Johann Sebastian Bach

Fuga BWV 71

Composed in 1708 for the inauguration of the city council in Mühlhausen, Gott ist mein König (BWV 71) is one of Johann Sebastian Bach’s earliest major cantatas and already reveals the remarkable confidence and imagination of a twenty-two-year-old composer. Written shortly after Bach’s appointment as organist at the Divi Blasii Church, the work stands out for its expansive scale and dramatic range, far exceeding the modest civic pieces typically composed for such occasions.

Its bold design is often linked to the influence of Dieterich Buxtehude and his celebrated Abendmusiken, which Bach encountered during his visit to Lübeck two years earlier. This edition presents the cantata’s third movement, the Fuga on the text "Dein Alter sei wie deine Jugend" ("May your old age be like your youth"), a vivid example of Bach’s early contrapuntal mastery, here arranged for four guitars. Preserving the original key of A minor, the arrangement draws on the guitar’s colour, articulation, and rhythmic precision to illuminate the energy and architectural elegance of Bach’s fugal writing.