Alles mit Gott und nichts ohn' ihn, BWV 1127
[1][7] The original print of Mylius's poem,[8] with Bach's composition written on two pages at the end,[9] was archived in Weimar,[10] where it remained unnoticed for nearly three centuries, accidentally twice escaping a devastating fire, in 1774 and in 2004,[11] until it was rediscovered in May 2005.
[12] After the discovery (in 1924)[13] and publication (in 1935) of Bekennen will ich seinen Namen, BWV 200, this was the first time an autograph of a previously unknown vocal work by Bach had come to light.
[2][23][24] There, he initiated reforms of the liturgical music, and grand renovation works to the town church (St Michael's), including its organ.
[25] Duke Wilhelm Ernst supported Mylius in these endeavours, and even organised a fund-raiser in his realm to finance the renovation works.
[20] The theme of Mylius's congratulatory poem is the Duke's motto, announced thus on the tribute's title page:[8][21] Notwithstanding that the occasion, a birthday, was of a secular nature—usually Bach composed secular odes or cantatas for such occasions—, the result was a sacred work, not in the least because of the religious nature of the motto that became the topic of Mylius's exegetic poem.
[14] In 1713, Duke Wilhelm Ernst's birthday was officially celebrated on Sunday 5 November, a day before he consecrated the newly finished St Jacob's Church [de].
[36][37] The motto of Duke Wilhelm Ernst, in Latin and German, is given as the title of the poem on the page that holds its first stanza in the 1713 print.
regium):[38][39] The second line of the first stanza reads:[43] Wird Ein-Her Wunder-Seegen Ziehn Will draw wondrous blessings here To which Mylius adds this footnote:[38] Continent litteræ ut & mediales illustrissimum nomen serenissimi Regentis nostri.
Denn Gott, der Wunder tut im Himmel und auf Erden, Will denen Frommen, selbst, zum Wundersegen werden.
Der Mensch bemühet sich, will Wunder viel verrichten, Und voller Unruh ist sein Sinnen, Denken, Dichten.
[79] Christoph Wolff describes the four-part instrumental ritornello as "written in a dense, motivic and contrapuntal texture reminiscent of the pieces in the contemporary Orgel-Büchlein.
[80] The dedication copy of Mylius's ode, containing Bach's autograph of its setting, was stored in the library of the Duke's palace, Schloss Weimar.
[81] Together with other congratulatory documents received by the Dukes of Weimar, the dedication copy of BWV 1127 was stored on the second gallery level of the Rococo hall of the library.
[81] The luxurious binding of these pieces drew attention, and for classifying them they were moved to the restoration workshop outside the library building shortly before the Rococo hall burnt to the ground in September 2004.
[26][81] In January 2005, as part of a program that had been initiated in 2002, Maul started his research, looking for Baroque era music-related documentation, in the HAAB.
[26] Among these tributes was the dedication copy of Mylius's and Bach's "Alles mit Gott und nichts ohn' ihn".
[8][9][10] Part of the rediscovered aria was recorded by soprano Ah Hong and harpsichordist Joseph Gascho on 9 June 2005, and aired the next day on NPR.
[12][88] Another preliminary performance, by Claron McFadden and Polo de Haas [nl], was broadcast in the Dutch TV-show Nova.
[6] The official world première recording of the aria, by John Eliot Gardiner conducting the English Baroque Soloists and soprano Elin Manahan Thomas, was released in September 2005.
