Das ist je gewißlich wahr facts for kids

Das ist je gewißlich wahr (which means "This is now the gospel truth") is a beautiful piece of music written by a famous German composer named Georg Philipp Telemann. It's known as TWV 1:183 in his list of works. For a long time, people thought this cantata was written by another very famous composer, Johann Sebastian Bach. Because of this mix-up, it was even listed in Bach's official music catalog, the Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis (BWV), as No. 141. However, in the 1990s, experts realized it was actually Telemann's work and moved it to a special section of the Bach catalog called Anhang III, which lists works that were wrongly thought to be by Bach.

The words for this cantata, called the libretto, were written by Johann Friedrich Helbig and first published in 1720. Around 1723, a musician named Johann Balthasar König made a copy of the music and correctly wrote down that Telemann was the composer. But later, in the second half of the 1700s, some other copies were made that mistakenly said Bach had written it.

The Story Behind the Music

This cantata was created to be performed for the third Sunday of Advent, which is the time leading up to Christmas. It was likely composed in either 1719 or 1720. The words for the first part of the music come from a Bible verse, 1 Timothy 1:15. The rest of the words for the other parts of the cantata were written by Johann Friedrich Helbig.

Instruments and Voices

This musical piece is quite grand! It's written for three singers who sing alone, called soloists: an alto (a lower female voice or high male voice), a tenor (a high male voice), and a bass (a low male voice). It also includes a four-part choir, which means a group of singers with soprano, alto, tenor, and bass voices.

For instruments, Telemann used two oboes (wind instruments), two violins, a viola (which looks like a violin but is a bit bigger), and a basso continuo. The basso continuo is usually played by instruments like a cello and a harpsichord, providing the musical foundation.

How the Music is Organized

The cantata is divided into four main parts, called movements:

• The first movement is a big Chorus, where the whole choir sings.
• The second movement is a Tenor aria, which means the tenor soloist sings a beautiful, expressive song.
• The third movement is an Alto recitative, where the alto soloist sings in a style that sounds a bit like talking, often telling a story or setting a scene.
• The fourth and final movement is a Bass aria, where the bass soloist sings another important song.

Recordings You Can Listen To

You can hear this cantata performed by different groups. One recording is:

• Alsfelder Vokalensemble / I Febiarmionici. Apocryphal Bach Cantatas II. Radio Bremen, 2001.

See also

In Spanish: Das ist je gewißlich wahr para niños