Der Geist hilft unser Schwachheit auf, BWV 226
Der Geist hilft unser Schwachheit auf, BWV 226, is a motet by Johann Sebastian Bach, composed in Leipzig in 1729 for the funeral of Johann Heinrich Ernesti.
Manuscript
The Paulinerkirche was a church on the Augustusplatz in Leipzig. It was built in 1231 as the Klosterkirche St. Pauli for the Dominican monastery in Leipzig. From the foundation of the University of Leipzig in 1409, it served as the university church. After the Protestant Reformation it was donated to the university and was inaugurated in 1545 by Martin Luther as the Universitätskirche St. Pauli, later also called Unikirche. Johann Sebastian Bach was director of music for "festal" (holiday) services in 1723−25.
The Paulinerkirche, the university church of Leipzig, view from the Augustusplatz, 1948, facade by Arwed Roßbach
Paulineraltar, the back side
The Paulinerkirche in the 17th century, lithograph by Ernst Wilhelm Straßberger, ca. 1839
University and its church, c. 1800