BWV 196 ‘Der Herr denket an uns’ (The Lord remembers us) could not exactly be described as a counterpart to the well-known ‘Actus tragicus’ or the cantata BWV 106 ‘Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit’ (God's time is the very best time), but at least as a small, lively sister to this early core composition by Johann Sebastian Bach. This is true from a purely formal point of view in terms of the structure of the two pieces, namely the omission of connecting recitatives and a final chorale. Then also textually, in that only biblical texts are set to music; here it is verses 12 - 15 of the 115th Psalm. Both form and text give the cantata ‘Der Herr denket an uns’ a remarkably slender stature, which the composer then dresses up in the most generous manner. The piece is therefore not perceived as short, but as extraordinarily rich and delightful: for it could have been written by the youthful Bach as wedding music for himself or a close friend.