Lift, my soul, the veil of darkness

The cantata Schmücke dich, o liebe Seele (Lift, my soul, the veil of darkness) for the 20th Sunday after Trinity belongs to the chorale cantatas of Bach’s 1724/25 cycle and was first performed in Leipzig on October 22, 1724. The Gospel reading on which it is based – the parable of the royal wedding feast – shapes the hymn-like, festive character of the entire cantata. Through the selection of Johann Franck’s communion hymn, the wedding feast is equated with the Lord's Supper. The hymn is not only present in the opening chorus and final chorale, as is customary, but also as a continuation of the recitative in movement 3: it transitions seamlessly into an ornate chorale stanza, accompanied by the obligatory violoncello piccolo.

All other movements are characterized by the pastoral sound of flutes and oboes (one oboe and one oboe da caccia each), with two recorders being used in most of the work. Only in movement 2, Rejoice, your Savior Jesus comes, arise now and prepare your heart, does a single transverse flute take the solo part with a haunting “knocking” motif echoing the German text (literally “Your Savior is knocking [at the gate].”)