Es erhub sich ein Streit, BWV 19

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Es erhub sich ein Streit, BWV 19, is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach written in Leipzig in 1726 for the Feast of Saint Michael. It was first performed on 29 September 1726 and is the second of Bach’s three surviving cantatas for this festival.

St Michael’s Day was both a Christian celebration and an occasion for Leipzig’s big annual trade fair. For the readings that day, Bach chose passages about Michael fighting the dragon (Revelation 12:7–12) and about heaven belonging to children, with angels seeing God’s face (Matthew 18:1–11). The libretto was written by Picander, a frequent collaborator, and the closing chorale uses a stanza by Christoph Demantius. The closing chorale melody is based on the hymn “Herzlich lieb hab ich dich, o Herr,” a well-known tune in Bach’s time.

The work is scored for three vocal soloists (soprano, tenor, bass), four-part choir, and a large Baroque orchestra: three trumpets, timpani, two oboes, oboe da caccia, two oboes d’amore, two violins, viola, and continuo. On St Michael’s Day in Bach’s Leipzig, such a big orchestra was typical, and all the complete cantatas for this day include trumpet and timpani.

There are seven movements:
1) An imposing opening chorus, a da capo movement focusing on the battle against evil, driven by a dramatic fugue and without an instrumental introduction.
2) A bass recitative in E minor that stresses the victory over Satan but remains somber about humanity’s ongoing struggles.
3) A soprano aria with obbligato oboes, a peaceful major moment that nevertheless carries a hint of movement in the ritornello.
4) A tenor recitative in a minor mood about human fragility.
5) A tenor aria, the longest movement, in which the trumpet joins the voices and the strings and continuo outline the chorale-like refrain, with the famous chorale melody “Herzlich lieb hab ich dich, o Herr.”
6) A brief secco soprano recitative in the major mode preparing the closing chorale.
7) A closing chorale with a minuet-like feel, whose phrasing adds subtle tension.

The text for the cantata’s chorale is a revised version drawn from Picander’s 1725 libretto. Like many Bach cantatas, the music was not printed in his lifetime and was revived later by his son, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach. The first publication appeared in 1852 in the Bach-Gesellschaft Ausgabe, edited by Moritz Hauptmann.