When did Bach write his church cantatas?
Most of Bach's church cantatas date from his first years as Thomaskantor and director of church music in Leipzig, a position which he took up in 1723.
What are the characteristics of Johann Sebastian Bach's church cantatas?
J. S. Bach's church cantatas are single-movement works. T or F Johann Sebastian Bach had an international career. T or F Many of Bach's cantatas are elaborations of Protestant chorale or hymn tunes.
Are Bach's great cantatas off-limits to newcomers?
Every Easter Bach’s masterpieces, the St John and St Matthew Passions, connect with millions of listeners worldwide. While the drama and spiritual depths of Bach’s Passions continue to attract suitably passionate converts, his sublime church cantatas often appear to be off-limits to newcomers.
Can contemporary listeners connect with Bach cantatas pilgrimage?
John Eliot Gardiner’s monumental Bach Cantatas Pilgrimage, which rolled its way across Europe in 2000, proved that contemporary listeners could connect with pieces originally conceived to enhance orthodox Lutheran sermons.
What church did Bach write his cantatas?
Johann Sebastian Bach wrote most of his cantatas for the Lutheran church.
Did JS Bach wrote cantatas for the Lutheran church?
Throughout his life as a musician, Johann Sebastian Bach composed cantatas for both secular and sacred use. His church cantatas are cantatas which he composed for use in the Lutheran church, mainly intended for the occasions of the liturgical year.
Where did Bach write his cantatas?
Bach's earliest cantatas were written possibly from 1707, the year he moved to Mühlhausen, although he may have begun composing them at his previous post in Arnstadt. He began regular composition of church cantatas in Weimar between 1708 and 1717, writing one cantata per month.
What religion did Bach compose for?
Lutheran theologyHe is the composer of moving works of sacred music. His compositions show a deep understanding of Lutheran theology. Admirers have even labeled him the “Fifth Evangelist.” And yet, we don't know much about Bach's own faith.
Who were Bach's cantatas written for?
Text of Bach's sacred cantatas Music was expected for all Sundays and holidays except the quiet times (tempus clausum) of Advent and Lent; the cantatas were supposed to reflect the readings. Many opening movements are based on quotations from the Bible, such as Sie werden aus Saba alle kommen, BWV 65, from Isaiah 60:6.
How many cantatas did J. S. Bach write for Protestant church services?
Many of J. S. Bach's cantatas are based on Lutheran chorale or hymn tunes. J. S. Bach wrote over 200 church cantatas.
When was the cantata written?
Following the new fashion for dramatic religious music, Bach first turned his hand to the church cantata in Easter 1707 with Christ lag in Todesbanden, BWV 4. He wrote more at the court of Saxe-Weimar, many of which were destroyed or lost during the composer's move to Leipzig in May 1723.
What language was Bach's cantatas written?
Bach wrote masterfully in German, Latin and Italian. I'm sure if a commission had appeared, he could have written a French opera or an English Te Deum.
Where was the cantata originally developed?
northern GermanyThe cantata, as developed in northern Germany in the 17th century, often relied only...
Who wrote the cantatas?
J.S. BachThe word cantata is best known to many through the works of J.S. Bach, although he called them by such older terms as motetto, concerto, or ode (the name cantata was applied by 19th-century editors) and rejected the superficial style that often characterized the form.
For which religious occasion was the cantata Wachet auf written?
Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme, BWV 140Wachet auf, ruft uns die StimmeOther nameSleepers WakeOccasion27th Sunday after TrinityChorale"Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme" by Philipp NicolaiPerformed25 November 1731: Leipzig6 more rows
Why are the Bach cantatas important?
Devotional poetry, biblical quotations and verses from Lutheran hymns, all strong on emotion and vivid expressions of mankind's suffering, were used by Bach as cantata texts. The published sources of words provided scope for choruses, solo songs, dramatic recitatives and congregational hymns.
Are cantatas religious?
A cantata is a work for voice or voices and instruments of the baroque era. From its beginnings in 17th-century Italy, both secular and religious cantatas were written. The earliest cantatas were generally for solo voice with minimal instrumental accompaniment.
Where did Bach write his cantatas?
His earliest extant cantatas were composed in Arnstadt and Mühlhausen. In 1708 he moved to Weimar where he wrote most of his church cantatas before the Leipzig era. These pre-Leipzig cantatas are not generally grouped as one of the five cycles mentioned in the Nekrolog. The extant cantatas of the pre-Leipzig era are primarily known by their recasting as a cantata in one of the Leipzig cycles.
How long did Bach compose a cantata?
Further information: Weimar cantata. In Weimar, Bach was from 1714 to 1717 commissioned to compose one church cantata a month. In the course of almost four years there he thus covered most occasions of the liturgical year.
What church cantatas did Bach compose for the Annunciation?
The only two extant church cantatas Bach composed for Annunciation ( see below) are also Palm Sunday cantatas. He composed one for this combined occasion in Weimar ( BWV 182 ). In Leipzig Annunciation was the only occasion for which concerted music could be performed during Lent, apart from the Passion performed on Good Friday. When 25 March, the normal date for the feast of Annunciation, fell in Holy Week the feast for Annunciation was moved forward to Palm Sunday, which happened in 1728, the second time Bach restaged his Weimar cantata for the combined Annunciation and Palm Sunday occasion.
What is the third cycle of Bach?
Bach's third (Leipzig) cantata cycle is traditionally seen as consisting of cantatas first performed from the first Sunday after Trinity in 1725 to Trinity Sunday in 1726, or otherwise before the Picander cycle.
What are the pre-Leipzig cantatas?
These pre-Leipzig cantatas are not generally grouped as one of the five cycles mentioned in the Nekrolog. The extant cantatas of the pre-Leipzig era are primarily known by their recasting as a cantata in one of the Leipzig cycles. Early cantatas. Further information: Bach's early cantatas.
How many cantatas are there in Bach?
Bach's Nekrolog mentions five cantata cycles: "Fünf Jahrgänge von Kirchenstücken, auf alle Sonn- und Festtage" (Five year-cycles of pieces for the church, for all Sundays and feast days), which would amount to at least 275 cantatas, or over 320 if all cycles would have been ideal cycles.
What is the second Sunday after Christmas?
It is known as the Sunday after New Year's Day or as the second Sunday of Christmas.
How many cantatas does Bach have?
This is a sortable list of the Bach cantatas, the cantatas of Johann Sebastian Bach. Bach's almost 200 extant cantatas are among his important vocal compositions . The list includes both extant cantatas and, as far as known, lost cantatas. It is sortable by the cantata number which equals the number in the Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis (BWV), by title, ...
What is the church cantata?
Most of the church cantatas are composed for occasions of the Lutheran liturgical year and related to prescribed readings. The Sundays after Trinity are numbered using roman numerals (for example "Trinity II" for the second Sunday after Trinity).
When did Bach write the church cantata?
Following the new fashion for dramatic religious music, Bach first turned his hand to the church cantata in Easter 1707 with Christ lag in Todesbanden, BWV 4. He wrote more at the court of Saxe-Weimar, many of which were destroyed or lost during the composer’s move to Leipzig in May 1723.
How many cantatas did Bach write?
Between 1723 and the first performance of the St Matthew Passion on Good Friday 1727, Bach wrote over 150 cantatas, recycling existing pieces and inventing new music at the punishing rate of almost one a week.
How many Bach cantatas have survived?
Around three quarters of Bach’s Leipzig cantatas have survived and can be grouped into three, more or less, complete cycles according to the pattern of the church year. On the evidence of these works alone, it would be fair to say that the composer and his contemporaries viewed life as a grand rehearsal for death.
What was Bach's second cantata?
For his second cantata cycle (1724-25), Bach broke with convention to invent a unified form of cantata based on the words and music of seasonal hymns.
What did Bach offer the faithful?
But he also offered the faithful a musical foretaste of the comfort and joy of eternal salvation.
Is Bach's Passions off limits?
While the drama and spiritual depths of Bach’s Passions continue to attract suitably passionate converts, his sublime church cantatas often appear to be off-limits to newcomers. But don’t be deterred by the barriers of unfamiliarity or the sheer number of pieces.
Overview
Throughout his life as a musician, Johann Sebastian Bach composed cantatas for both secular and sacred use. His church cantatas are cantatas which he composed for use in the Lutheran church, mainly intended for the occasions of the liturgical year.
History and context
Bach's Nekrolog mentions five cantata cycles: "Fünf Jahrgänge von Kirchenstücken, auf alle Sonn- und Festtage" (Five year-cycles of pieces for the church, for all Sundays and feast days), which would amount to at least 275 cantatas, or over 320 if all cycles would have been ideal cycles. The extant cantatas are around two-thirds of that number, with limited additional information on the ones that went missing or survived as fragments.
Advent
Advent is celebrated on the four Sundays before Christmas. In Leipzig, only on the first Sunday a cantata was performed, because it was a Fastenzeit (season of abstinence).
Composed before the numbered cycles:
• Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland, BWV 61 (2 December 1714, Weimar)
1 – First year in Leipzig, 28 November 1723:
Christmastide
The Christmas season was celebrated from Christmas Day (25 December) through Epiphany (6 January). In Leipzig, three consecutive days were observed for Christmas, with a Christmas cantata performed every day (25–27 December). If a Sunday fell between 27 December and 1 January, the first Sunday of Christmas (Christmas I), it was celebrated with a cantata too. Other cantatas were composed for New Year's Day (1 January), a Sunday between 1 and 6 January (if a…
After Epiphany
Depending on the date of Easter, a variable number (up to six) of Sundays occurred between Epiphany and Septuagesima, the third Sunday before Ash Wednesday.
1 – First cycle, 9 January 1724:
• Mein liebster Jesus ist verloren, BWV 154
2 – Chorale cantata cycle, 7 January 1725:
Pre-Lent
Pre-Lent, a.k.a. Shrovetide or the Pre-Lenten season, comprises the three last Sundays before Lent.
Septuagesima is the third Sunday before Ash Wednesday.
1 – First cycle, 6 February 1724:
• Nimm, was dein ist, und gehe hin, BWV 144
2 – Chorale cantata cycle, 28 January 1725:
Lent
During Lent, the Sundays between Ash Wednesday and Easter, "quiet time" was observed in Leipzig. Only the feast of Annunciation was celebrated with a cantata, even if it fell in that time. On Good Friday, a Passion was performed in Leipzig in a Vespers service.
4 – Picander cycle, libretto planned for 6 March 1729:
• Weg, mein Herz, mit den Gedanken (no known setting by Bach)
Easter
The Easter season comprises the time up to Pentecost, starting with three days of Easter.
Composed before the numbered cycles:
• Christ lag in Todes Banden, BWV 4 (early version probably 24 April 1707; chorale cantata)
• Der Himmel lacht! Die Erde jubilieret, BWV 31 (Weimar version: 21 April 1715)