List of church cantatas by liturgical occasion
The following is a list of church cantatas, sorted by the liturgical occasion for which they were composed and performed. The genre was particularly popular in 18th-century Lutheran Germany, although there are later examples.
The liturgical calendar of the German Reformation era had, without counting Reformation Day and days between Palm Sunday and Easter, 72 occasions for which a cantata could be presented. Composers such as Telemann composed cycles of church cantatas comprising all 72 occasions. Such a cycle is called an "ideal" cycle, while in any given liturgical year feast days could coincide with Sundays, and the maximum number of Sundays after Epiphany and the maximum number of Sundays after Trinity could not all occur.
In some places, of which Leipzig in Johann Sebastian Bach's time is best known, no concerted music was allowed for the three last Sundays of Advent, nor for the Sundays of Lent, so the "ideal" year cycle for such places comprised only 64 cantatas.
As the bulk of extant cantatas were composed for occasions occurring in the liturgical calendar of the German Reformation era, including Passion cantatas for Good Friday, that calendar is followed for the presentation of cantatas in this section. Most cantatas made reference to the content of the readings and to Lutheran hymns appropriate for the occasion. The melodies of such hymns often appeared in cantatas, for example as in the four-part settings concluding Bach's works, or as a cantus firmus in larger choral movements. Other occasions for church cantatas include weddings and funeral services. Thus below also readings and hymns associated with the occasion are listed, for the hymns for instance based on Vopelius' Neu Leipziger Gesangbuch. Data such as readings and hymns generally apply to Bach's Leipzig: differences may occur in other places, or other times, as indicated.
Occasions of the liturgical year
;Advent : Advent is celebrated on the four Sundays before Christmas. Sometimes, as in Leipzig, there was a tempus clausum for the last three Sundays of Advent.;Christmas to Epiphany
;Sundays after Epiphany : Depending on the date of Easter, a variable number of Sundays occurred between Epiphany and Septuagesima, the third Sunday before Ash Wednesday. The sixth Sunday after Epiphany is extremely rare: in the first half of the 18th century cantatas for this Sunday were only composed in "ideal" cantata cycles, but for instance not by composers such as Bach and Graupner who generally only composed what was to be performed under their direction.
;Pre-Lenten Season : There were three Sundays in the Pre-Lenten Season: Septuagesima, Sexagesima and Quinquagesima
;Lent : During Lent, the six 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 most cases rather considered an Oratorio than a cantata. In Graupner's Darmstadt there was also a cantata on Maundy Thursday.
;Easter to Pentecost
;Trinity and the Sundays after Trinity: Trinity is the Sunday after Pentecost. A variable number of Sundays occurs between Trinity and the first Sunday in Advent, a maximum of 27, if Easter is extremely early.
;Marian feasts : There are three Marian feast days that are usually observed in the German Reformation era: [|Purification] on 2 February, Annunciation on 25 March and [|Visitation] on 2 July
;Feast of John the Baptist : St. John's Day was celebrated on 24 June, with cantatas written by, among others, Bach and Telemann.
;Feast of St. Michael: St. Michael's Day was celebrated on 29 September with, for instance, cantatas by Bach and Telemann, but in Graupner's Darmstadt there was apparently no demand for such cantatas.
;Feast of St. Stephen : Saint Stephen's Day falls on 26 December, the second day of Christmas, so generally not counted as a separate occasion.
;Reformation Day : Reformation Day is celebrated on 31 October and for instance Bach and Graupner wrote cantatas for the occasion. Reformation Day is however not always seen as one of the feasts of the liturgical year: for instance in Telemann's and Picander's ideal cantata cycles the feast day is not mentioned.
Telemann's ideal cycle thus consists of four Sundays of Advent; Seven occasions from Christmas to Epiphany; Nine Sundays between Epiphany and Lent; Six Sundays of Lent; 14 occasions from Easter to Trinity; 27 Sundays after Trinity; Three Marian Feasts, St. John's Day and Michaelmas – totalling 72 occasions for which he provided a cantata.
Graupner's church cantatas do not include the sixth Sunday after Epiphany, nor cantatas for St. John's Day or Michaelmas, however there are cantatas for Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, which totals 71 occasions from GWV 1101 to 1171, with GWV 1173 indicating Reformation Day cantatas.
;Libretto cycles
First Sunday of Advent (Advent I)
;Occasion;Readings
;Hymns
;Cantatas
Second Sunday of Advent (Advent II)
;Occasion;Readings
;Hymns
;Cantatas
Third Sunday of Advent (Advent III)
;Occasion;Readings
;Hymns
;Cantatas
Fourth Sunday of Advent (Advent IV)
;Occasion;Readings
;Hymns
;Cantatas
Christmas (25 December)
;Occasion;Readings
;Hymns
;Cantatas
Second Day of Christmas (26 December: Christmas 2)
;Occasion;Readings
;Hymns
;Cantatas
Third Day of Christmas (27 December: Christmas 3)
;Occasion;Readings
;Hymns
;Cantatas
First Sunday after Christmas (Christmas I)
;Occasion;Readings
;Hymns
;Cantatas
New Year (1 January)
;Occasion;Readings
;Hymns
;Cantatas
Sunday after New Year (New Year I)
;Occasion;Readings
;Cantatas
Epiphany (6 January)
;Occasion;Readings
;Cantatas
First Sunday after Epiphany (Epiphany I)
;Readings;Hymns
;Cantatas
Second Sunday after Epiphany (Epiphany II)
;Readings;Hymns
;Cantatas
Third Sunday after Epiphany (Epiphany III)
;Readings;Hymns
;Cantatas
Fourth Sunday after Epiphany (Epiphany IV)
;Readings;Hymns
;Cantatas
Purification (2 February)
;Occasion;Readings
;Hymns
;Cantatas
Fifth Sunday after Epiphany (Epiphany V)
;Readings;Hymns
;Cantatas
Sixth Sunday after Epiphany (Epiphany VI)
;Readings;Hymns
;Cantatas
Third Sunday before Lent (Septuagesima)
;Occasion;Readings
;Hymns
;Cantatas
Second Sunday before Lent (Sexagesima)
;Occasion;Readings
;Hymns
;Cantatas
Last Sunday before Lent (Estomihi)
;Occasion;Readings
;Hymns
;Cantatas
First Sunday of Lent (Invocabit)
;Occasion;Readings
;Hymns
;Cantatas
Second Sunday of Lent (Reminiscere)
;Occasion;Readings
;Hymns
;Cantatas
Third Sunday of Lent (Oculi)
;Occasion;Readings
;Hymns
;Cantatas
Fourth Sunday of Lent (Laetare)
;Occasion;Readings
;Hymns
;Cantatas
Fifth Sunday of Lent (Judica)
;Occasion;Readings
;Hymns
;Cantatas
Annunciation (25 March)
;Occasion;Readings
;Hymns
;Cantatas
Palm Sunday
;Occasion;Readings
;Hymns
;Cantatas
Maundy Thursday
;Occasion;Readings
;Hymns
;Cantatas
Good Friday
;Occasion;Hymns
;Cantatas
Easter
;Occasion:;Readings
;Hymns
;Cantatas
Easter Monday (Easter 2)
;Occasion;Readings
;Hymns
;Cantatas
Easter Tuesday (Easter 3)
;Readings;Hymns
;Cantatas
First Sunday after Easter (Quasimodogeniti)
;Occasion;Readings
;Hymns
;Cantatas
Second Sunday after Easter (Misericordias Domini)
;Occasion;Readings
;Hymns
;Cantatas
Third Sunday after Easter (Jubilate)
;Occasion;Readings
;Hymns
;Cantatas
Fourth Sunday after Easter (Cantate)
;Occasion;Readings
;Hymns
;Cantatas
Fifth Sunday after Easter (Rogate)
;Occasion;Readings
;Hymns
;Cantatas
Ascension
;Occasion;Readings
;Hymns
;Cantatas
Sunday after Ascension (Exaudi)
;Occasion;Readings
;Hymns
;Cantatas
Pentecost
;Occasion;Readings
;Hymns
;Cantatas
Pentecost Monday (Pentecost 2)
;Occasion;Readings
;Hymns
;Cantatas
Pentecost Tuesday (Pentecost 3)
;Occasion;Readings
;Hymns
;Cantatas
Trinity
;Occasion;Readings
;Hymns
;Cantatas
First Sunday after Trinity (Trinity I)
;Readings;Hymns
;Cantatas
Second Sunday after Trinity (Trinity II)
;Readings;Hymns
;Cantatas
St. John's Day (24 June)
;Occasion;Readings
;Hymns
;Cantatas
Third Sunday after Trinity (Trinity III)
;Readings;Hymns
;Cantatas
Fourth Sunday after Trinity (Trinity IV)
;Readings;Hymns
;Cantatas
Fifth Sunday after Trinity (Trinity V)
;Readings;Hymns
;Cantatas
Visitation (2 July)
;Occasion;Readings
;Hymns and canticles
;Cantatas, including Magnificat settings performed as Visitation cantata
Sixth Sunday after Trinity (Trinity VI)
;Readings;Hymns
;Cantatas
Seventh Sunday after Trinity (Trinity VII)
;Readings;Hymns
;Cantatas
Eighth Sunday after Trinity (Trinity VIII)
;Readings;Hymns
;Cantatas
Ninth Sunday after Trinity (Trinity IX)
;Readings;Hymns
;Cantatas
Tenth Sunday after Trinity (Trinity X)
;Readings;Hymns
;Cantatas
11th Sunday after Trinity (Trinity XI)
;Readings;Hymns
;Cantatas
12th Sunday after Trinity (Trinity XII)
;Readings;Hymns
;Cantatas
13th Sunday after Trinity (Trinity XIII)
;Readings;Hymns
;Cantatas