page_title: Der Herr ist mein getreuer Hirt, BWV 112
hierarchical_section_title: Der Herr ist mein getreuer Hirt, BWV 112
caption_attribution_description: English: Good shepherd
context_page_description: Der Herr ist mein getreuer Hirt, BWV 112, is a cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach, a church cantata for the second Sunday after Easter. Bach composed the chorale cantata in Leipzig and first performed it on 8 April 1731. It is based on the hymn by Wolfgang Meuslin, a paraphrase of Psalm 23 written in 1530, sung to a melody by Nikolaus Decius.
  Bach, the Thomaskantor in Leipzig from May 1723, composed this cantata to complete his second cantata cycle of chorale cantatas, begun in 1724. He used the lyrics of the hymn unchanged, which reflect the psalm and Jesus as the Good Shepherd. Bach structured the work in five movements. The outer choral movements are a chorale fantasia and a four-part closing chorale, both on the hymn tune. Bach set the inner stanzas as aria – recitative – aria, with music unrelated to the hymn tune. He scored the cantata for four vocal soloists, a four-part choir and a Baroque instrumental ensemble of two horns, two oboes d'amore, strings and continuo. Bach scholars agree that the brass instruments, normally reserved for Feast days, could come from an earlier chorale fantasia of the same melody with the text of the German Gloria.
context_section_description: Der Herr ist mein getreuer Hirt (The Lord is my faithful Shepherd), BWV 112, is a cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach, a church cantata for the second Sunday after Easter. Bach composed the chorale cantata in Leipzig and first performed it on 8 April 1731. It is based on the hymn by Wolfgang Meuslin, a paraphrase of Psalm 23 written in 1530, sung to a melody by Nikolaus Decius.
  Bach, the Thomaskantor in Leipzig from May 1723, composed this cantata to complete his second cantata cycle of chorale cantatas, begun in 1724. He used the lyrics of the hymn unchanged, which reflect the psalm and Jesus as the Good Shepherd. Bach structured the work in five movements. The outer choral movements are a chorale fantasia and a four-part closing chorale, both on the hymn tune. Bach set the inner stanzas as aria – recitative – aria, with music unrelated to the hymn tune. He scored the cantata for four vocal soloists, a four-part choir and a Baroque instrumental ensemble of two horns, two oboes d'amore, strings and continuo. Bach scholars agree that the brass instruments, normally reserved for Feast days, could come from an earlier chorale fantasia of the same melody with the text of the German Gloria.
caption: The Good Shepherd by Jean-Baptiste de Champaigne
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