page_title: Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland, BWV 61
section_title: History and words
hierarchical_section_title: Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland, BWV 61 / History and words
context_page_description: Johann Sebastian Bach composed the church cantata Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland, BWV 61, in Weimar for the first Sunday in Advent, the Sunday which begins the liturgical year, and first performed it on 2 December 1714.
  The cantata text was provided by Erdmann Neumeister, who quoted the Book of Revelation and framed his work by two hymn stanzas, the beginning of Martin Luther's "Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland", the main hymn for Advent with a melody based on Medieval chant, and the end from Philipp Nicolai's "Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern". The librettist quoted developed his thoughts like a sermon. Bach structured the cantata in six movements, beginning with a chorale fantasia, followed by a series of alternating recitatives and arias, and concluded by a four-part chorale. He scored it for three vocal soloists, strings and continuo. Bach led the first performance on 2 December 1714. As Thomaskantor, director of music of the main churches of Leipzig, he performed the cantata again on 28 November 1723.
context_section_description: On 2 March 1714 Bach was appointed concertmaster of the Weimar court capelle of the co-reigning dukes Wilhelm Ernst and Ernst August of Saxe-Weimar. As concertmaster, he assumed the principal responsibility for composing new works, specifically cantatas for the Schlosskirche' (palace church), on a monthly schedule.
  The exact chronological order of Bach's Weimar cantatas remains uncertain. Only four bear autograph dates. BWV 61 is dated 1714 and bears the liturgical designation "am ersten Advent", the First Sunday of Advent. The prescribed readings for the Sunday were from the Epistle to the Romans, "now is our salvation nearer" (Romans 13:11–14), and from the Gospel of Matthew, the Entry into Jerusalem (Matthew 21:1–9).
   
  The cantata text was provided by Erdmann Neumeister, published in Geistliche Poesien in Frankfurt in 1714. He began and ended his work with a hymn stanza. "Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland" is the main hymn for Advent, which Martin Luther had derived from the Latin Veni redemptor gentium. Its melody is based on Medieval chant and supplies a "dark, imposing character". For the conclusion, Neumeister chose the second part, the Abgesang, of the seventh and final stanza of Philipp Nicolai's "Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern". The librettist quoted the Book of Revelation in the fourth movement: "Siehe, ich stehe vor der Tür und klopfe an. So jemand meine Stimme hören wird und die Tür auftun, zu dem werde ich eingehen und das Abendmahl mit ihm halten und er mit mir." – "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. Anyone that hears My voice and opens the door, to him I will enter and keep the evening meal with him and he with me." (Revelation 3:20). The poet combined the ideas of Jesus' entry into Jerusalem and his promise to return with an invitation to enter the heart of the individual Christian. He developed his thoughts like a sermon, as the Bach scholar Alfred Dürr notes: mentioning that the arrival of Jesus brings blessing every day (movement 2), a prayer that Jesus may come to his congregation (movement 2), and in response to his statement of being at the door (movement 4) the opening of the heart of the individual Christian who knows about his sinfulness (movement 5). Bach had set one text by Neumeister before, possibly by 1713, in his cantata Gleichwie der Regen und Schnee vom Himmel fällt, BWV 18.
  Because of Bach's liturgical designation, the performance can be precisely dated to 2 December 1714. As Thomaskantor, director of music of the main churches of Leipzig, Bach performed the cantata again on 28 November 1723, beginning the first liturgical year in the new position. Bach paid attention to the exceptional occasion at beginning of the liturgical year, also when he composed later the chorale cantata Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland, BWV 62 (1724), and Schwingt freudig euch empor, BWV 36 (1731), which are all inspired by Luther's hymn. Bach also began his Orgelbüchlein by a setting of the same tune. In Leipzig, the first Sunday in Advent was the last chance to hear cantata music before Christmas, because tempus clausum was observed during Advent.
caption: Erdmann Neumeister, the librettist
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