Bach: Ich steh mit einem Fuß im Grabe, BWV 156

Description

"Ich steh mit einem Fuß im Grabe" (I stand with my open grave before me) BWV 156 is one of the few surviving cantatas of Johann Sebastian Bach that is based on texts from the so-called Picander cycle. As in several other cantatas that use texts from this poet, Bach opens the work with a sinfonia, most likely taken from an earlier concerto that didn't survive and is later reused as the slow movement of the famous harpsichord concerto in F minor BWV 1056. in the first aria, the poet combines his text with a well-known chorale, a technique that is often found in Bach's cantatas, particularly those from the pre-Leipzig period. The cantata is comprised of six short movements; the choir is used only in the final chorale.