Cantata No. 118, Bwv 118

CANTATA No. 118 (O JESU CHRIST, MEIN'S LEBENS LICHT; OH JESUS, MY LORD AND LIGHT) is a sacred motet composed by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750). It is known to have been performed at a funeral, and was possibly a generic work intended for funereal purposes. When the work was first published in the nineteenth century, it was called a cantata, perhaps because it has an instrumental accompaniment. While it is not an a cappella work, modern scholarship accepts it is a motet. The instrumental accompaniment is written in six parts, which many instrument substitution options available: Part I - Trumpet 1 in B-flat; Part II - Trumpet 2 in B-flat; Part III - Clarinet in B-flat or/and Flute or/and Oboe; Part IV - Trumpet 3 in B-flat; Part V - Trombone 1 or/and Horn in F; Part VI - Trombone 2 and/or Bass Clarinet in B-flat.

Instrumentation: SATB Chorus: 6 Parts: Part I (Tpt1); Part II (Tpt2); Part III (Cl or Fl or Ob); Part IV (Tpt 3); Part V (Tbn1 or Hn); Part VI (Tbn 2or BCl)