(Just as the rain and snow fall from heaven), 18, is an early church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. He composed it in Weimar for the Sunday Sexagesimae, the second Sunday before Lent, likely by 1713. The cantata is based on a text by Erdmann Neumeister published in 1711. While at Weimar Bach set at least one other cantata text by this librettist; he also set others by the court poet Salomon Franck. The text cites Isaiah, related to the gospel, the parable of the Sower. The third movement is in the style of a sermon, combined with a litany by Martin Luther. The closing chorale is the eighth stanza of Lazarus Spengler's hymn "". The cantata falls relatively early in Bach's chronology of cantata compositions. It was possibly composed for performance on 24 February 1715, but more likely for a year or even two earlier. Sexagesima always falls within January or February, so the title's reference to snowfall would have been relevant to the weather at the time. Bach structured the work in five movements, a sinfonia, a recitative, a recitative with chorale, an aria and a closing chorale. He scored it for three vocal soloists, a four-part choir only in the chorale, and a Baroque instrumental ensemble which is unusual in having violas but no violins. The instruments originally specified were four violas, cello, bassoon and basso continuo. When he performed the work again as Thomaskantor in Leipzig, he added two recorders to double viola I and II an octave higher, thus creating a lighter sound overall. History and words Bach worked for the court in Weimar from 1708. As part of his work at previous posts, he had composed cantatas, but at Weimar he was at first mainly occupied with other projects. In 1713 he was offered a post at the Marktkirche, a church in Halle, but was offered inducements to stay on at Weimar. He received a promotion on 2 March 1714 which resulted in him composing cantatas on a monthly schedule. BWV 18 is believed to be one of a small number of cantatas which Bach composed at Weimar prior to 1714. Like the later Weimar cantatas, it would have been performed at the Schlosskirche, the chapel of his employers the co-reigning dukes. Bach composed this cantata for the second Sunday before Lent, called Sexagesima. The prescribed readings for the Sunday were taken from the