both sing in an Arioso. Part I, which tells of the Ascension, is concluded by the fourth stanza of Johann Rist's hymn "" in a four-part setting. Part II reflects the reaction of the disciples. The closing chorale on the seventh stanza of Gottfried Wilhelm Sacer's "" is set as a chorale fantasia. While the music for the narration and the first chorale were new compositions in 1735, Bach based the framing choral movements and the two arias on earlier compositions. He used the model for the alto aria again much later for the of his Mass in B minor. In the first complete edition of Bach's works, the of the , the work was included under the cantatas (hence its low BWV number), and in the Bach Compendium it is numbered BC D 9 and included under oratorios. Music Scoring and structure The oratorio spans eleven movements in two parts to be performed before and after the sermon, 1–6 before the sermon and 7–11 after the sermon. It takes about half an hour to perform. The title on the first page of the autograph reads: "J.J." is short for "Jesu juva" (Jesus, help), a formula which Bach and others often wrote at the beginning of a sacred piece. The title in Latin translates to "Oratorio for the feast of the Ascension of Christ", and the scoring in a mixture of French and Italian names the parts and instruments as four vocal parts, three trumpets (Tr), timpani, two flauti traversi (Ft), two oboes (Ob), two violins (Vn), viola (Va) and basso continuo (Bc) by Bach. The voices are soprano, alto, tenor and bass, forming a four-part choir (SATB). The work is festively scored, exactly like the Christmas Oratorio. The structure shows symmetry around the central chorale. Expansive chorale movements using the complete orchestra frame the work. Both parts contain besides the bible narration (rec.) a reflective accompagnato recitative (acc.) and an aria with obbligato instruments. In the following table of the movements, the scoring is taken the Neue Bach-Ausgabe. The keys and time signatures are taken from Alfred Dürr, using the symbol for common time (4/4). The timpani always play with the trumpets and are not mentioned. Movements The Bach scholar Richard D. P. Jones compares the Christmas Oratorio and the Ascension Oratorio and arrives at similarities: The oratorio is similar especially to Part VI of the Christmas Oratorio which