Exalted flesh and blood

Bach created the cantata "Erhöhtes Fleisch und Blut" by setting the sacred words to what had originally been the music of a secular cantata, presumably for the festival of Pentecost in 1727. Bach made few alterations to the musical structure, but he enlarged the original solo scoring for soprano and bass to a four-voice ensemble. Particularly notable among the solo movements is the extensive duet for soprano and bass in the form of a minuet, which in its musical language is certainly unique in Bach’s cantatas. The dancelike final chorus brings the four voices together, and gives highly effective expression to the joy of Pentecost.