Cantata no. 140, "Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme", BWV.140
Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme ('Awake, calls the voice to us'), BWV 140, also known as Sleepers Awake, is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach, regarded as one of his most mature and popular sacred cantatas. He composed the chorale cantata in Leipzig for the 27th Sunday after Trinity and first performed it on 25 November 1731.
Movements
- Coro “Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme”
- Recitativo (Tenor) “Er kommt, er kommt, der Bräutgam kommt!”
- Aria (Sop, Bass) “Wann kömmst du, mein Heil?”
- Choral (Tenor) “Zion hört die Wächter singen”
- Recitativo (Bass) “So geh herein zu mir”
- Aria (Sop, Bass) “Mein Freund ist mein”
- Choral “Gloria sei dir gesungen”
Recommended recordings
- Monteverdi Choir & English Baroque Soloists · John Eliot Gardiner YouTubeSpotify (subscription)
- Munich Bach Choir & Orchestra · Karl Richter YouTubeSpotify (subscription)
Most recent recordings
- Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme, BWV 140 (Arr. For Piano 4 Hands by Chiahu Lee) — Johann Sebastian Bach, Chiahu Lee, Yulia Vershinina-Mukhopadhyay (2026) Spotify
- J.s. Bach: Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme, BWV 140 — Johann Sebastian Bach, Netherlands Bach Collegium, Pieter Jan Leusink (2023) Spotify
- Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme, BWV 140: I. Chorus (Arr. For Piano by f. Busoni) — Johann Sebastian Bach, Pierpaola Porqueddu (2023) Spotify
New releases via Spotify — surfaced automatically, not editorial picks.