Published
Alle Menschen müssen sterben (P.377b)
All people must die
Walther uses an otherwise unknown melody here, probably one that was used only in Weimar. Bach also used it once, in the closing chorale of his Weimar cantata “Ach! ich sehe, itzt, da ich zur Hochzeit gehe,” BWV 162. In Walther’s work, the sorrow of having to die outweighs the prospect of “the great glory prepared for the devout,” which is the text’s true subject. The melodic line is therefore subtly brightened, allowing the future glory to be sensed at least faintly, as though from afar.