In 1723 Bach was offered a job as Cantor and Director of Music at St. Thomas' Church and Choir School in Leipzig, a position he would hold until his death in 1750. As part of his duties, Bach was to provide music for each Sunday's church service, as well various feast days. Bach thus set about composing a five-year cycle of cantatas, amounting to 60 cantatas a year, for a total of 300 works of an average duration of 25 minutes. While some of his contemporaries composed an equal or greater number of cantatas, what makes Bach's feat so remarkable is that he accomplished it in five years, producing on average more than one cantata a week during that period (on top of all of his other duties as a performer, teacher and choir director)—not to mention that the works are of such uniformly high quality.

The sinfonia of BWV 42 is likely the opening movement of a lost concerto grosso for two oboes, bassoon and string orchestra with continuo. Cast in D major, the sinfonia follows an ABA form; the B section ushers in a lovely cantabile melody before developing the material of the opening.

The G major alto aria, which follows a brief recitative, may be derived from the same concerto as the sinfonia. Also in ABA form, the A section seems to make time stand still as the soloist sings the well-known phrase, "whenever two or three are gathered in my name," which may explain why Bach chose a concerto for three instruments (two oboes, plus a bassoon) as the basis for this particular cantata.

Next comes a unique chorale setting, for soprano and tenor over a highly chromatic continuo figure; the work concludes with a more conventional recitative, aria and chorale.

© 2004 Jeff Eldridge