Bach - Cantata O ewiges Feuer... BWV 34 - Van Veldhoven | Netherlands Bach Society

Until recently, it was thought that this Whitsun cantata ’O ewiges Feuer, o Ursprung der Liebe’, performed by the Netherlands Bach Society for All of Bach, was one of the last cantatas in Bach’s oeuvre. The manuscript of the score, largely in Bach’s own handwriting, dates from a few years before his death. However, a libretto discovered recently in St Petersburg shows that the cantata is much older and was performed for the first time on 1 June 1727. The work was presented in Leipzig on Whit Sunday, at the Nikolaikirche during the morning service and at the Thomaskirche during vespers. Even then, the work was not totally new. The chorus sections and the alto aria, the most essential parts, reuse material originating from a wedding cantata of the same name but much more extensive (BWV 34a), which Bach had composed at an earlier stage. Recorded for the project All of Bach on May 13th 2017 at the Walloon Church, Amsterdam. If you want to help us complete All of Bach, please subscribe to our channel and consider donating For the interview with conductor Jos van Veldhoven on ’O ewiges Feuer, o Ursprung der Liebe’ go to For more information on BWV 34 and this production go to All of Bach is a project of the Netherlands Bach Society / Nederlandse Bachvereniging, offering high-quality film recordings of the works by Johann Sebastian Bach, performed by the Netherlands Bach Society and its guest musicians. Visit our free online treasury for more videos and background material For concert dates and further information go to Netherlands Bach Society Jos van Veldhoven, conductor Maria Keohane, soprano Damien Guillon, alto Thomas Hobbs, tenor Sebastian Myrus, bass 0:00 O ewiges Feuer (Chor) 7:09 Herr, unsre Herzen halten dir (Rezitativ) 7:55 Wohl euch, ihr auserwählten Seelen (Arie) 14:15 Erwählt sich Gott (Rezitativ) 14:48 Friede über Israel (Chor)