(Resound now, ye lyrics, ring out now, ye lyres!) for soprano, alto, tenor and bass, vocal ensemble, trumpets I-III, timpani, bassoon, strings and continuo.

Bach initially composed cantata BWV 172 in 1714 for Pentecost in Weimar, but revised and re-performed it several times throughout his Leipzig years, even transposing it from C major to D major. Considering the work’s outstanding musical quality, it is not surprising that these constant revisions led Alfred Dürr to conclude that Bach placed particular value on the composition. The number of versions, however, makes recording a representative rendition of the work quite a challenge. The performance on this recording is the version in C major (1714/1731), although it includes the repetition of the introductory chorus at the end of the work that is only proved to belong to the 1724 version. Based on its stylistic similarity to his other works, the libretto is attributed to the Weimar court poet Salomo Franck. Indeed, with three successive arias and almost no recitatives, this highly cantabile work is most typical of Frank’s cantata texts.