Church cantata (Bach)


Throughout his life as a musician,[] Johann Sebastian Bach composed cantatas for both [List of List of secular cantatas by Johann Sebastian Bach|secular cantatas by Johann Sebastian Bach|secular] and sacred use. He composed his church cantatas for use in the Lutheran church, mainly intended for the occasions of the liturgical year.

cantata cycles">History and context

Bach's Nekrolog mentions five cantata cycles: "Fünf Jahrgänge von Kirchenstücken, auf alle Sonn- und Festtage", 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.
The listing below contains cycle information as available in scholarship, and may include cantatas that are or were associated with Bach, but were not actually composed by him.

Before Leipzig

Bach's earliest cantatas date from more than 15 years before he became Thomaskantor in Leipzig in 1723. 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.

Early cantatas

Bach started composing cantatas around 1707, when he was still an organist in Arnstadt. The first documented performances of his work take place in Mühlhausen, where he was appointed in 1708.

Weimar

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. The expression "Weimar cycle" has been used for the cantatas composed in Weimar from 1714.

Köthen

In Köthen, where Bach worked from 1717 to 1723, he restaged some of his earlier church cantatas. Apart from composing several secular cantatas, Lobet den Herrn, alle seine Heerscharen, BWV Anh. 5, is the only new church cantata he appears to have composed there.

Leipzig

As Thomaskantor, director of music of the main churches of Leipzig, Bach was responsible for the Thomasschule and for the church music at the main churches, where a cantata was required for the service on Sundays and additional church holidays of the liturgical year. When Bach took up his office in 1723, he started to compose new cantatas for most occasions, beginning with Die Elenden sollen essen, BWV 75, first performed in the Nikolaikirche on 30 May 1723, the first Sunday after Trinity. He collected them in annual cycles; five are mentioned in obituaries, three are extant.
The church year begins with the first Sunday in Advent, but Bach started his first Leipzig cycles on the first Sunday after Trinity, which "also marked the beginning of the second half of the Lutheran liturgical year: the Trinity season or "Era of the Church" in which core issues of faith and doctrine are explored, in contrast to the first half, known as the "Temporale" which, beginning in Advent and ending on Trinity Sunday, focuses on the life of Christ, His incarnation, death and resurrection".
Leipzig observed tempus clausum, quiet time, in Advent and Lent, when no cantatas were performed. All cantatas for these occasions date from Bach's earlier time. He reworked some cantatas from this period for different occasions. The high holidays Christmas, Easter and Pentecost were each celebrated on three days. Additionally, feasts were celebrated on fixed dates, the feasts of Purification of Mary, Annunciation and Visitation, and the Saint's days of St. John the Baptist, St. Michael, St. Stephen and St. John the Evangelist. Further feasts on fixed days were New Year's Day, Epiphany and Reformation Day. Sacred cantatas were also performed for the inauguration of a new city council, consecration of church and organ, weddings, confession, funerals, and functions of the University of Leipzig.

First cycle

Bach's first cantata cycle consists of cantatas or similar liturgical works first performed from to .

Second cycle

Bach started a second annual cycle on the first Sunday after Trinity of 1724, planned to contain only chorale cantatas, each based on a single Lutheran hymn. He began with O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort, BWV 20, on the first Sunday after Trinity, composed chorale cantatas to the end of the liturgical year, began the next liturgical year with Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland, BWV 62 for the first Sunday in Advent, and kept the plan up to Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern, BWV 1, performed on Palm Sunday. For the occasions from Easter to Trinity, he composed no chorale cantatas based exclusively on one hymn, but wrote a few of them in later years, such as Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme, BWV 140, for the 28th Sunday after Trinity which had not occurred in 1724.
Bach's second cantata cycle consists of cantatas first performed from to . The first 40 cantatas of this cycle are chorale cantatas, thus this cycle is also known as the chorale cantata cycle. Bach's chorale cantatas written at a later date and restagings of earlier chorale cantatas are also usually understood as being included in this cycle.

Third cycle

Bach's third 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. More recent scholarship assigns the qualification "between the third and the fourth cycles" to the few known cantatas written from 1727 to the start of the fourth cycle.
In the "third cycle" period Bach also performed many cantatas composed by his second cousin Johann Ludwig Bach a Leipzig premiere. For the period from [|Purification], to Trinity XIII, there are extant copies by Johann Sebastian Bach and his usual scribes for 16 cantatas, covering nearly half of the occasions in that period. Another cantata, JLB 21, was likely also given its Leipzig premiere in this same period, but was for some time misattributed to Johann Sebastian Bach as his cantata BWV 15.

Fourth cycle

Bach's fourth cantata cycle, known as the Picander cycle, consists of cantatas performed for the first time from to, or later in 1729, to a libretto from the printed cycle of 70 cantata texts for 1728–29 by Picander. Later additions to this cycle and Picander librettos without extant setting from Bach's time in Leipzig can be seen as belonging to this cycle.

Later/other

Cantatas not belonging to any of the previous: e.g. first performed after the Picander cycle, uncertainty when it was first performed or for which liturgical occasion it was composed, etc. Generally it is not believed that cantatas composed after the Picander cycle amount to a cycle in its own right, at least there are not enough extant cantatas to unambiguously conclude that a fifth Leipzig cantata cycle ever existed.

Occasions

The Lutheran church of Bach's time prescribed the same readings every year, a section from a Gospel and, recited before this, a corresponding section from an Epistle. A connection between the cantata text and the readings was desired. Relevant readings and hymns are linked to the church cantata article for each occasion.
Roman numerals refer to the position of the given Sunday with respect to a feast day or season. For example, "Advent III" is the third Sunday in Advent and "Trinity V" is the fifth Sunday after Trinity. The number of Sundays after Epiphany and Trinity varies with the position of Easter in the calendar. There can be between 22 and 27 Sundays after Trinity. The maximum number of Sundays after Epiphany did not occur while Bach wrote cantatas.

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.

Advent I

Composed before the numbered cycles:
[|1 – First year in Leipzig], :
  • BWV 61 restaged
[|2 – Chorale cantata cycle], :
3 – Between the second and the fourth cycle?:
  • BWV 36, early version, first presented between 1725 and 1730
[|4 – Picander cycle], libretto planned for :Machet die Thore weit
5 – Other and/or later:

Advent II

Composed before the numbered cycles:
[|4 – Picander libretto] for :
  • ''Erwache doch mein Herze''

Advent III

Composed before the numbered cycles:
4 – Picander libretto for :Alle Plagen, alle Pein
5 – Other and/or later:

Advent IV

Composed before the numbered cycles:
4 – Picander libretto for :
  • ''Vergiß es, doch, mein Herze, nicht''

Christmastide

The Christmas season was celebrated from Christmas Day through Epiphany. In Leipzig, three consecutive days were observed for Christmas, with a Christmas cantata performed every day. If a Sunday fell between 27 December and 1 January, the first Sunday of Christmas, it was celebrated with a cantata too. Other cantatas were composed for New Year's Day, a Sunday between 1 and 6 January and Epiphany.
For the Christmas season of 1734–35 Bach composed the Christmas Oratorio in six parts, each part a cantata to be performed on one of the six feast days that occurred in that Christmas period : three days of Christmas, New Year, the Sunday after New Year and Epiphany.

Christmas Day

Composed before the numbered cycles:
1 – First year in Leipzig, 1723:
[|2 – Second year in Leipzig], 1724:
5 – Other and/or later:

Second Day of Christmas

On the second day of Christmas Leipzig celebrated Christmas and Saint Stephen's Day in alternating years, with different readings.
[|1 – First cycle], 1723:
2 – Chorale cantata cycle, 1724:
[|3 – Third cycle], 1725:
4 – Picander cycle, libretto planned for 1728:Kehret wieder, kommt zurücke
5 – Other and/or later:

Third Day of Christmas

1 – First cycle, 1723:
2 – Chorale cantata cycle, 1724:
3 – Third cycle, 1725:
4 – Picander cycle, libretto planned for 1728:Ich bin in dich entzündt
5 – Other and/or later:

Christmas I

Composed before the numbered cycles:
2 – Chorale cantata cycle, :
3 – Third cycle, :
4 – Picander cycle, libretto planned for 1728 :
  • ''Niemand kan die Lieb ergründen''

New Year's Day

On 1 January the feast of the Circumcision of Christ was celebrated, as well as the New Year.
Composed before the numbered cycles:
1 – First cycle, 1724:
2 – Chorale cantata cycle, 1725:
3 – Third cycle, 1726:
4 – Picander cycle, 1729:
5 – Other and/or later:

New Year I

In some years, a Sunday falls between New Year's Day and Epiphany. It is known as the Sunday after New Year's Day or as the second Sunday of Christmas.
1 – First cycle, :
2 – Later addition to the chorale cantata cycle:
  • BWV 58, although not fully conforming to the chorale cantata format, was a later addition to the chorale cantata cycle.
[|3 – Third cycle or "between the third and the fourth cycles"], :
4 – Picander cycle, libretto planned for :Steh auf, mein Herz
5 – Other and/or later:

Epiphany

1 – First cycle, 1724:
2 – Chorale cantata cycle, 1725:
4 – Picander cycle, libretto planned for 1729:Dieses ist der tag
5 – Other and/or later:

After Epiphany

Depending on the date of Easter, a variable number of Sundays occurred between Epiphany and Septuagesima, the third Sunday before Ash Wednesday.

Epiphany I

1 – First cycle, :
2 – Chorale cantata cycle, :
3 – Third cycle, :
4 – Picander cycle, libretto planned for :Ich bin betrübt
5 – Other and/or later:

Epiphany II

Composed before the numbered cycles:
1 – First year in Leipzig, :
2 – Chorale cantata cycle, :
3 – Third cycle, :
4 – Picander cycle, libretto planned for :
  • ''Ich hab in mir ein fröhlich Herze''

Epiphany III

1 – First cycle, :
2 – Chorale cantata cycle, :
3 – Third cycle, :
4 – Picander cycle, or :
5 – Other and/or later:
  • BWV 73 restaged 1732–35 and 1748–49

Epiphany IV

1 – First cycle, :
2 – Chorale cantata cycle:
  • No Epiphany IV in 1725 – see below: Septuagesima
  • BWV 14 was later added to the chorale cantata cycle
[|3 – Third year in Leipzig], :
4 – Picander cycle, libretto planned for :Wie bist du doch in mir
5 – Other and/or later:

Epiphany V

There is no extant Bach-cantata for Epiphany V, nor for Epiphany VI, Sundays that did not occur every year. In Bach's first year in Leipzig the last Sunday before Pre-Lent was Epiphany IV. In his second year it had been Epiphany III. In his third year in Leipzig the last Sunday before Pre-Lent was Epiphany V, on which occasion he staged a cantata by Johann Ludwig Bach. In the Picander cycle the last Sunday before Pre-Lent was also Epiphany V, but there is no extant cantata for that occasion in 1729.
3 – Third year in Leipzig, :
4 – Picander cycle, libretto planned for :
  • ''Erwache, du verschlaffnes Herze''

Epiphany VI

Picander provided a libretto for the sixth Sunday after Epiphany in his 1728–29 cycle of cantata texts, although that Sunday did not occur in the liturgical year for which he wrote his cycle. Epiphany VI did not occur in any of the years Bach was composing his cantata cycles.
4 – Picander cycle, libretto for Epiphany VI:
  • ''Valet will ich dir geben''

Pre-Lent

Pre-Lent comprises the three last Sundays before Lent.

Septuagesima

Septuagesima is the third Sunday before Ash Wednesday.
1 – First cycle, :
2 – Chorale cantata cycle, :
3 – Third year in Leipzig and "between the third and the fourth cycles":
4 – Picander cycle, libretto planned for :Ich bin vergnügt mit meinem Stande
5 – Other and/or later:
  • Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach's ''Ich bin vergnügt mit meinem Stande''

Sexagesima

Sexagesima is the second Sunday before Ash Wednesday.
Composed before the numbered cycles:
1 – First year in Leipzig, :
2 – Chorale cantata cycle, :
3 – Third year in Leipzig, :
4 – Picander cycle, libretto planned for :Sey getreu biß in den Tod
5 – Other and/or later:
  • BWV 181 restaged 1743–46

Estomihi

Composed before the numbered cycles:
[|1 – Audition and first cycle], and :
2 – Chorale cantata cycle, :
3 – Third year in Leipzig and "between the third and the fourth cycles":
4 – Picander cycle, :
5 – Other and/or later:
  • BWV 23, final version: this version was possibly premiered in 1730 or 1731, [|see above]

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.

Invocabit

4 – Picander cycle, libretto planned for :
  • ''Weg, mein Herz, mit den Gedanken''

Reminiscere

4 – Picander cycle, libretto planned for :
  • ''Ich stürme den Himmel mit meinem Gebethe''

Oculi

Composed before the numbered cycles:
4 – Picander cycle, libretto planned for :
  • ''Schliesse dich, mein Herze zu''

Laetare

4 – Picander cycle, libretto planned for :
  • ''Wer nur den lieben Gott läßt walten''

Judica

4 – Picander cycle, libretto planned for :
  • ''Böse Welt, schmäh immerhin''

Palm Sunday

The only two extant church cantatas Bach composed for Annunciation are also Palm Sunday cantatas. He composed one for this combined occasion in Weimar. 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.
The other cantata Bach composed for the combined occasion was the last chorale cantata written in his second year in Leipzig, first performed on . In 1729, the Picander cycle year, Annunciation fell more than two weeks before Palm Sunday. Picander did not, however, provide a separate libretto for Palm Sunday in his 1728–29 cycle: he proposed to use the same libretto as for Advent I. There is no extant setting of this libretto by Bach, nor of the separate Annunciation libretto.

Good Friday

Bach's Passion settings are not listed as cantatas, nor are such Passions usually included in cantata cycles. As an indication of which Passion was performed in the course of which cycle they are listed here:
Before Leipzig:
1 – First year in Leipzig, St John Passion, BWV 245, 1st version
2 – Second year in Leipzig, :St John Passion, 2nd version
3 – Third to fifth year in Leipzig:
  • "Keiser"'s St Mark Passion, version BC D 5b St Matthew Passion, BWV 244b
[|4 – Period of the Picander cycle], :
  • BWV 244b possibly premiere, or repeat performance
5 – Other and/or later:

Easter

The Easter season comprises the time up to Pentecost, starting with three days of Easter.

Easter Sunday

Composed before the numbered cycles:
1 – First year in Leipzig, :
  • BWV 4 restaged
  • BWV 31 restaged
[|2 – Second year in Leipzig and/or chorale cantata cycle], :
[|3 – third year in Leipzig], :
4 – Picander cycle, libretto planned for :Es hat überwunden der Löwe, der Held
5 – Other and/or later:

Easter Monday

[|1 – First cantata cycle], :
[|2 – Second cantata cycle], :
3 – Third year in Leipzig, :
4 – Picander cycle, libretto planned for :Ich bin ein Pilgrim auf der Welt
5 – Other and/or later:
  • BWV 6 restaged
  • BWV 66 restaged

[|Easter Tuesday]

1 – First cantata cycle, :
2 – Second cantata cycle, :
  • BWV 158? – dating of the cantata is uncertain. Despite its brevity the cantata appears as a pasticcio involving two movements of an earlier cantata for Purification. Its two outer movements fit it to the Eastertide occasion: the text for the first movement is based on the gospel reading for Easter Tuesday, and its last movement sets a stanza of Luther's Easter hymn "Christ lag in Todes Banden", echoing the chorale cantata based on that hymn which was performed at Easter 1724 and 1725.
3 – Third year in Leipzig, :
4 – Picander cycle, libretto planned for :
5 – Other and/or later:

Easter I

The Sundays between Easter and Pentecost have Latin names, derived from the beginning of the prescribed readings. The first Sunday after Easter is called Quasimodogeniti. Some sources name the Sunday after Easter the second Sunday in Easter, counting Easter Sunday as the first.
1 – First cantata cycle, :
2 – Second cantata cycle, :
3 – Third year in Leipzig, :
4 – Picander cycle, libretto planned for :Welt, behalte du das deine
5 – Other and/or later:
  • BWV 42 restaged

Easter II

The second Sunday after Easter is called Misericordias Domini.
1 – First cantata cycle, :
[|2 – Second year cycle] and/or chorale cantata cycle:
3 – Third year in Leipzig, :
4 – Picander cycle, libretto planned for :Ich kan mich besser nicht versorgen
5 – Other and/or later:

Easter III

The third Sunday after Easter is called Jubilate.
Composed before the numbered cycles:
1 – First year in Leipzig, :
  • BWV 12 restaged in a version with a slightly modified instrumentation
2 – Second year cycle, :
3 – Third year in Leipzig, :
4 – Picander cycle, libretto planned for :Faße dich betrübter Sinn
5 – Other and/or later:

Easter IV

The fourth Sunday after Easter is called Cantate.
Composed before the numbered cycles:
1 – First cantata cycle, :
2 – Second year cycle, :
3 – Third year in Leipzig, :
4 – Picander cycle, libretto planned for :
  • ''Ja! Ja! Ich bin nun ganz verlassen''

Easter V

The fifth Sunday after Easter is called Rogate.
1 – First cantata cycle, :
2 – Second year cycle, :
4 – Picander cycle, libretto planned for :
  • ''Ich Schreye laut mit meiner Stimme''

Ascension

1 – First cantata cycle, :
2 – Second year cycle, :
[|3 – Third cantata cycle], :
4 – Picander cycle, libretto planned for :Alles, alles Himmel-werts
5 – Other and/or later:

Ascension I

The Sunday after Ascension is called Exaudi.
1 – First cycle, :
[|2 – Second cycle], :
4 – Picander cycle, libretto planned for :
  • ''Quäle dich nur nicht, mein Herz''

Pentecost to Trinity

Leipzig publications with the text of the cantatas for the four occasions from Pentecost to Trinity are extant for 1727 and 1731.

Pentecost Sunday

Pentecost Sunday is also called Whit Sunday.
Composed before the numbered cycles:
1 – First year in Leipzig, :
2 – Second cycle, :
3 – "Between the third and the fourth cycles":
4 – Picander cycle, libretto planned for :Raset und brauset ihr hefftigen Winde
5 – Other and/or later:

Pentecost Monday

Pentecost Monday is also called Whit Monday.
2 – Second cycle, :
3 – "Between the third and the fourth cycles":
4 – Picander cycle, :
5 – Other and/or later:
  • BWV 173 restaged

Pentecost Tuesday

Pentecost Tuesday is also called Whit Tuesday.
1 – First cycle, :
2 – Second cycle, :
3 – "Between the third and the fourth cycles":
  • BWV 184 restaged
4 – Picander cycle, libretto planned for :Ich klopff an deine Gnaden-Thüre
5 – Other and/or later:
  • BWV 184 restaged

Trinity

On Trinity Sunday, the Sunday after Pentecost, the Trinity is celebrated.
Composed before the numbered cycles:
1 – First year in Leipzig, :
  • BWV 194, originally a 1723 consecration cantata, restaged in its first Leipzig version
2 – Second cycle and chorale cantata cycle:
3 – Third year in Leipzig and "Between the third and the fourth cycles":
4 – Picander cycle, libretto planned for :Gott will mich in den Himmel haben
5 – Other and/or later:

Sundays after Trinity

A variable number of Sundays, up to 27 if Easter is extremely early, occurs between Trinity and the next liturgical year, which starts with the first Sunday of Advent.
Bach's first two Leipzig cantata cycles start on the first Sunday after Trinity: it was the first occasion of his tenure as Thomaskantor, and the next year he composed the first cantata of his chorale cantata cycle for this occasion.
After his cantata for Trinity 1725, which concluded his second year in Leipzig, there are however no extant cantatas before BWV 168 for the ninth Sunday after Trinity, considered the first cantata of the third cycle. For the first Sunday after Trinity 1726 he composed BWV 39, considered as a later addition to the third cycle.
The incomplete fourth cycle was supposed to start on St. John's Day, followed by a cantata for the fifth Sunday after Trinity on, at least as far as the first print of Picander's libretto of this cycle is concerned. Bach's oldest extant setting of a libretto of this cycle is however a cantata for the 21st Sunday after Trinity,, and when the cycle's librettos were printed for the second time in 1732 Picander indicated 1729 as the year of the cycle.
The elusive fifth cycle has an even less clear start. It is not known which cantatas exactly belonged to this cycle: it may have been a collection of cantatas written before Bach's Leipzig time that were not otherwise added to one of the other numbered cycles, and of cantatas written at a later date.

Trinity I

1 – First cycle, :
2 – Chorale cantata cycle, :
3 – Third cycle:
4 – Picander cycle, libretto planned for :
  • ''Welt, dein Purpur stinckt mich an''

Trinity II

1 – First cycle, :
2 – Chorale cantata cycle, :
3 – Third year in Leipzig, :
  • BWV 76, part II, restaged
4 – Picander cycle, libretto planned for :Kommt, eilet, ihr Gäste, zum seligen Mahle
5 – Other and/or later:

Trinity III

Composed before the numbered cycles:
1 – First year in Leipzig, :
  • BWV 21 restaged
2 – Chorale cantata cycle, :
3 – Third year in Leipzig, :
  • BDW 1669: Johannes Agricola's chorale "Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ" was published in Leipzig as the text for the cantata performed on Trinity III 1725. As it is the same text that was used for the Trinity IV cantata BWV 177 it may have been an early version of that cantata. Alternatively the 1725 publication may refer to a setting by someone else, e.g., Telemann
4 – Picander cycle, libretto planned for :
  • ''Wohin? mein Herz''

Trinity IV

Composed before the numbered cycles:
1 – First year in Leipzig, :
2 – Chorale cantata cycle:
  • BWV 10: in 1724 Trinity IV fell on 2 July, and thus coincided with the Feast of the Visitation
  • BWV 177 later added to the chorale cantata cycle as Trinity IV cantata
3 – Third year in Leipzig, :
  • BDW 1673: In 1725 Trinity IV fell on 24 June, and thus coincided with St. John's Day
4 – Picander cycle, libretto planned for :Laß sie spotten, laß sie lachen
5 – Other and/or later:

Trinity V

2 – Chorale cantata cycle, :
3 – Third and fourth year in Leipzig:Der Segen des Herrn machet reich ohne Mühe, BNB II/An/2
4 – Picander cycle, libretto planned for :In allen meinen thaten
5 – Other and/or later:
  • BWV 93 restaged 1732–33

Trinity VI

2 – Chorale cantata cycle:
  • BWV 9 later added to the chorale cantata cycle
3 – Third and fourth year in Leipzig:Wer sich rächet, an dem wird sich der Herr wieder rächen, BNB II/An/10
4 – Picander cycle, libretto planned for :Gott, gieb mir ein versöhnlich Herze
5 – Other and/or later:

Trinity VII

1 – First cycle, :
2 – Chorale cantata cycle, :
3 – Third and fourth year in Leipzig:
4 – Picander cycle, libretto planned for :Ach Gott! ich bin von dir
5 – Other and/or later:

Trinity VIII

1 – First cycle, :
2 – Chorale cantata cycle, :
3 – Third cycle:
4 – Picander cycle, libretto planned for :
  • ''Herr, stärcke meinen schwachen Glauben''

Trinity IX

1 – First cycle, :
2 – Chorale cantata cycle, :
3 – Third cycle, :
4 – Picander cycle, libretto planned for :Mein Jesu, was meine
5 – Other and/or later:
  • BWV 94 probably restaged 1732–35
  • BWV 168 presumably restaged after 1745

Trinity X

1 – First cycle, :
2 – Chorale cantata cycle, :
3 – Third cycle:
4 – Picander cycle, libretto planned for :
  • ''Laßt meine Thränen euch bewegen''

Trinity XI

Composed before the numbered cycles:
1 – First cycle, :
2 – Chorale cantata cycle, :
3 – Between the second and the fourth cycle:
4 – Picander cycle, libretto planned for :
  • ''Ich scheue mich''

Trinity XII

1 – First cycle, :
2 – Chorale cantata cycle:
  • BWV 137 later added to the chorale cantata cycle
3 – Between the second and the fourth cycle:
4 – Picander cycle, libretto planned for :
  • ''Ich bin wie einer, der nicht höret''

Trinity XIII

1 – First cycle, :
2 – Chorale cantata cycle, :
3 – Between the second and the fourth cycle:
4 – Picander cycle, libretto planned for :
  • ''Können meine nasse Wangen''

Trinity XIV

1 – First cycle, :
2 – Chorale cantata cycle, :
3 – Third cycle, :
4 – Picander cycle, libretto planned for :Schöpffer aller Dinge
5 – Other and/or later:
  • BWV 78 restaged after 1735

Trinity XV

1 – First cycle, :
2 – Chorale cantata cycle, :
4 – Picander cycle, libretto planned for :Arm, und dennoch frölich seyn
5 – Other and/or later:

Trinity XVI

Composed before the numbered cycles:
1 – First cycle, :
2 – Chorale cantata cycle, :
3 – Third cycle, :
4 – Picander cycle, libretto planned for :Schließet euch, ihr müden Augen
5 – Other and/or later:
  • BWV 161 from around 1735 recast as a cantata for Purification ; a second version of BWV 161 is possibly not by Bach
  • BWV 8 restaged

Trinity XVII

1 – First cycle, :
2 – Chorale cantata cycle, :
3 – Third cycle, :
4 – Picander cycle, libretto planned for :
  • ''Stolz und Pracht''

Trinity XVIII

2 – Chorale cantata cycle, :
3 – Third cycle, :
4 – Picander cycle, libretto planned for :Ich liebe Gott vor allen Dingen
5 – Other and/or later:
  • BWV 96 restaged and

Trinity XIX

1 – First cycle, :
2 – Chorale cantata cycle, :
3 – Third cycle, :
4 – Picander cycle, libretto planned for :
  • ''Gott, du Richter der Gedanken''

Trinity XX

Composed before the numbered cycles:
1 – First year in Leipzig, :
  • BWV 162 restaged
2 – Chorale cantata cycle, :
3 – Third cycle, :
4 – Picander cycle, libretto planned for :
  • ''Ach ruffe mich bald''

Trinity XXI

1 – First cycle, :
2 – Chorale cantata cycle, :
3 – Third cycle, :
4 – Picander cycle, :

Trinity XXII

1 – First cycle, :
2 – Chorale cantata cycle, :
3 – Third cycle, :
4 – Picander cycle, libretto planned for :
  • ''Gedult, mein Gott, Gedult''

Trinity XXIII

Composed before the numbered cycles:
1 – First year in Leipzig, :
  • BWV 163 possibly restaged
2 – Chorale cantata cycle, :
3 – Third cycle, :
4 – Picander cycle, libretto planned for :Schnöde Schönheit dieser Welt
5 – Other and/or later:
  • BWV 139 restaged around 1744–47

Trinity XXIV

1 – First cycle, :
2 – Chorale cantata cycle, :
4 – Picander cycle, libretto planned for :
  • ''Küsse mein Herze, mit Freuden die Ruthe''

Trinity XXV

1 – First cycle, :
2 – Chorale cantata cycle, :
4 – Picander cycle, libretto planned for :
  • ''Eile, rette deine Seele''

Trinity XXVI

1 – First cycle, :
4 – Picander cycle, libretto planned for :
  • ''Kömmt denn nicht mein Jesus bald?''

Trinity XXVII

2 – Chorale cantata cycle
  • BWV 140 is a later addition to the chorale cantata cycle
5 – Other and/or later:

Fixed festivals within the Liturgical Year

Purification

The Purification of Mary and the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple are celebrated on 2 February.
1 – First year in Leipzig, 1724:
2 – Chorale cantata cycle, 1725:
3 – Between the second and the fourth cycle:
4 – Picander cycle, libretto planned for 1729:Herr, nun lässest du deinen Diener in Friede fahren
5 – Other and/or later:
  • BWV 82
  • BWV 161: used to be a Trinity XVI cantata : from around 1735 restaged as Purification cantata
  • BWV 125 restaged after 1735
  • BWV 157, originally a funeral cantata, was later restaged as cantata for Purification
  • BWV 158, surviving in a version for Easter Tuesday, may, at least for its two inner movements, be based on a cantata for Purification
  • Johann Ernst Bach II's Mein Odem ist schwach
  • Georg Philipp Telemann's Ich habe Lust abzuscheiden, TWV 1:836

Annunciation

The Annunciation is celebrated on 25 March, or on Palm Sunday when 25 March falls in Holy Week. Bach's only extant Annunciation cantatas were composed in years when Annunciation coincided with Palm Sunday.
Composed before the numbered cycles:
1 – First year in Leipzig, Palm Sunday :
  • BWV 182 restagedSiehe eine Jungfrau ist schwanger, BWV Anh. 199
2 – Chorale cantata cycle, Palm Sunday :
3 – "Between the second and the fourth cycle":
  • BWV 182 restaged on Palm Sunday
4 – Picander cycle, libretto planned for :Der Herr ist mit mir, darum fürchte ich mich nicht
5 – Other and/or later:
  • Georg Philipp Telemann's Herr Christ der ein'ge Gottessohn, TWV 1:732, was misattributed to Bach as BWV Anh. 156

St. John's Day

The Feast of John the Baptist, remembering the birth of John the Baptist, is celebrated on 24 June.
1 – First cantata cycle, 1723:
2 – Chorale cantata cycle, 1724:
3 – Third year in Leipzig:
4 – Picander cycle, libretto planned for 1728:Gelobet sey der Herr
5 – Other and/or later:

Visitation

Visitation, the visit of Mary with Elizabeth, including her song of praise, the Magnificat, is celebrated on 2 July.
1 – First cantata cycle, 1723:
2 – Chorale cantata cycle, 1724:
3 – Between second and fourth cycle:Meine Seele erhebet den Herrn
4 – Picander cycle, libretto planned for 1728:Meine Seele erhebt den Herrn
5 – Other and/or later:

St. Michael's Day

St. Michael's Day, i.e. Michaelmas, is celebrated on 29 September.
2 – Chorale cantata cycle, 1724:
3 – Third cycle, 1726:
4 – Picander cycle, libretto originally planned for 1728, setting 1729:
5 – Other and/or later:

Reformation Day

Reformation Day is celebrated on 31 October.
1 – First cycle, 1723:
  • Early version of BWV 80/80b?
2 – Chorale cantata cycle:
  • BWV 80 is a later addition to the chorale cantata cycle
3 – Third cycle, 1725:
4 – Picander cycle:
  • In 1728 Reformation Day coincided with Trinity XXIII
5 – Other and/or later:

Occasions outside of the liturgical year

Consecration of church and organ

New council

The election or inauguration of a new town council was celebrated with a service. Normally this was an annual event. The cantata written for such celebrations were indicated with the term Ratswechsel or Ratswahl.

Wedding

Funeral

Different occasions