Ach, lieben Christen, seid getrost, BWV 114

Ach, lieben Christen, seid getrost
BWV 114
Chorale cantata by J. S. Bach
Johannes Gigas, the author of the hymn
Occasion	17th Sunday after Trinity
Chorale	"Ach, lieben Christen, seid getrost" by Johannes Gigas
Performed	1 October 1724 (1724-10-01): Leipzig
Movements	seven
Vocal	SATB choir and solo
Instrumental	corno flauto traverso 2 oboes 2 violins viola continuo

Johann Sebastian Bach composed the church cantata Ach, lieben Christen, seid getrost (Ah, dear Christians, be comforted),^[1] BWV 114, in Leipzig for the 17th Sunday after Trinity and first performed it on 1 October 1724.

Bach created the work as part of his second annual cantata cycle when he was Thomaskantor (director of music) in Leipzig. That cycle was planned as a cycle of the chorale cantatas for all occasions of the liturgical year. Ach, lieben Christen, seid getrost is based on a hymn of penitence by Johannes Gigas (1561). An unknown poet kept three stanzas in their original form, which Bach set as an opening chorale fantasia, a central fourth movement with the soprano accompanied only by the continuo, and a four-part closing chorale as movement 7. The poet reworded the other stanzas as arias and recitatives, including references to the prescribed gospel about the healing of a man with dropsy. Bach scored the cantata for four vocal parts, and a Baroque instrumental ensemble of a horn to reinforce the chorale tune, a transverse flute, 2 oboes, strings and continuo.