“Gott, nimm dich ferner unser an”

Abstract

Bach’s motet Singet dem Herrn , presumed by the author to have been composed between late May 1726 and June 1727, has until now been misunderstood. Taking into account Kuhnau’s copy errors, an analysis of Bach’s advice to repeat the second movement leads to the conclusion that his intention-alternating choruses that sing the repeat with the same text- had a self-referencial purpose in that all members of both choirs would then sing the aria “Gott, nimm dich ferner unser an.” Based on an array of evidence, the author asserts that this motet is actually funeral music for the St. Thomas Boy’s Choir themselves, on the occasion of the death of the first young singer Bach accepted into the ensemble.