Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme, BWV 140 (Score) ロンド the original version of 1723

the original version of 1723 is free of such contemporary references

but which never came about

for which Bach reverted to a proven model: The four voices of the solo ensemble take over the chorale

The placing of the chorale not at the end of the work but before the concluding chorus is unusual

French Romantic

Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme, BWV 140 (Score) ロンド the original version of 1723The three verse hymn "Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme" was written by Philipp Nicolai and is first found in his "Der Freudenspiegel des ewigen Lebens". The poet of the other sections of the text is unknown. The verses of Nicolais hymn determine the structure of the work: verse 1 opens the sequence of movements with a grand, spacious setting of the chorale for choir, verse 2 is at the centre with the chorale set in three parts, and verse 3 concludes