Chorale Texts used in Bach's Vocal Works
Wenn wir in höchsten Nöten sein
Text and Translation of Chorale

Ref. in hymnals/hymn books: NLGB 277; EG 366; Gemeindelieder 57; Jesus unsere Freude! 490; ELG 546
Author: Paul Eber (1566), after In tenebris nostrae by Joachim Camerarius (c1546)
Chorale Melody: Wenn wir in höchsten Nöten sein (Zahn 394) | Composer: Anon (1588), after the melody Melody “Leve le cœur” by Louis Bourgeois (1547)
Theme: Death and Dying; Christian Life and Conduct
Comments: According to Die Christliche Liederdatenbank & Luke Dahn the melody is by Guillaume Franc (1543) / Johann Baptista Serranus (1567), after "O dass doch bald dein Feuer brennte" (EG 255).

Description:

Most representative of the daily prayers are the two closely associated chorales related to the theme of “Death and Dying,” with their similar text form: "Wenn wir in höchsten Nöten sein" (When we are in utmost need) and “Vor/Für deinen Thron tret ich hiermit” (Before thy throne I now appear). "Wenn wir in höchsten Nöten sein" in seven stanzas was created in the mid-16th century Reformation and is found in the NLGB as No. 277, "Cross, Persecution and Tribulation.” “Vor deinen Thron tret ich hiermit” (Fischer-Tümpel II: 409-10, EKG 486) was written a century later in 15 stanzas involving Trinitarian addresses, thanksgiving and eternal life. Although not found in the NLGB, it was a representative devotional hymn in J.S. Bach’s time. It is widely known as J.S. Bach’s so-called “death-bed chorale,” which began as the brief Weimar Orgelbüchlein chorale prelude (Ob. 100), "Wenn wir in höchsten Nöten sein," BWV 641 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPMeBNU9fes). This was expanded to a “Leipzig” chorale prelude, BWV 668(a), (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52RdshARXdg).
J.S. Bach renamed and altered it as “Vor deinen Thron,” the last music in his Art of the Fugue, published posthumously (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcXvkVAxc-Q) In other hymnbooks such as Freylinghausen’s Geist-reiches Gesangbuch (Halle, 1708), the text of "Wenn wir in höchsten Nöten sein” also was associated with other melodies besides Martin Luther’s in its original use, while the succeeding chorale, “Vor deinen Thron,” also had other melodic associations. In both chorales the identified melody also had other, subsequent textual associations, as was the practice increasingly in chorale history from the Reformation onward. Debates still continue among J.S. Bach scholars as to which setting was composed first, BWV 668 or 668a (sometimes used interchangeably and with either text incipit), although the former is a revision and exists in an incomplete manuscript (anonymous copyist) of 25 1/2 bars. Each has a different incipit and are variant settings.
Which stanza did J.S. Bach emphasize most in his musical treatment?, asks Leahy, whose book examines all 18 chorale preludes from this perspective. “As Bach drew close to the end of his life, he would choose to depict the deeply personal and eschatologically strong Stanza 1 in the final composition in this collection,” she says (Ibid.: 278). “In effect the sinner is asking for salvation and forgiveness of sin, as in stanza 6 of "Wenn wir in höchsten Nöten sein".
"Wenn wir in höchsten Nöten sein,” BWV 668, is a plea of forgiveness in the seven-stanza text of Paul Eber (1564), based on Jehoshaphat's prayer in 2 Chronicles 20, set to the Louis Bourgeois 1543 melody (Zahn 394, BCW melody information, http://www.bach-cantatas.com/CM/Herr-Gott-loben-alle.htm. J.S. Bach set the Louis Bourgeois melody in the plain chorales, BWV 431 in F Major and BWV 432 in G Major, as well as in the organ chorale preludes of the Weimar Orgelbüchlein collection, BWV 641 in F Major, under the heading "Christian Life and Conduct." It is possible that the two plain chorales and the organ chorale prelude (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKL-wLGhoAU), were performed during Leipzig services on the 16th Sunday after Trinity, where the four Cantatas for that day, BWV 161, BWV 95, BWV 8, and BWV 27, were performed.
Source: Devotional Hymns: Morning, Evening Songs (December 14, 2017)

Paul Eber's “Wenn wir in hochsten Nöthen sein,” for use in time of trouble, is founded upon a hymn by his former master at Nürnberg, Joachim Camerarius:
In tenebris nostrae et densa caligine mentis,
Cum nihil est toto pectore consilii,
Turbati erigimus, Deus, ad Te lumina cordis
Nostra, tuamque fides solius erat opem.
Tu rege consiliis actus, Pater optime, nostros,
Nostrum opus ut laudi serviat omne Tuae.
Paul Eber's hymn was first printed as a broadsheet at Nürnberg circa 1560, and later in the Dresden New Betbuchlein (1566).
Source: Charles Sanford Terry: Johann Sebastian Bach, Bach’s Chorals, vol. 3 The Hymns and Hymn Melodies of the Organ Works (1921), pp 289-295

Vocal Works by J.S. Bach:

Chorale Wenn wir in höchsten Nöten sein, BWV 431
Ref: RE 68; Br 68; KE 358; Birnstiel 72; Levy-Mendelssohn 54; Fasch p.85; BGA 158; BC F203.1

Chorale Wenn wir in höchsten Nöten sein, BWV 432
Ref: RE 247; Br 247; KE 359; AmB 46II p.67; BGA 159; BC F203.2

In tenebris nostrae - Latin Text

German Translation

In tenebris nostrae et densa caligine mentis,
cum nihil est toto pectore consilii,
turbati erigimus, Deus, ad te lumina cordis
nostra, tuamque fides solius orat opem.
Tu rege consiliis actus, Pater optime, nostros,
nostrum opus ut laudi serviat omne tuae.

In den Finsternissen und dem dichten Nebel unseres Geistes,
wenn in der ganzen Brust kein Rat sich findet,
erheben wir verwirrt die Augen unseres Herzens, Gott, zu dir,
und deinen Beistand allein erbittet der Glaube.
Lenke du mit Weisungen unsere Taten, bester Vater,
damit unser ganzes Tun zu deinem Lob diene.“

German Text (verses in bold print set by Bach)

English Translation

1. Wenn wir in höchsten Nöten sein
Und wissen nicht, wo aus noch ein,
Und finden weder Hilf noch Rat,
Ob wir gleich sorgen früh und spat,

1. When in the hour of utmost need
We know not where to look for aid,
When days and nights of anxious thought
Nor help nor counsel yet have brought,

2. So ist dies unser Trost allein,
Dass wir zusammen insgemein
Dich anrufen, o treuer Gott,
Um Rettung aus der Angst und Not

2. Then this our comfort is alone,
That we may meet before Thy throne,
And cry, O faithful God, to Thee,
For rescue from our misery,

3. Und heben unser Aug und Herz
Zu dir in wahrer Reu und Schmerz
Und flehen um Begnadigung
Und aller Strafen Linderung,

3. To Thee may raise our hearts and eyes,
Repenting sore with bitter sighs,
And seek Thy pardon for our sin,
And respite from our griefs within:

4. Die du verheißest gnädiglich
Allen, die darum bitten dich
Im Namen deines Sohns Jesu Christ,
Der unser Heil und Fürsprech ist.

4. For Thou hast promised graciously
To hear all those who cry to Thee,
Through Him Whose naalone is great,
Our Saviour and our Advocate.

5. Drum kommen wir, o Herre Gott,
Und klagen dir all unsre Not,
Weil wir jetzt stehn verlassen gar
In großer Trübsal und Gefahr.

5. And thus we come, O God, to-day,"
And all our woes before Thee lay,
For tried, forsaken, lo! we stand,
Perils and foes on every hand.

6. Sieh nicht an unsre Sünde groß,
Sprich uns davon aus Gnaden los
Steh uns in unserm Elend bei,
Mach uns von allen Plagen frei,

6. Ah! hide not for our sins Thy face,
Absolve us through Thy boundless grace,
Be with us in our anguish still,
Free us at last from every ill;

7. Auf dass von Herzen können wir
Nachmals mit Freuden danken dir,
Gehorsam sein nach deinem Wort,
Dich allzeit preisen hier und dort.

7. That so with all our hearts we may
}Once more our glad thanksgivings pay,
And walk obedient to Thy word,
And now and ever praise the Lord.

Source of German Text: Bach Digital | Christliche Gedichte & Lieder | Die Christliche Liederdatenbank | Hymnary.org | Monarchieliga | Christliche Liederdatenbank (Evangliums.net)
English Translation: Catherine Winkworth | Source of English Translation: Charles Sanford Terry: Johann Sebastian Bach, Bach’s Chorals, vol. 3 The Hymns and Hymn Melodies of the Organ Works (1921), pp 289-295
Contributed by Aryeh Oron (October 2018)