The cantata "Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern" BWV 1 was written for 25 March 1725, when the Feast of the Annunciation of the Blessed Mary coincided with Palm Sunday.
It forms the conclusion of Bach's cantata cycle of 1724/25.

The anonymous librettist retained the outer verses 1 and 7 of Philipp Nicolai's text (1599) which is assigned to the feast of Epiphany according to old tradition but was also sung at the Annunciation of the Blessed Mary. Verses 2 to 6 form the basis for the tenor and bass recitatives and the soprano and tenor arias.

Bach's composition has a particularly festive brilliance with his use of 2 horns, 2 oboes da caccia and the two concertante solo violins. The violins' lively figurations clearly reflect an image of the shining morning star.

- Urtext of the New Bach Edition
- Original German text with English singing translation
- Idiomatic and easy-to-play piano reduction

Edition no.: BA 10001-90
ISMN: 9790006536146

Composer / Author: Bach, Johann Sebastian
Title: How bright and fair the morning star BWV 1
Cantata for the Feast of Annunciation Day
Detailed instrumentation: Soprano solo, Alto solo, Tenor solo, Bass solo, Mixed choir (SATB), Horn (2), Oboe (2), Strings, Organ, Basso continuo
Arranger: Focke, Martin
Editor: Wendt, Matthias

Product format: Piano reduction, Urtext edition
Comments on the edition: Study score = TP 1001
Language(s) of work: German, English
Level of difficulty (D): 3

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