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The autograph score of BWV 199.

The autograph score of BWV 199.

Mein Herze schwimmt im Blut (BWV 199) is a solo soprano cantata in eight movements that Bach first performed three hundred years ago at the Palace Church in Weimar on 12 August 1714. Originally scored for oboe, two violins, viola, and basso continuo, a later Leipzig version replaces the obbligato viola with a violoncello piccolo.

The text for the eleventh Sunday after Trinity by Georg Christian Lehms, describing a sinner in search of redemption, had also been set to music in 1712 by Christoph Graupner in Darmstadt. The sixth movement of the work is based on the chorale Ich, dein betrübtes Kind by Caspar von Stieler.

From the start, Bach employs recitatives to propel the emotional imagery of the text and, in conclusion, celebrates the sinner’s acceptance with a joyful gigue

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