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// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhat did BWV 27 say to its neighbor? Bach later.

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Wer weiß, wie nahe mir mein Ende? BWV 27
Church cantata by J. S. Bach
Thomaskirche, Leipzig 1885
Occasion16th Sunday after Trinity
Performed6 October 1726 (1726-10-06): Leipzig
Movements6
VocalSATB choir and soloists
Instrumental
  • horn
  • 3 oboes
  • oboe da caccia
  • organ
  • 2 violins
  • viola
  • continuo

Wer weiß, wie nahe mir mein Ende? (Who knows how near to me my end?), BWV 27, is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. He composed it in Leipzig for the 16th Sunday after Trinity and first performed it on 6 October 1726.

When Bach wrote the music, he was in his fourth year as Thomaskantor, the church music director of Leipzig. An unknown librettist included in the first movement the first stanza of the hymn "Wer weiß, wie nahe mir mein Ende" by Ämilie Juliane von Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt and closed the cantata with the first stanza of the hymn ""Welt ade! ich bin dein müde" by Johann Georg Albinus. The mood of the text changes with the third movement, from anxious pondering of death to a desire for death.

Bach composed the work in six movements and scored it for four vocal soloists, choir and a Baroque instrumental ensemble with horn, oboes, organ, strings and basso continuo. The first movements is unusual, as including a chorale but introducing each of its lines by a different soloist singing added text as an arioso.

History and words

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Bach composed the cantata in his fourth year in Leipzig for the 16th Sunday after Trinity.[1] The prescribed readings for the day were from the Epistle to the Ephesians, a prayer of Paul for strengthening of faith (Ephesians 3:13–21), and from the Gospel of Luke (Luke 7:11–17), the raising of the youth at Nain.[1][2]: 542 

An unknown poet included in the first movement the first stanza of the chorale "Wer weiß, wie nahe mir mein Ende" by Ämilie Juliane von Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt and closed the cantata with the first stanza of the hymn ""Welt ade! ich bin dein müde" by Johann Georg Albinus.[1][2]: 555 [3] Without an explanation, which may have been given in the sermon, the text changes mood with movement 3, from anxious pondering of death to a desire for death.[2]: 555 

The chorale theme "Wer nur den lieben Gott läßt walten" (Zahn 2778) was first documented by Georg Neumark in Jena, but the melody can likely be traced back to Kiel, 1641. The five-part (SSATB) harmonisation of the concluding chorale "Welt, ade! ich bin dein müde" is not by Bach but by Johann Rosenmüller (published for the first time in Johann Qvirsfeld [sv]'s Geistliche Harffen-Klang, Leipzig, 1679).[4][2]: 556 

Bach first performed the cantata in a service on 6 October 1726.[1][2]: 555 [4] It was repeated without major changes in 1731. One further performance can not be dated.[4]

Scoring and structure

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The cantata is scored for four soloists—soprano, alto, tenor and bass, a four-part choir with divided soprano in the closing chorale, horn, three oboes, oboe da caccia, organ, two violins, viola, and basso continuo.[1][2]: 553–555 [4] The duration is given as 19 minutes.[2]: 553 

Movements of Wer weiß, wie nahe mir mein Ende?
No. Title TypeVocalWindsStringsOthers (Brass/Organ) Key Time
1 Wer weiß, wie nahe mir mein Ende? Chorus SATB 2 oboes 2 violins, 1 viola, basso continuo Natural horn C minor 3/4
2 Mein Leben hat kein ander Ziel Recitative Tenor Basso continuo common time
3 Willkommen! will ich sagen Aria Alto Oboe da caccia Basso continuo Pipe organ (obbligato) Eb major common time
4 Ach, wer doch schon im Himmel wär Recitative Soprano 2 violins, viola, basso continuo common time
5 Gute Nacht, du Weltgetümmel Aria Bass 2 violins, viola, basso continuo G minor 3/4
6 Welt, ade! ich bin dein müde Chorale SSATB 2 oboes (col 1 Soprano) Violin (col 2 Soprano), violin (coll'Alto), viola (con Tenore), basso continuo Natural horn (col 1 Soprano) Bb major common time

Music

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The first movement is reminiscent of those opening Bach's chorale cantatas, quoting after an opening ritornello a chorale in long notes as a cantus firmus. Unusually, each of the three lines is preceded by a trope of recitative on added text, sung by different soloists as an arioso.[2]: 556  Julian Mincham wrote that it is "about as tragic as it gets": it is in a minor key and quickly sounds a strong dissonance between the oboe phrase and the continuo. Descending arpeggiated strings underline the "wails of the damned" represented by the oboes.[5]

A tenor recitative leads into a "shadowy" alto aria which echoes the first movement of Antonio Vivaldi's 'Spring' concert (published the year before, 1725), accompanied by an oboe da caccia. Chromaticism contributes to the "fleeting shadows" of the welcoming of death. The accompanying keyboard part has historically been played by either harpsichord or organ. The obbligato oboe conveys a number of different ideas: dancing, sighing, and "quasi-tragic" descent.[5]

The soprano recitative uses word painting and sustained chordal harmonies to urge the listener into heaven. The bass aria then combines two contrasting sentiments: adieu and agitation. The repeated pairing of the "farewell theme – tumult theme" holds through both the opening ritornello and the vocal line, breaking only with the closing on the farewell theme alone.[5]

The closing chorale includes two soprano parts and is stylistically reminiscent of an English madrigal.[5]

Recordings

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References

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  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Wer weiß, wie nahe mir mein Ende BWV 27; BC A 138". Bach Digital. 2026. Retrieved 19 September 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Dürr, Alfred; Jones, Richard D. P. (2006). "Wer weiß, wie nahe mir mein Ende BWV 27". The Cantatas of J. S. Bach: With Their Librettos in German-English Parallel Text. Oxford University Press. pp. 553–556. ISBN 978-0-19-929776-4.
  3. ↑ Sanford Terry, C.; Litti, D. (1917). "Bach's Cantata Libretti". Proceedings of the Royal Musical Association. 44 (1): 71–125. doi:10.1093/jrma/44.1.71. ISSN 0958-8442.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Leisinger, Ulrich, ed. (January 1996). Wer weiß, wie nahe mir mein Ende / Who knows how near is my last hour / BWV 27 (PDF). Translated by Kosviner, David. Carus. pp. 1, 4. Retrieved 20 September 2026.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Mincham, Julian. "Chapter 26 Bwv 27 – The Cantatas of Johann Sebastian Bach". The Cantatas of Johann Sebastian Bach. Retrieved 18 August 2022.
  6. ↑ Gardiner, John Eliot (January 2004). "Cantatas for the Sixteenth Sunday after Trinity" (PDF). monteverdi.co.uk. pp. 15–16. Retrieved 20 September 2026.
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