Stand firm against the lure of sinning

Scoring: Soli A, 2 Vl, 2 Va, Bc

The cantata "Widerstehe doch der Sünde" BWV 54 is now one of Johann Sebastian Bach’s most popular solo cantatas. The short text, which comprises three movements, comes from a 1711 collection of cantata texts by the Darmstadt court poet Christian Lehms, and warns in drastic terms that no sinner will inherit the kingdom of God. It is certainly no coincidence that Bach allocated this text to an alto voice, then often regarded as a symbol for the repentant sinner.

The cantata comes from Bach’s Weimar period and only survives in a fair copy of the score by Johann Gottfried Walther (music text ) and Johann Tobias Krebs (vocal text underlay). This didn’t ’t present any difficulties in preparing an edition. In Lehms’ word book the cantata is allocated to Oculi Sunday (the third Sunday in Lent), but can also readily be sung on other occasions in the church year.