The secular cantata BWV 209 bids an almost exuberant farewell to a friend who – after all – must move from Köthen to Ansbach in Franconia, a situation for which the image of a helmsman on the high seas is even invoked at the end. Ansbach by the sea. In radiant G major, of course. BWV 209 is one of two Italian solo cantatas penned by Bach. For a long time, his admirers found it hard to believe that he might occasionally have engaged with Italian chamber cantatas. Yet, given the opening concerto movement for flute and strings and the harmonic movement that is deliberately not smoothed out in the Italian style, it is hard to imagine any other composer.