Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit: soprano solo ending

A Moment of Bach

"Es ist der alte Bund: Mensch, du musst sterben!" (It is the old covenant: humankind, you must die!) What force could stand against this? A lone soprano prays "Yes, come, Lord Jesus, come." The old covenant is absolved and fulfilled by the coming of "Herr Jesu." Death is silenced.

We explore Bach's stunning single musical setting of these two opposite texts, and we linger on one of the most stunning Bach moments of them all -- the lower voices come together then disappear, the bass dies away, and then the soprano sings of Jesus, truly alone.

The moment Christian chose for this episode comes from a suggestion by listener Talin.

In Season 1, we recorded an episode on this masterwork cantata on the opening sonatina.

Netherlands Bach Society: entire movement recording from the Gottes Zeit video

Text translation used by the Netherlands Bach Society