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Alles mit Gott und nichts ohn' ihn (Everything with God and nothing without him), BWV 1127, is an aria for soprano, strings, and basso continuo written in October 1713 by Johann Sebastian Bach to a text by theologian Johann Anton Mylius. It was discovered on 17 May 2005 in Weimar (the city where the work was composed and first performed) by Michael Maul, a researcher from the Bach Archive. The last time a previously unknown vocal work by Bach was discovered was in 1935.
Contents
History and words
The phrase Alles mit Gott und nichts ohn' ihn was the motto of Duke Wilhelm Ernst of Saxe-Weimar whom Bach served as court organist. The work is an ode in honour of the duke's 52nd birthday. The text was written by Johann Anton Mylius.
The autograph score has been preserved since the eighteenth century in Weimar's Duchess Anna Amalia Library, where it was archived with material relating to the duke's birthday celebrations.
Music
The aria is scored for soprano voice, two violins, viola, cello, and basso continuo. Bach set the text in strophic form, resulting in one of his less complex works. The duke's motto serves as the incipit for the aria. Each strophe also begins with a 52-note bass prelude, representing the duke's age, and concludes with a "dense, motivic, and contrapuntal" ritornello. The vocal line includes "an artfully melismatic and 'catchy'" A section and a "harmonically expansive" B section.
Recordings
Three distinguished conductors recorded the work in 2005: Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Ton Koopman and Masaaki Suzuki.
According to most accounts, John Eliot Gardiner was the first to record the work at the behest of the Bach Archive. Gardiner's version features the soprano Elin Manahan Thomas and was released in 2006 with tracks from other cantatas recorded in the Bach Cantata Pilgrimage of 2000. Masaaki Suzuki's version, featuring Carolyn Sampson, claims to be the first complete recording, as Gardiner's recording did not include all twelve stanzas. Ton Koopman's recording features Lisa Larsson and was released as part of his complete cantata series.