Help my unbelief | Oxford Bach Soloists

The cantatas Bach was writing at this time deal with the theme of Christians rejecting the material world and its temptations so as not to risk losing union with God. Cantata 162 relates to the parable of the royal wedding feast to which ‘many are called but few are chosen’.

The inner conflict between belief and doubt in Cantata 109 is depicted by sharp switches between two ‘voices’ sung by the same person, and the contrast between human imperfection and divine grace is brought out in the remarkable bass aria which opens Cantata 89.