So schnell ein rauschend Wasser schießt from Cantata No.26 BWV 26

There is no more beautiful aria in any of Bach’s cantatas than So schnell ein rauschend Wasser schießt from Ach wie flüchtig, ach wie nichtig, written for performance on 19 November 1724. The cantata as a whole is based on a 13-verse hymn by Michael Franck, the first and last verses of which are set for chorus as the first and last movements respectively. The texts of the intervening 11 verses, however, are paraphrased in such a way as to lend themselves to setting as two recitatives (one for alto, one for soprano) and two arias (one for tenor, one for bass). For the most part Bach’s music demonstrates how aware he is of Franck’s sombre message about the transitoriness and emptiness of life. But in the aria So schnell ein rauschend Wasser schießt he indulges himself in a vocal line so melodiously and decoratively engaging and in obbligato colouring for flute and violin so attractive as to persuade any listener that, though it might flow by like water, life is worth living after all. A da capo aria in form, it includes a particularly sensitively score and picturesque middle section (“Die Zeit vergeht”).