Wo gehest du hin? BWV 166

Wo gehest du hin?
BWV 166
Church cantata by J. S. Bach
Thomaskirche, Leipzig, 1885
Occasion	Cantate Sunday
Bible text	John 16:5
Chorale	by Bartholomäus Ringwaldt "Wer weiß, wie nahe mir mein Ende"
Performed	7 May 1724 (1724-05-07): Leipzig
Movements	6
Vocal	SATB soloists and choir
Instrumental	oboe 2 violins viola continuo

Wo gehest du hin? ("Where are you heading?",^[1] literally: "Where do you go?"), BWV 166, is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach for Cantate Sunday, the fourth Sunday after Easter. Bach composed the work as part of his first cantata cycle for Leipzig and first performed it on 7 May 1724.

The topic of the cantata is based on the Farewell Discourse from the Gospel of John, when Jesus announces a Comforter. Bach structured the work in six movements. The first movement is not the usual extended chorus, but an arioso for a bass setting a question from the gospel. It is followed by an aria for tenor, a hymn stanza for soprano, a recitative for bass and an aria for alto. The closing chorale is a four-part setting of the first stanza of the 1688 hymn "Wer weiß, wie nahe mir mein Ende". The text of the recitative and the arias was written by an unknown librettist. Bach scored the cantata for four voices and a Baroque instrumental ensemble of oboe, strings and continuo.

History and words[edit]

Bach had assumed his position as Thomaskantor in Leipzig in May 1723. He composed Wo gehest du hin? as part of his first cantata cycle there^[2] for the fourth Sunday after Easter, called Cantate.^[2][3][4] The prescribed readings for the Sunday were from the Epistle of James, "Every good gift comes from the Father of lights" (James 1:17–21), and from the Gospel of John, Jesus announcing the Comforter in his Farewell Discourse (John 16:5–15).^[2]

The identity of the person who was writing Bach's librettos during his first year in Leipzig is not known. The poet begans by posing a question, a quotation from the gospel. The answer to the question is the theme of the cantata, which explores the direction in which life should go. The poet inserted as movement 3 the third stanza of Bartholomäus Ringwaldt's hymn "Herr Jesu Christ, ich weiß gar wohl" (1582)^[2] and as the closing chorale the first stanza of Ämilie Juliane von Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt's "Wer weiß, wie nahe mir mein Ende" (1688).^[2]

Bach first performed the cantata on 7 May 1724.^[2][4]

Music[edit]

Scoring and structure[edit]

Bach structured the cantata in six movements, scored for soprano (S), alto (A), tenor (T) and bass (B) soloists, a four-part choir SATB, and a Baroque instrumental ensemble of oboe(Ob), two violins (Vl), viola (Va) and basso continuo.^[2][3]

In the following table of the movements, the scoring follows the Neue Bach-Ausgabe. The keys and time signatures are taken from Alfred Dürrs's standard book The Cantatas of J. S. Bach, using the symbol for common time (4/4).^[3] He gives the duration as 17 minutes.^[3] The cantus firmus of movement 3 is typically sung by the soprano of the choir.^[3]

Movements of Wo gehest du hin?

No.	Title	Text	Type	Vocal	Winds	Strings	Key	Time
1	Wo gehest du hin	Bible	Arioso	B	Ob	2Vl Va	B-flat major	3/8
2	Ich will an den Himmel denken	anon.	Aria	T	Ob	Vl solo	G minor
3	Ich bitte dich, Herr Jesu Christ		Chorale	S		2Vl Va	C minor
4	Gleichwie die Regenwasser bald verfließen	anon.	Recitative	B
5	Man nehme sich in acht	anon.	Aria	A	Ob	2Vl Va	B-flat major	3/4
6	Wer weiß, wie nahe mir mein Ende		Chorale	SATB	Ob	2Vl Va	G minor

Movements[edit]

The question "Where do you go?", comes from a particular context (John 16:5: "but now I am going to him who sent me. None of you asks me, 'Where are you going?'"). Bach gives the question on its own to the bass as the vox Christi addressing the listener directly.^[3] This simple question is one of the shortest lyrics for a movement in a Bach cantata.

The tenor aria survives in an incomplete form. It was first published completely in the Neue Bach-Ausgabe.^[3] The soprano sings the cantus firmus of movement 3 on the melody of "Herr Jesu Christ, du höchstes Gut" completely unadorned and is accompanied by the violins and viola in unison, "of great vigour and determination, urged on by steady continuo quavers".^[5] The last aria, in great contrast, illustrates mostly the word "lacht" (laughs), although the text warns that a fall may come "wenn das Glück lacht" (when fortune winks).^[1] The laughter is pictured in "the various oscillating semi-quaver figures in the strings" and in melismas on the word "lacht". The final chorale on the melody of "Wer nur den lieben Gott läßt walten" is set for four parts.^[3][6]

Recordings[edit]

The Bach Cantatas Website lists 27 recordings of the cantata as of 2024, including:^[7][8]

References[edit]

Cited sources[edit]

• "Wo gehest du hin? BWV 166; BC A 71". Bach Digital. 2024.
• "Cantata for soloists [3], choir and orchestra BWV.166, "Wo gehest du hin?"". muziekweb.nl. 2024. Retrieved 26 April 2024.
• Dahn, Luke (2024). "166.6". bach-chorales.com. Retrieved 26 April 2024.
• Dellal, Pamela (2024). "BWV 166 – Wo gehest du hin?". Emmanuel Music. Retrieved 26 April 2024.
• Dürr, Alfred; Jones, Richard D. P. (2006). "1.27 Fourth Sunday after Easter (Cantate)". The Cantatas of J. S. Bach: With Their Librettos in German-English Parallel Text. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 315–317. ISBN 978-0-19-969628-4.
• Gardiner, John Eliot (2005). Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) / Cantatas Nos Nos 12, 103, 108, 117, 146 & 166 (Media notes). Soli Deo Gloria (at Hyperion Records website). Retrieved 26 April 2024.
• Leonard, James (2024). "Cantata No. 166, "Wo gehest du hin?", BWV 166". Allmusic. Retrieved 26 April 2024.
• Oron, Aryeh (2023). "Cantata BWV 166 Wo gehest du hin?". Bach Cantatas Website. Retrieved 27 April 2024.

External links[edit]

• Wo gehest du hin?, BWV 166: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
• "Cantata BWV 166 Wo gehest du hin?", history, scoring, sources for text and music, translations to various languages, discography, discussion, Bach Cantatas Website
  • "Herr Jesu Christ, ich weiß gar wohl / Text and Translation of Chorale". 2010.
  • "Chorale Melodies used in Bach's Vocal Works / Herr Jesu Christ, du höchstes Gut". 2009.
  • "Wer weiß, wie nahe mir mein Ende? / Text and Translation of Chorale". 2006.
  • "Chorale Melodies used in Bach's Vocal Works / Wer nur den lieben Gott läßt walten". 2009.
• "BWV 166 Wo gehest du hin?", English translation, University of Vermont
• "BWV 166 Wo gehest du hin?", text, scoring, University of Alberta
• Mincham, Julian (2010). "Chapter 53 BWV 166 Wo gehest du hin?". The Cantatas of Johann Sebastian Bach. Retrieved 7 September 2022.