Composed for the Feast of John the Baptist, which fell on June 24, 1724, Bach's Cantata No. 7 "Christ unser Herr zum Jordan kam" (Christ our Lord came to the Jordan) (BWV 7) sets Martin Luther's baptismal hymn from 1541 as its outer choral movements and alternates verses from the hymn with poetic commentary for its inner movement's sequence of arias and recitatives. Interestingly, after the fully scored opening movement, the instrumental accompaniment for the remainder of the cantata expands as the piece progresses from the almost unaccompanied bass aria to the quartet-textured alto aria. The cantata is scored for bass, tenor and alto soloists, chorus, plus a pair of oboes d'amore, a pair of concertante solo violins, strings, and basso continuo. The cantata is in E minor with its first movement in the tonic, the second starts in G major and ends in B minor, the third movement starts in E minor and ends in D minor, the extended fourth movement in A minor, the fifth movement starts in E minor and ends in B minor, the extended sixth movement in E minor, and its seventh movement starts in the tonic and closes on the dominant. Thus, the key scheme unites all of the tonalities of the work in a continually unfolding harmonic structure. The first movement of "Christ unser Herr zum Jordan kam" opens an expansive orchestral sinfonia with stately dotted rhythms supporting a solo concertante violin followed by choral statements of Luther's chorale. The second movement is an extended aria for bass soloist accompanied by a florid solo cello plus basso continuo. The third movement is an expressive recitative for tenor soloist high above the continuo. The fourth movement is an aching aria for tenor soloist, with two concertante solo violins and continuo. The fifth movement is a brief recitative for bass soloist and continuo followed by an Andante for bass, strings, and continuo. The sixth movement is a lyrical aria for alto soloist, with the pair of oboe d'amore, strings, plus continuo. "Christ unser Herr zum Jordan kam" concludes with a gloomily scored harmonization of the closing lines of Luther's hymn for the entire chorus and orchestra. ~ James Leonard, All Music Guide
