Ach, lieben Christen, seid getrost, BWV 114

Ach, lieben Christen, seid getrost
BWV 114
Chorale cantata by J. S. Bach
Johannes Gigas, the author of the hymn
Occasion17th Sunday after Trinity
Chorale"Ach, lieben Christen, seid getrost"
by Johannes Gigas
Performed1 October 1724 (1724-10-01): Leipzig
Movementsseven
VocalSATB choir and solo
Instrumental
  • corno
  • flauto traverso
  • 2 oboes
  • 2 violins
  • viola
  • continuo

Johann Sebastian Bach composed the church cantata Ach, lieben Christen, seid getrost (Ah, dear Christians, be comforted), BWV 114, in Leipzig for the 17th Sunday after Trinity and first performed it on 1 October 1724. It is based on a 1561 hymn of penitence by Johannes Gigas. Its tune is featured in three of the work's seven movements.

Ach, lieben Christen, seid getrost' belongs to Bach's chorale cantata cycle, the second cycle during his tenure as Thomaskantor that began in 1723. The text retains the first, third and last stanza of the chorale unchanged; the text of the other stanzas was paraphrased by an unknown librettist into arias and recitatives, including references to the prescribed gospel about the healing of a man with dropsy. The first movement is a chorale fantasia, and the work is closed by a four-part chorale setting.

Bach scored the cantata for four vocal parts, a four-part choir and a Baroque instrumental ensemble of a horn to reinforce the chorale tune, a flauto traverso, oboes, strings and basso continuo.