Machet die Tore weit

The Advent cantata Machet die Tore weit has long been one of the most frequently performed of Telemann’s _x005F_x000D_sacred works. Among the copies of this cantata which have been handed down is a copy by J. S. Bach which _x005F_x000D_bears testimony to the high respect he paid to his then more celebrated colleague from Hamburg: It is a copy of the score in the hand of the Thomaskantor which was made for a performance in Leipzig on Avent Sunday in 1734 (therefore during the same period as the first performance of Bach’s Christmas Oratorio). Of the four _x005F_x000D_solo singers the soprano and bass, each of whom has an aria, are indispensable. The brief alto solos in the opening chorus can be sung by a member of thechoir, and the tenor recitative can be sung by the soprano soloist.