| Darzu ist erschienen der Sohn Gottes | |
|---|---|
BWV 40 | |
| Christmas cantata by J. S. Bach | |
 Thomaskirche, Leipzig | |
| Related | basis for Missa, BWV 233 |
| Occasion | Second Day of Christmas |
| Bible text | 1 John 3:8 |
| Performed | 26 December 1723: Leipzig |
| Movements | 8 |
| Vocal |
|
| Instrumental |
|
Darzu ist erschienen der Sohn Gottes (For this the Son of God appeared),[1] BWV 40, is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. He composed it in 1723, his first year in Leipzig, for the Second Day of Christmas, and first performed it on 26 December that year in both main churches, Thomaskirche and Nikolaikirche. It was the first Christmas cantata Bach composed for Leipzig. The title of the cantata also appears in more modern German as Dazu ist erschienen der Sohn Gottes.
The theme of the work is Jesus as the conqueror of the works of the devil, who is frequently mentioned as the serpent. The music is festively scored, using two horns, similar to Part IV of Bach's later Christmas Oratorio. The text by an unknown poet is organised in eight movements, beginning with a choral movement on the biblical text, followed by a sequence of recitatives and arias which is structured as three stanzas from three different hymns. Only two of these hymns are Christmas carols.
Bach used the opening chorus for the concluding Cum Sancto Spiritu in his 1738 Missa in F major, BWV 233.