Bach's Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring

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Jul 21, 2000

Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach (Germany, 1685-1750)
Written: First draft Dec 1716, first performance 2 Jul 1723
Title: Cantata No. 147 (BWV 147), "Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben", No. 10: "Jesu bleibet meine Freunde"
Length: 3'30" (complete cantata 25')
Where you heard it before: The Beach Boys' "Lady Linda"; Ralph McTell's "Dreams of You"; in TV ads and films; at a wedding.

One of Johann Sebastian Bach most popular compositions is Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring. Originally composed for trumpet, oboe, strings and organ, it is perhaps best known in a piano arrangement by Dame Myra Hess (1890-1965).

A cantata is a composition for voice with instrumental accompaniment. As the director of church music in Leipzig in the 1720s, Bach had to supply endless cantatas. He usually began work on Monday and composing and copying all the instrumental parts took four days. First rehearsals were on Friday, dress rehearsals on Saturday, and performance at 8am on Sunday.

Bach completed 4 cycles of 52 weeks like this, possibly more.

Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring is a 3-minute extract from a thirty-minute cantata. That cantata is just one of over 200 that survived. Those 200 cantatas form only a fifth of Bach's works as listed in the BWV catalogue. And those thousand-odd works are only a fraction of what survived.

Notable Back Recordings of this Cantata

Today, Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring is often found in Christmas collections. Some excellent recordings include: Amy Grant's rendition on her second Christmas CD; Rebecca St. James, who gives Bach's piece an edge; and the piece in its original German in The Sacred Cantatas: Famous Chorus. This piece is also a favorite at weddings, and has even been adapted for use in several Celtic musical anthologies.

English Lyrics

Jesu, joy of man's desiring,
Holy wisdom, love most bright;
Drawn by Thee, our souls aspiring
Soar to uncreated light.
Word of God, our flesh that fashioned,
With the fire of life impassioned,
Striving still to truth unknown,
Soaring, dying round Thy throne. Through the way where hope is guiding,
Hark, what peaceful music rings;
Where the flock, in Thee confiding,
Drink of joy from deathless springs.
Theirs is beauty's fairest pleasure;
Theirs is wisdom's holiest treasure.
Thou dost ever lead Thine own
In the love of joys unknown.

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