that Bach uses the means of "contemporary operatic love-duets in his use of chains of suspensions and parallel thirds and sixths". Dürr describes it as giving "expression to the joy of the united pair", showing a "relaxed mood" in "artistic intensity". 7 The closing chorale, "" (Let Gloria be sung to You), is a four-part setting of the third verse of the hymn. The high pitch of the melody is doubled by a violino piccolo an octave higher, representing the bliss of the "heavenly Jerusalem". Evaluation The Bach scholar Klaus Hofmann sees the cantata as one of the composer's "most beautiful, most mature and, at the same time, most popular sacred cantatas". Dürr notes that the cantata, especially the duets in a unity of "earthly happiness in love and heavenly bliss", are an expression of Christian mysticism in art. William G. Whittaker wrote: "It is a cantata without weaknesses, without a dull bar, technically, emotionally and spiritually of the highest order, its sheer perfection and its boundless imagination rouse one's wonder time and time again." Recordings The listing is taken from the selection on the Bach Cantatas Website. Choirs singing OVPP (one voice per part) and instrumental groups playing period instruments in historically informed performances are marked by green background. Media The following recording of the cantata was performed by the MIT Chamber Chorus. References Cited sources Bach Digital Book Further reading External links Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme, BWV 140: performance by the Netherlands Bach Society (video and background information) Cantata BWV 140 – Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme (Johann Sebastian Bach) ChoralWiki BWV 140 Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme: English translation, University of Vermont Luke Dahn: Cantata BWV 140, Wachet auf The Bach Choir of Bethlehem Church cantatas by Johann Sebastian Bach 1731 compositions Advent music Chorale cantatas