Johann Sebastian Bach Thou art, alone, Lord Jesus Christ

Thou art, alone, Lord Jesus Christ,
my hope and my reliance.
With thee my guide and comforter,
I bid the world defiance.
On earth there has been born no man,
no mortal found since time began,
who in my need can succor me.
I cry to thee
that thou my help and comfort be.

My judge and master,
if thou ask me “what of my commandments?”
I cannot say
in honest conscience, or pretend
to know one of a thousand.
No stalwart soul am I, my love I poorly rate,
my many sins indeed are very great,
but I repent of all my badness,
so, Lord thine, thine anger stay;

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Allein zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ,
mein Hoffnung steht auf Erden;
ich weiß, dass du mein Tröster bist,
kein Trost mag mir sonst werden.
Von Anbeginn ist nichts erkorn,
auf Erden war kein Mensch geborn,
der mir aus Nöten helfen kann;
ich ruf dich an,
zu dem ich mein Vertrauen hab.

Mein Gott und Richter,
willt du mich aus dem Gesetze fragen,
so kann ich nicht,
weil mein Gewissen widerspricht,
auf tausend eines sagen.
An Seelenkräften arm und an der Liebe bloß,
und meine Sünd ist schwer und übergroß,
doch weil sie mich von Herzen reuen,
wirst du, mein Gott und Hort,

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Clemens Harasim
Translation: Peter Palmer

J. S. Bach’s cantata Allein zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ BWV 33 is based on the hymn of the same name by Konrad Hubert, dating from 1540. Whereas the first and fourth stanzas were used in the cantata word for word, both the second and the third stanzas underwent changes in the two recitatives and arias (Nos 2/3 and 4/5), while individual lines were retained. This was the method that Bach generally used in the cantatas composed in the second year of his Leipzig appointment, the so-called year of the chorale cantatas, to which this piece belongs. The cantata was first performed on 3 September 1724, the 13th Sunday after Trinity. However, the hymn should really be associated with the 14th Sunday after Trinity, because the original chorale text begs Jesus for liberation from the heavy burden of sin. Hence it establishes a spiritual link with the gospel for the following Sunday, the gospel of the healing of lepers, more readily than the parable of the compassionate Samaritan for the 13th Sunday after Trinity. It is only with the transformation into the duet No. 5, focusing on the love of one’s enemy, that there is clearly an effort to set the text in

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