Johann Sebastian Bach composed the church cantata (He who offers thanks praises Me), 17 in Leipzig for the fourteenth Sunday after Trinity and first performed it on 22 September 1726.

In his fourth year as in Leipzig, Bach performed 18 cantatas composed by his relative Johann Ludwig Bach, a court musician in Meiningen. He then set some of those texts, written probably by Ernst Ludwig, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen, himself, including this cantata. The Meiningen texts follow a pattern: seven movements are divided into two parts, both beginning with biblical quotations, Part I from the Old Testament, Part II from the New Testament.

The text of is based on the prescribed gospel reading telling of Jesus cleansing ten lepers. It is opened by a verse from Psalm 50, quotes a key sentence from the gospel and is closed by a stanza from Johann Gramann's hymn "". The cantata, structured in two parts to be performed before and after the sermon, is modestly scored for four vocal soloists and choir (SATB), and a Baroque orchestra of two oboes, strings and continuo. The opening chorus is a complex musical architecture, and the closing chorale has been admired for subtle word painting.

History and words Bach wrote the cantata in 1726, his fourth year in Leipzig, for the 14th Sunday after Trinity. The prescribed readings for the Sunday were from the Epistle to the Galatians, Paul's teaching on "works of the flesh" and "fruit of the Spirit" (), and from the Gospel of Luke, Cleansing ten lepers. ().

That year, Bach presented 18 cantatas by his relative Johann Ludwig Bach who was court musician in Meiningen. Bach seems to have been impressed also by the texts of those cantatas and followed similar structures: seven movements, divided into two parts to be performed before and after the sermon, both parts opened by Bible quotations, Part I by a quotation from the Old Testament, Part II by one from the New Testament. Bach composed some Meiningen texts that his relative had set before, including this cantata. According to Christoph Wolff, the texts were written by Ernst Ludwig, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen.

The poet derived from the Gospel the idea that thanks to God for his goodness are man's obligation. A profound scholar of the Bible, he quoted for the opening chorus a verse from Psalm 50 () and for the first recitative in Part II verses 15 and 16 from the Gospel. He alluded to the Bible more, for example telling about God's creation in movement 2 and in movement 3, to in movement 6, "" (Love, peace, righteousness and joy in Your spirit). The closing chorale is the third stanza of the hymn "" by Johann Gramann, published in 1540.

Bach led the Thomanerchor in the first performance of the cantata on 22 September 1726. The cantata is regarded as part of Bach's third annual cycle. He later used the opening movement for the movement Cum sancto Spritu in the Gloria of his Missa in G major, BWV 236.

Music Structure and scoring Bach structure the cantata in two parts, Part I of three movements to be performed before the sermon, Part II of four movements after the sermon. He scored it for four vocal soloists (soprano (S), alto (A), tenor (T) and bass (B)), a four-part choir SATB, and a Baroque instrumental ensemble of two oboes (Ob), two violins (Vl), two violas (Va) and basso continuo (Bc). The title of the autograph score reads: "Domin. 14 post Trin. / Wer Dank opfert, der preiset mich / a / 4 Voci / 2 Hautb. / 2 Viol. / Viola / e Contin. / di / J.S.Bach".

In the following table of the movements, the scoring follows the Neue Bach-Ausgabe. The keys and time signatures are taken from Alfred Dürr, using the symbol for common time (4/4).

Movements

1 The opening chorus presents the verse from the psalm, "" (He who offers thanks praises Me), in two choral sections, preceded by a long instrumental section. Dürr analysed the piece and concluded that it forms a purposeful expansion of the motet style into a "unified architectonic structure". The sinfonia, in tripartite form, presents the material, on which two fugal expositions build. John Eliot Gardiner, who conducted the Bach Cantata Pilgrimage in 2000, described the movement as "exhilarating and florid".

2 The first recitative is secco, as the other two: "" (The entire world must be a silent witness).

3 In the first aria, "" (Lord, your goodness reaches as wide as Heaven), soprano and two obbligato violins illustrate in rising lines the text "" (as far as the clouds soar), adding extended coloraturas on "" (praise) and "" (indicate [the way]). The aria avoids a da capo, probably due to the long text, but offers a return of the ritornello in which the voice participates.

4 The recitative beginning Part II, "" (One, however, among them, when he saw that he was cured), is of narrative character, not as often a quoting Jesus, and is therefore given to the tenor voice, similar to the Evangelist in Bach's Passions.

5 The second aria, "" (What an abundance of goodness), is accompanied by the strings. Both arias share a structure of three vocal sections, again avoiding a full da capo, but having a last section reminiscent of the first. Bach highlighted certain words such as "" (thanks) and "" (praise) by extended coloraturas.

6 The last recitative, "" (Look on my will), is sung by the bass. It is accompanied by the continuo alone and expands on the theme of giving thanks to God.

7 The closing chorale is "" (As a father has mercy), in a triple metre. Gardiner admires this movement particularly for its "wonderful word-painting for the 'flower and fallen leaves' and 'the wind [which] only has to pass over, comparing it to the central movement of the motet . The Bach scholar Klaus Hofmann summarises that Bach "strikes a note of transience" here.

Recordings The following table is a selection from the Bach Cantatas website. Ensembles singing one voice per part (OVPP) and playing period instruments are marked by green background.

References

External links

"BWV 17 Wer Dank opfert, der preiset mich": English translation, University of Vermont BWV 17.7 bach-chorales.com "Wer Dank opfert, der preiset mich, BWV 17": performance by the Netherlands Bach Society (video and background information)