Was frag ich nach der Welt, BWV 94

Was frag ich nach der Welt
BWV 94
Chorale cantata by J. S. Bach
Thomaskirche, Leipzig
Occasion	Ninth Sunday after Trinity
Chorale	"Was frag ich nach der Welt" by Balthasar Kindermann
Performed	6 August 1724 (1724-08-06): Leipzig
Movements	eight
Vocal	SATB choir and solo
Instrumental	flauto traverso 2 oboes 2 violins viola organ continuo

Was frag ich nach der Welt (What should I ask of the world),^[1] BWV 94 is one of many church cantatas composed by Johann Sebastian Bach. He composed it in Leipzig, setting a text appropriate for the Ninth Sunday after Trinity Sunday, and first performed it on 6 August 1724.

Bach aimed to produce more than one cantata for each occasion in the liturgical year, and Was frag ich nach der Welt belongs to the second cantata cycle that he started after being appointed Thomaskantor in 1723. The work is a chorale cantata, like most of the second cycle, and the work thus also belongs to another cycle, the chorale cantata cycle. The cantata is based on the eight stanzas of the 1664 hymn of the same name by Balthasar Kindermann, with a melody by Ahasverus Fritsch. An unknown librettist retained five chorale stanzas, expending two of those by madrigal text for recitatives, and rephrased the other three into aria texts. The cantata is framed by choral movements, a chorale fantasia at the beginning and a closing chorale setting.

The cantata is scored for four vocal soloists (soprano, alto, tenor and bass), a four-part choir, and a baroque instrumental ensemble of a flauto traverso, two oboes, two violins, viola, organ and continuo. The flute plays a prominent concertante role.