. The motet was one of the pre-eminent polyphonic forms of Renaissance music. According to Margar ...

''Unser Wandel ist im Himmel'', BWV Anh. 165 is derived from movements 3, 4 and 6 of the cantata ''Mein Odem ist schwach''. As for the cantata its authorship is attributed to Johann Ernst Bach II.Bach Digital Work at

Recording

*Alsfelder Vokalensemble / Steintor Barock Bremen,

Wolfgang Helbich Wolfgang Helbich (8 April 1943 – 8 April 2013) was a German church musician, a choral conductor and academic. He was the founder of the Alsfelder Vokalensemble and served as their conductor for decades, a group that toured internationally and re ...

. ''The Apocryphal Bach Cantatas''. CPO, 1991.

References

{{Authority control Church cantatas Bach: spurious and doubtful works Compositions by Johann Ernst Bach II German church music