{{Short description|Christmas song by Johann Sebastian Bach}} {{Infobox Bach composition | name = {{lang|de|Ehre sei Gott in der Höhe}} | bwv = 197.1 · 197a | image = Caspar Ziegler.jpg | caption = Caspar Ziegler, the author of the chorale | type = Christmas cantata | performed = Christmas Day 1728/1729 }} '''{{lang|de|Ehre sei Gott in der Höhe}}''' (Glory be to God in the Highest), '''{{abbr|BWV|Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis (catalogue of Bach's works)}}{{nbsp}}197a (197.1)''', is a Christmas cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. He composed it in Leipzig for the First Day of Christmas in 1728 or 1729.<ref name="BWV245">Work {{BDW|0245}} at Bach Digital website.</ref>

== History and text == Bach composed the work in Leipzig for Christmas Day in 1728 or 1729.<ref name="BWV245" /> The prescribed readings for the feast day were from the Epistle of Titus, "God's mercy appeared" ({{Sourcetext|source=Bible|version=King James|book=Titus|chapter=2|verse=11|range=–14}}) or from Isaiah, "Unto us a child is born" ({{Sourcetext|source=Bible|version=King James|book=Isaiah|chapter=9|verse=2|range=–7}}), and from the Gospel of Luke, the Nativity, Annunciation to the shepherds and the angels' song ({{Sourcetext|source=Bible|version=King James|book=Luke|chapter=2|verse=1|range=–14}}). The text of the cantata is by Picander.<ref name=ab /> The chorale is from the 1697 hymn "Ich freue mich in dir" by Caspar Ziegler.<ref>{{cite book|last=Dürr|first=Alfred|title=The cantatas of J.S. Bach: with their librettos in German-English parallel text|year=2006|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-929776-4|page=101|others=Jones, Richard (trans.)}}</ref> Bach later revised the piece into ''Gott ist unsre Zuversicht'', BWV 197.2.<ref>Work {{BDW|0244}} at Bach Digital website.</ref>

== Scoring and structure == The cantata is scored for solo alto and bass voices, a four-part choir, two flutes, oboe d'amore, two violins, viola, bassoon, cello, and continuo.<ref name=ab>{{cite web|url=https://webdocs.cs.ualberta.ca/~wfb/cantatas/197a.html|title=BWV 197a|publisher=University of Alberta|access-date=21 December 2013}}</ref>

The piece has seven movements (although there may also have been an opening sinfonia):<ref name=ab /><ref name=min /> #Chorus: {{lang|de|Ehre sei Gott in der Höhe|italic=no}} #Aria: {{lang|de|Erzählet, ihr Himmel, die Ehre Gottes|italic=no}} #Recitative: {{lang|de|O! Liebe, der kein Lieben gleich|italic=no}} #Aria: {{lang|de|O du angenehmer Schatz|italic=no}} #Recitative: {{lang|de|Das Kind ist mein|italic=no}} #Aria: {{lang|de|Ich lasse dich nicht|italic=no}} #Chorale: {{lang|de|Wohlan! so will ich mich|italic=no}}

== Music == Only the last four movements of the piece are extant.<ref name=min>{{cite web|url=https://www.jsbachcantatas.com/documents/chapter-38-bwv-197a|author=Mincham, Julian|title=Chapter 38 BWV 197a|website=The Cantatas of Johann Sebastian Bach|access-date=9 September 2022}}</ref>

The nineteen surviving bars of the fourth movement, an alto aria, demonstrate a rare bassoon obbligati and assume a combined ritornello-ternary form.<ref name=min />

The fifth movement is a bass recitative with only continuo accompaniment. It is a "harmonically adventurous", "forceful little movement marked by a robust melodic line".<ref name=min />

The following bass aria is accompanied by oboe d'amore and continuo, and is a "jaunty, pastoral dance" in {{music|time|6|8}} time and ritornello-ternary form. The movement is notable for a long rising melisma omitted from the reworked version in BWV&nbsp;197/2.<ref name=min />

Musicologist Julian Mincham suggests that the chorale is "one of the sturdiest in the repertoire".<ref name=min />

== Recordings == The recordings are taken from the listing on Bach-Cantatas:<ref name="Oron">{{cite web| last = Oron| first = Aryeh| url = https://www.bach-cantatas.com/BWV197a.htm| title = Cantata BWV 197a / Ehre sei Gott in der Höhe| publisher = Bach-Cantatas| access-date = 26 December 2015}}</ref> * Gächinger Kantorei / Bach-Collegium Stuttgart, Helmuth Rilling. ''Edition Bachakademie Vol. 140''. Hänssler, 1999. * Bach Collegium Japan, Masaaki Suzuki. ''J. S. Bach: Cantatas Vol. 54''. BIS, 2012.

== References == {{reflist}}

== External links == * {{IMSLP2|work=Ehre sei Gott in der Höhe, BWV 197a (Bach, Johann Sebastian)|cname=Ehre sei Gott in der Höhe, BWV 197a}} * [https://www.bach-digital.de/receive/BachDigitalWork_work_00000245 Ehre sei Gott in der Höhe BWV 197a; BC A 11 / Sacred cantata (1st Christmas Day)]: Leipzig University * [https://www.uvm.edu/~classics/faculty/bach/BWV197a.html BWV 197a Ehre sei Gott in der Höhe]: English translation, University of Vermont * Luke Dahn: [https://www.bach-chorales.com/BWV0197a_7.htm BWV 197a.7] bach-chorales.com

{{Bach's third cantata cycle and later}} {{Bach cantatas}} {{authority control}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ehre sei Gott in der Hohe, BWV 197a}} Category:Church cantatas by Johann Sebastian Bach Category:1728 compositions Category:Christmas cantatas Category:Libretti by Picander