The surviving material of the cantata Mein Alter kömmt, ich kann nicht sterben provides no information about its purpose or the time of its composition. On the title page of the autograph set of parts, only the performance dates of the Fürstenschule Grimma from 1696 to 1703 are noted. However, the editor was able to identify a poem by Christian Weise from 1682, which was remarkable for its time, as the text source. It contains the remark “an Lichtmesse,” the cantata is therefore intended for t...