This famous 'Arioso' from Bach's Cantata BWV 159 is a profound and deeply moving Baroque aria. Its expressive melody, adorned with subtle ornamentation, conveys a sense of profound peace and resignation.
Requires exceptional control of legato, careful ornamentation, and a deep understanding of Baroque phrasing to achieve its spiritual depth.
Arioso is rated Henle level 6 of 9 — advanced repertoire, roughly ABRSM grades 7–8. In the RCM system it corresponds to about level 9.
You should be comfortable at Henle level 6 — meaning you can already play level 5–6 pieces cleanly. Learning it one level early is possible as a stretch piece, but more than that usually leads to months of frustration.
A typical performance of Arioso lasts about 5 minutes.
Arioso is available as free public-domain sheet music on IMSLP — the score is linked directly from this page.