Bach composed a cantata with this title (BWV 69a/69.1) in 1723 during his first year in Leipzig.
Bach revived the work later in the 1720s, changing the instrumentation of one of the arias.
Much later, in 1748, he reworked the cantata for the church service which was held to mark the inauguration of a town council.[2] The recitatives and the chorale were changed. In this form, it was first performed on 26 August 1748.[3] The festive orchestration of the original work was suitable for the new occasion.
Recitative (soprano): Wie groß ist Gottes Güte doch
Aria (alto): Meine Seele, auf, erzähle
Recitative (tenor): Der Herr hat große Ding an uns getan
Aria (bass): Mein Erlöser und Erhalter
Chorale: Es danke, Gott, und lobe dich
Music
The chorus and the bass aria are taken without significant alteration from the earlier model. The second movement is a secco soprano recitative which opens much like in the original version before modulating to G major. The other aria is transposed from the tenor original for the alto voice, and is accompanied by violin and oboe instead of flute and oboe da caccia. The following tenor recitative with string accompaniment is "an example of Bach's highly emotional recitative melodic line at its most mature and expressive"; midway through, it moves into a dissonant and chromatic passage. The closing chorale includes prominent parts for trumpet and drums.[5]
