[2] He composed this cantata at the request of the university as a funeral ode for Christiane Eberhardine, wife of August II the Strong, the Elector of Saxony and King of Poland.

The text is purely secular, proclaiming how the kingdom is in shock over the princess' death, how magnificent she was, and how sadly she will be missed.

The first movement of the second section Der Ewigkeit saphirnes Haus ("Eternity's sapphiric house"), which was performed following the oration, contains underlying elements of the first movement of the cantata BWV 56, Ich will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen ("I want to bear the cross") which Bach had composed one year earlier.

The measures 70–75 contain a direct quote (played by the oboe) of the bass solo voice in measures 91–98 from BWV 56 where the text is Der führet mich nach meinen Plagen zu Gott, in das gelobte Land ("which leads me to God in the promised land after all my tribulation").

In the introduction to the opening chorus, Bach expresses the reluctance to bid the final farewell to the Queen by prolonging the harmonies in a manner unusual even for him.