Someone shows up dressed inappropriately for the occasion, so the king orders that the servants throw him out into the darkness. This parable relates to the text of the chorale used in this cantata. In Schmücke dich, o liebe Seele, the soul is preparing itself to enter God’s feast in heaven. In the opening stanza of the cantata the text asks the soul to adorn itself, and dress nice enough for the occasion. Christ is asking the adorned soul to be his guest up in heaven, just like the King inviting people to his son’s wedding. Both are asking their guests to be suitably prepared, or else they will be cast out into the darkness, representing a strong connection between the two texts. The first and last movement of the piece take the text of the hymn and leaves it unchanged, while the inner movements of the cantata paraphrase the text to adapt to the structure of the recitatives and
Someone shows up dressed inappropriately for the occasion, so the king orders that the servants throw him out into the darkness. This parable relates to the text of the chorale used in this cantata. In Schmücke dich, o liebe Seele, the soul is preparing itself to enter God’s feast in heaven. In the opening stanza of the cantata the text asks the soul to adorn itself, and dress nice enough for the occasion. Christ is asking the adorned soul to be his guest up in heaven, just like the King inviting people to his son’s wedding. Both are asking their guests to be suitably prepared, or else they will be cast out into the darkness, representing a strong connection between the two texts. The first and last movement of the piece take the text of the hymn and leaves it unchanged, while the inner movements of the cantata paraphrase the text to adapt to the structure of the recitatives and