I love the Almighty with all of my spirit BWV 174

Scoring: Soli ATB, Coro SATB, 2 Ob, Tl, 3 Vl conc., 3 Va conc., 3 Vc conc., 2 Vl, Va, Bc

The cantata “Ich liebe den Höchsten von ganzem Gemüte” (I love the Almighty with all of my spirit) BWV 174 was composed for Whit Monday 1729. It probably belongs to Bach’s fourth cycle of cantatas, known as the “Picander cycle”. Most of the cantata is taken up by the introductory Sinfonia. This is a reworking of the first movement of the famous third Brandenburg Concerto BWV 1048. Bach took the movement almost unaltered and simply added wind parts to strengthen the sound to the nine string parts (three violins, three violas, three violoncelli) and basso continuo – two corni da caccia and two oboes, reinforced by two violins, an oboe da caccia (taille) and a viola. The following movements (aria, recitative, aria) form a distinct contrast with their chamber music scoring (two oboes or one or two string parts with basso continuo). A simple four-part chorale concludes the cantata.