Luogo e data di registrazione		Lutherse Kerk, Haarlem (Holland) - Gennaio 1988
	Registrazione: live / studio		studio
	Producer		Wolfgang Mohr
	Recording Producer		Friedemann Engelbrecht
	Sound Engineer		Michael Brammann
	Prima Edizione LP		Teldec "Das Alte Werk" | 244 194-1 EX | 2 LPs - durata 42' 25" - 59' 16" | (p) 1989 | DIGITAL DMM
	Edizione CD		Teldec Classics | LC 6706 | 244 194-2 ZL | 2 CDs - durata 42' 25" - 59' 16" | (p) 1989 | DDD
	Cover		Johann Sebastian Nach, einige Jahre vor seiner Ernennung zum Kantor in Leipzig. Gemälde con JJ. Ihle (1720) Bach Museum Eisenach.
	Note		In questo volume sono presenti anche La Cantate BWV 196 e BWV 199 a cura del Concentus Musicus Wien diretto da Nikolaus Harnoncourt.

INTRODUCTION by Nele Anders "Gott ist unsre Zuversicht" (BWV 197) was composed as a wedding cantata in 1736/37. Movements written prior to this, however (Nos. 6 & 8), from a Christmas cantata Ehre ser Gott in der Höhe (BWV 197a) among other sources, were reused here - a procedure frequently applied by Bach, correctly called "parodying," which remains the subject of continual rethinking for Bach scholars. The festive instrumentation is in keeping with the nature of the occasion for which the work was written: three trumpets, two oboos d’amore, bassoon, string ensemble and continuo, plus three vocal soloists and a four-part choir. Each of the work’s two sections closes with a chorale: No. 5 with "Du suße Lieb, schenk uns deine Gunst" (1524), No. 10 - the text is missing in the autograph manuscript - with "Sing, bet und geh auf Gottes Wegen" of 1657. The introductory chorus is preceded by an instrumental Sinfonia with which it is linked thematically. Both the three arias and the four recitatives are laid out very differently from one another. The varied da capo aria ”Schläfert allen Sorgenkummer" (No. 3) with obbligato oboe d'amore, with strictly hierarchically structured string writing and the striking, evenly flowing basso continuo, deserves particular attention for the reciprocal connections between the vocal and instrumental spheres. Though Gottsched lived in the same town as Bach for no fewer than 26 years, the great composer, who was 15 years older; only wrote three settings of texts by the central poet of the German Literary Enlightenment. One of these is the "Funeral Ode" (BWV 198) notable for its verses written in German, which were intended to show "how well and with what dexterity one can express oneself in the German language.” Gottsched’s unusual choice of language for the ode genre was doubtless influenced by the exceptional popularity of the Queen and Electress Christiane Eberhardine. In a Saxony torn by religious strife, she had adhered to the Protestant faith, whereas her spouse had converted to Catholicism. The citizens of Leipzig showed their gratitude and approval for this steadfastness with an impressive funeral service on October 17, 1727 in the University Church. Bach’s funeral music "in the Italian manner,” the cantata Laß, Fürstin, laß noch einen Strahle (BWV 198) was performed here, both before and after the eulogy of praise and mourning given by "the Assessor of the Royal and Electoral Supreme Court of Freiburg, Hans Carl von Kirbach." "In the Italian manner" meant that the recitatives and arias of the cantata were accompanied on the harpsichord, in addition to the obbligato instruments. Of course, Bach had to reshape Gottsched’s ten-stanza ode into a text that satisfied him musically: a remarkable procedure that gives us an insight into Bach's way of thinking as a composer. The resulting ten movements - three choruses, four recitatives and three arias - allowed Bach to compose music rich in associations, and his alternations to the text intensify individual expression and the subjective emotional effect on the listener, and make the whole altogether more vivid. Bach endowed the work with rich scoring, and made skilful use of the variable sound potential thus achieved to give more differentiated expression to the feelings of grief and despair, of admiration and mourning. As in the great Passions, the work is brought to a close by a simple choral movement symbolizing human magnanimity and fidelity of character.