This movement is an aria duet for soprano and alto in a joyful mood compared to the first movement. It is in ternary (ABA) form and uses ritornello form with instrumental themes introduced in the opening ritornello. The aria text talks of hastening eagerly towards Jesus for help, with examples of word painting like a long melisma on "hasten". Section A is in B-flat major with the voices in canon, while Section B modulates through different keys with slower rhythms before returning to repeat Section A.

1. Bach Cantata 78:Analysis of Movement 2

2. Aria Duet Aria duet for soprano and alto Instruments: Cello, organ and double bass Has a joyful, light-hearted mood compared with movement 1 B flat major (modulates to C minor and D minor for the B section) Common time Ternary form (Da Capo Aria) and ritornello form

3. Aria An aria is a highly elaborate vocal piece It is usually from an opera, oratorio or cantata It is often in da capo or ABA form A lot of the words have melismatic settings (two or more notes per syllable) in arias Sequences are also very common In opera, the singer was expected to decorate the second A section. This doesn’t happen here. Bach didn’t write operas! Aria fell out of use in the 1800s as it was over elaborate and resulted in dramatic problems

4. Text This aria is joyful The text talks of hastening eagerly towards Jesus for help There are excellent examples of word painting in this movement There is a long melisma at the start on the word “eilen” which means “hasten”. The upward moving sequence used on this word captures the movement implied in the word

5. Ritornello The opening 8 bar ritornello introduces the instrumental themes that will be used throughout the movement The cello and organ play a rocking quaver pattern Meanwhile the double bass plays a pizzicato ground bass theme that moves in crotchets This movement is unusual in that the continuo line is not the bottom part

6. Section A In B flat major and starts with an upbeat Begins and ends with 8 bar ritornello sections Soprano and alto enter in canon. The alto enters two bars after the soprano and a fourth lower. Declamatory antiphonal dialogue between the parts for the words “O Jesu, o meister” Mainly polyphonic texture, due to the canon Towards the end of the section the singers sing in parallel sixths and thirds There is an excellent example of word painting on the word “hasten”

7. Section B Begins on an upbeat in g minor and moves to c minor and d minor and finally to F major Soprano and alto enter in canon at the 5thand at a distance of 2 bars In this section there are slower rhythms and more sustained notes Shorter ritornello passages break Section B up There is word painting on the words “ach! Hore” (“oh hear”) and “freulich” (“joyful”) In the second half of this section the alto enters first Section B ends with a perfect cadence in F major. This prepares for an immediate return to Section A and to B flat major

8. Da Capo Aria As this piece is a Da Capo Aria the Section A is repeated in its entirety after Section B. The piece ends with a perfect cadence in B flat major