Up joyous raise your song BWV 36

Scoring: Soli SATB, Coro SATB, 2 Obda, 2 Vl, Va, Bc

Bach's well-known church cantata "Schwingt freudig euch empor" BWV 36 (Up joyous raise your song), first heard in its final version on First Advent Sunday in 1731 at the Leipzig Nikolaikirche, can be traced back to a secular birthday cantata from 1725. The text is now revised to render the events of Advent - the rejoicing of the opening chorus, the loving veneration and the warm-hearted welcome of the three solo arias retained from the original cantata now all apply to the Messiah, who, as once in Jerusalem, should find a place in the hearts of the faithful.

However, their unmistakeable Advent character derives from the fact that Bach contrasts the four "festive" settings from the secular cantata with three strophes from Luther's Advent chorale, "Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland," thus at the same time giving a voice to the Mystery of God made man.