<P> Ich steh mit einem Fuß im Grabe (I am standing with one foot in the grave), BWV 156, is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach . He composed it in Leipzig for the third Sunday after Epiphany and first performed it on 23 January 1729 . The cantata is well known for its opening sinfonia for orchestra and oboe solo . </P> <P> BWV 156 was Bach's fourth and last cantata for the Third Sunday after Epiphany . The prescribed readings for the Sunday were taken from the Epistle to the Romans, rules for life (Romans 12: 17--21), and from the Gospel of Matthew, the healing of a leper (Matthew 8: 1--13). The librettist was Picander . He incorporated two chorale tunes: "Machs mit mir, Gott, nach deiner Güt" by Johann Herman Schein (1628) and "Herr, wie du willt, so schicks mit mir" by Kaspar Bienemann (1582). </P> <P> The sinfonia was likely derived from an earlier oboe concerto and was later adapted as part of Bach's Harpsichord Concerto in F minor . </P>

Musical style ich steh mit einem fuss im grabe