Amore traditore (Treacherous love), BWV 203,[a] is a secular cantata composed by Johann Sebastian Bach in Köthen between 1718 and 1719, while he was in the service of the court of Leopold, Prince of Anhalt-Köthen.
[3] He later wrote about this period: There I had a gracious Prince, who both loved and knew music, and in his service I intended to spend the rest of my life.
[5] The composition of Amore traditore may have been prompted by the visit of Johann Gottfried Riemschneider, a famous bass, at the court in Köthen in 1718-19.
[7] It is structured in three movements, alternating arias and a connecting recitative, and scored for a solo bass and keyboard (and possibly cello or viola da gamba).
The movement is in da capo form and features long melismas and a very high vocal range.