Jesu, nun sei gepreiset (Jesus, now be praised),[1] BWV 41,[a] is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach.

Bach scored the work for four soloists, a four-part choir and a festive Baroque instrumental ensemble of three trumpets and timpani, oboes, strings including a violoncello piccolo da spalla, and basso continuo.

Bach illustrated the cycle of the years by using material from the first movement, trumpet fanfares, also in the last, ending the work similarly to its beginning.

[5] Thus cantata is based on a 1593 hymn for New Year's Day in three long stanzas of 14 lines each by Johannes Hermann,[4] a theologian born in Silesia who had also been a Thomaskantor.

Bach scored the work for four vocal soloists (soprano (S), alto (A), tenor (T) and bass (B)), a four-part choir, and a Baroque instrumental ensemble of three trumpets (Tr), timpani (Ti), three oboes (Oa), two violin parts (Vl), one viola part (Va), violoncello piccolo da spalla (Vp) and basso continuo.

[3] In the following table of the movements, the scoring, keys and time signatures are taken from Alfred Dürr's standard work Die Kantaten von Johann Sebastian Bach.

[8] Lines 9 and 10, speaking of "daß wir in guter Stille das alt' Jahr hab'n erfüllet" (... in good silence ...)[1] are marked adagio; the choir sings in homophony in triple meter, accompanied by the orchestra without the trumpets, which Gardiner described "a moment of magic when the forward momentum comes to a sudden halt".

Lines 11 and 12, repeated in 13 and 14, are a presto fugato, with the instruments playing colla parte; the fugal subject is derived from the first phrase of the chorale melody.

[13] The fugato expresses "Wir wollen uns dir ergeben" (We want to devote ourselves to you),[1] an "enthusiastic rededication to spiritual values".

[1][14][6] In this repetition, Bach achieved "a majestic concluding sweep", as Gardiner wrote, with a reprise of the initial fanfare music.

[6] The first aria, "Laß uns, o höchster Gott, das Jahr vollbringen" (Let us, O highest God, complete the year),[1] is sung by the soprano, accompanied by three oboes in pastoral 6/8 time.

[1] A tenor aria, "Woferne du den edlen Frieden" (As far as you have ordained noble peace),[1] is dominated by an obbligato violoncello piccolo in expansive movement.

[4] A recitative for bass, "Doch weil der Feind bei Tag und Nacht zu unserm Schaden wacht" (Yet since the enemy day and night watches for our harm),[1] contains one line from Martin Luther's Deutsche Litanei (German litany).