Cantatas "Wir danken Dir, Gott" BWV 29, 119, 120

To the glory of God and the Burgomaster
Bach's appointment as director musices of the city of Leipzig in 1723 brought with it, among his other functions, the duty of providing an annual liturgical cantata specifically intended for performance during the ceremony of the opening of the session of the new Municipal Council. At least twelve such cantatas were written during the long years he spent in the pious town, of which no more than a third have survived intact. The almost martial accents of Preise, Jerusalem, den Herrn, the invocation of prosperity and blessing of Gott, man lobet dich in der Stille and the astonishing parodies of the third Partita for solo violin in Wir danken dir, Gott - the three cantatas on this recording - are all somewhat unabashed combinations of the glorification of God and municipal pride.