Composed for the Sixteenth Sunday after Trinity, which fell on October 6, 1726, Bach's Cantata No. 27 "Wer weiss, wie nahe mir mein Ende" (Who knows how near is my end; BWV 27) sets a gloomy text by an unknown author on the typically Lutheran preoccupations of the pain and suffering of life and the reward for the just in heaven through the Lord's intercession. The cantata is scored for tenor, alto, soprano and bass soloists, chorus, natural horn, oboe da caccia, organ obbligato, pairs of oboes, strings, and basso continuo. "Wer weiss, wie nahe mir mein Ende" is harmonically atypical in that it closes in a tonality other than the tonality in which it opens. Its first and second movements are in C minor, its third movement is in E flat major, its fourth and fifth are in G minor, and its sixth movement is D minor, a whole tone above the opening tonality. Structurally, the work is highly unconventional in its outer movements. The first movement interpolates brief recitatives for soprano and alto and tenor soloists into a choral setting for full orchestra and chorus, while the final chorus Welt ade! Ich bin dien mude is an adaptation of a five-part chorale by Johann Rosenmüller for the chorus and orchestra. The inner movements are more conventional: the first is a secco recitative for tenor and continuo; the second is an aria for alto, oboe da caccia, and organ obbligato; and the third is a recitative for soprano and strings. The cantata's closing movement is an aria for bass and strings in a sarabande rhythm. ~ James Leonard, All Music Guide
