Bach Cantata - Words of A Sacred Cantata

Words of A Sacred Cantata

Within the Lutheran liturgy, certain readings from the Bible were prescribed for every event during the church year, two texts, Epistel from an Epistle and Evangelium from a Gospel. Music was expected for all Sundays and Holidays but the quiet times (tempus clausum) of Advent and Lent, the cantata supposed to reflect the readings. Many opening movements are based on Bible quotations, such as Sie werden aus Saba alle kommen, BWV 65, on Isaiah 60:6. Ideally, a cantata text started with an Old Testament quotation related to the readings, and reflected both the Epistle and the Gospel, as in the exemplary Die Himmel erzählen die Ehre Gottes, BWV 76. Most of the solo movements are based on poetry of contemporary writers, such as court poet Salomon Franck in Weimar, Georg Christian Lehms or Picander in Leipzig, with whom Bach collaborated. The final words were usually a stanza from a chorale. His Chorale cantatas are based exclusively on one chorale, for example the early Christ lag in Todes Banden, BWV 4, and most cantatas of his second annual cycle in Leipzig.

The List of Bach cantatas by liturgical function relates the liturgical year and its readings to the cantatas composed for its occasions.