Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen, BWV 51

Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen
BWV 51
Church solo cantata by J. S. Bach
Gottfried Reiche, for whom the solo trumpet part was probably written
Occasion15th Sunday after Trinity
ChoraleNun lob, mein Seel, den Herren
Performed17 September 1730 (1730-09-17): Leipzig
Movementsfive
Vocalsoprano solo
Instrumental
  • trumpet
  • 2 violins
  • viola
  • continuo

Johann Sebastian Bach composed the church cantata Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen ("Exult in God in every land"[1] or "Shout for joy to God in all lands"[2]) BWV 51, in Leipzig. The work is Bach's only church cantata scored for a solo soprano and trumpet. He composed it for general use (ogni tempo), in other words not for a particular date in the church calendar, although he used it for the 15th Sunday after Trinity: the first known performance was on 17 September 1730 in Leipzig. The work may have been composed earlier, possibly for an occasion at the court of Christian, Duke of Saxe-Weissenfels, for whom Bach had composed the Hunting Cantata and the Shepherd Cantata.

The text was written by an unknown poet who took inspiration from various biblical books, especially from psalms, and included as a closing chorale a stanza from the hymn "Nun lob, mein Seel, den Herren". Bach structured the work in five movements, with the solo voice accompanied by a Baroque instrumental ensemble of a virtuoso trumpet, strings and continuo. While the outer movements with the trumpet express extrovert jubilation of God's goodness and his wonders, the central introspective aria, accompanied only by the continuo, conveys a "profound expression of commitment to God".[3] He set the closing chorale as a chorale fantasia, the soprano sings the unadorned melody to a trio of two violins and continuo, leading to an unusual festive fugal Alleluja, in which the trumpet joins.

The Bach scholar Klaus Hofmann notes that the work, unusually popular among Bach's church cantatas, is unique in the demanded virtuosity of the soprano and trumpet soloist, and evidences "overflowing jubilation and radiant beauty".[4]

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  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Hofmann was invoked but never defined (see the help page).