About this edition
Few works in Bach's output reveal his lighter side as delightfully as Schweigt stille, plaudert nicht, BWV 211 — the beloved "Coffee Cantata." Composed around 1734 to a witty libretto by Picander, this secular cantata unfolds as a miniature comic opera, pitting the exasperated Schlendrian against his coffee-obsessed daughter Lieschen in a battle of wills that Bach sets with irresistible charm, sly humor, and genuine musical craft. It stands as one of the finest examples of Bach writing purely to entertain, offering conductors and ensembles a rare chance to explore his comic and theatrical instincts alongside his sacred masterworks.
This edition reproduces the score as it appeared in the Bach-Gesellschaft Ausgabe, Band 29 (pp. 139–72), published in Leipzig by Breitkopf und Härtel in 1881, edited by Paul Waldersee. The Bach-Gesellschaft Ausgabe was the first complete critical edition of Bach's works, produced over five decades (1851–1899) by scholars committed to establishing authoritative texts drawn from surviving manuscripts and early sources. Waldersee's volume remains a foundational scholarly resource, and this printing preserves the engraving and editorial presentation of that landmark nineteenth-century undertaking.
About this edition:
- Format: full orchestral score
- Page size: 8.5 x 11 inches
- Reproduced from a public domain historical source
- Published by Purple 4R Publishing
This score is part of the public domain, and we're delighted to bring this historical edition back into print — making a genuine piece of Bach scholarship easy to hold, study, and perform for musicians and scholars alike.
