J.S. Bach: Dazu ist erschienen der Sohn Gottes, BWV 40 - The Church Cantatas, Vol. 91

BWV40, written for the day after Christmas 1723, is one of the highlights among Bachs cantatas (which of course are all highlights). A superb opening chorus, three splendid chorales, two stirring arias and two recitatives of the highest order, all of them dealing with the theme of Satan trying to ruin the work of God, a resistance Christ came down to conquer. The horn theme in the opening chorus (reused in the Missa in F, see Vol. 2), seen by some as a welcoming signal for a king, is more likely meant to be battle cry. The voices throw the themes back and forth between them. The works of the Devil are destroyed very graphically, the fierce repeated notes being set off against the beautifully flowing fugue. There are glorious runs in the continuo. A tenor recitative with rising figures on `bestrahlt’ and `Gottes’, a descending one when the coming down of Christ is dealt with, and a beautiful juxtaposition of King and subject, Lord and servant, leads to a richly chromatic chorale. This is followed by a fiery ba