Die Welt will nur die Frommen hassen

The surviving materials for this fine cantata include only an incomplete Bass part. David Bellinger (who regularly contributes excellent translations to our editions of German church music) rose to the challenge of writing the text for the solo verse (which consisted of a single word "Doch..."), while Brian Clark "composed" the music, hopefully in a way that Erlebach would not find objectionable. Like most surviving cantatas, this consists of an opening ensemble movement, a four verse aria with instrumental ritornelli, which is followed by the opening section again, though rather unusually there is a different text for the repeat. The work is also more thinly scored than normal, with no viola parts.