J.S. Bach: Wo soll ich fliehen hin, BWV 5 - The Church Cantatas, Vol. 82

Cantata 5 ‘Wo soll ich fliehen hin’ is a seven-movement chorale cantata for the 19th Sunday after Trinity, 15 October 1724. The celebrated Kreuzstab cantata for bass solo was composed for the same day of the church year. The theme of the work is man’s awareness of sin. In the course of the cantata the human soul progresses from despair to comfort, a turn made in the central recitative No.4 ‘Mein treuer Heiland tröstet mich’. This is the only recitative with an oboe part: Nos. 2 and 6 are secco recitatives with continuo accompaniment. The chorale melody ‘Wo soll ich fliehen hin’ by Johann Heermann forms a cohesive element in the outer choral movements. In the opening chorus the chorale is heard in the soprano, reinforced by a ‘tromba da tirarsi’ or slide trumpet. The chorale is subtly anticipated by Bach in the instrumental introduction. The two arias contrast strongly with one another. That for the tenor (No.3), with a wonderful solo role for the viola, has an enquiring and receptive nature. The bass ari