Bach - Willst du dein Herz mir schenken BWV 518 - De Geyter | Netherlands Bach Society

The Notenbüchlein for Anna Magdalena Bach is a collection of different sorts of music by several composers. Besides pieces for harpsichord – preludes, partitas and various dances – it also includes a series of songs. Some are more spiritual in character and others more secular. This song, ’Willst du dein Herz mir schenken’, belongs in the latter category. It is a love song in four strophes, in which the singer asks her lover to keep their love hidden and unspoken, because ‘being too free and feeling confident has already led often to danger” and now, too, “a false eye” is watching. In short, “the passion we enjoy must be a secret”. It is clearly a case of a hidden or forbidden love. A young couple with strict parents? An extramarital affair? Or maybe a lesbian romance? As it conjures up all sorts of situations, the song fits well in a wider context, as in this performance, where it is combined with Bach’s Quodlibet (see ), among other pieces. Recorded for