Cantatas of Johann Sebastian Bach

The cantatas of Johann Sebastian Bach (German: Bachkantaten) are among his most significant and celebrated compositions. While many have been lost, at least 209 of the cantatas composed by Bach have survived.

As far as is known, Bach's earliest surviving cantatas date from 1707, the year he moved to Mühlhausen (although he may have begun composing them at his previous post at Arnstadt). Most of Bach's cantatas date from his first years as Thomaskantor (cantor of the main churches of Leipzig), which he took up in 1723. Working especially at the Thomaskirche and the Nikolaikirche, it was part of his job to perform a church cantata every Sunday and Holiday, conducting soloists, the Thomanerchor and orchestra as part of the church service. In his first years in Leipzig, starting after Trinity of 1723, it was not unusual for him to compose a new work every week. Works from three annual cycles of cantatas for the liturgical calendar have survived. These relate to the readings prescribed by the Lutheran liturgy for the specific occasion. He composed his last cantata probably in 1745.

In addition to the church cantatas, Bach composed sacred cantatas for functions like weddings or Ratswahl (the inauguration of a new town council), music for academic functions of the University of Leipzig at the Paulinerkirche, and secular cantatas for anniversaries and entertainment in nobility and society, some of them Glückwunschkantaten (congratulatory cantatas) and Huldigungskantaten (homage cantatas).

His cantatas usually require four soloists and a four-part choir, but he also wrote solo cantatas for typically one soloist and dialogue cantatas for two singers. The words for many cantatas combine Bible quotes, contemporary poetry and chorale, but he also composed a cycle of chorale cantatas based exclusively on one chorale.

Name and titles
Although the term Bachkantate (Bach cantata) became very familiar, Bach himself used the title Cantata rarely in his manuscripts, but in Ich will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen, BWV 56 he wrote Cantata à Voce Sola e Stromenti (Cantata for solo voice and instruments). Another cantata in which Bach used that term is Ich bin vergnügt mit meinem Glücke, BWV 84. Typically, he began a heading with the abbreviation J.J. (Jesu juva, "Jesus, help"), followed by the name of the celebration, the beginning of the words and the instrumentation, for example in Gloria in excelsis Deo, BWV 191. Bach often signed his cantatas with SDG, short for Soli Deo Gloria ("glory to the only God" / "glory to God alone").

Bach often wrote a title page for the autograph score and copies of the original parts. For example, he titled the parts of Aus tiefer Not schrei ich zu dir, BWV 38, using a mix of languages to describe the occasion, the incipit, the precise scoring and his name: "Dominica 21. post Trinit / Aus tieffer Noth schrey ich zu dir. / â / 4. Voc. / 2. Hautbois. / 2. Violini. / Viola. / 4. Tromboni / e / Continuo. / di / Signore / J.S.Bach". The occasion for which the piece was performed is given first, in Latin: "Dominica 21. post Trinit" (Sunday 21 after Trinity Sunday, with Trinit short for Trinitatis). The title follows, given in German in the orthography of Bach's time. The scoring and finally his name appear in a mix of French and Italian, the common languages among musicians at the time, partly abbreviated.
 

BWV number
Bach wrote more than 200 cantatas, of which many have survived. In the Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis (BWV), Wolfgang Schmieder assigned them each a number within groups: 1–200 (sacred cantatas), 201–216 (secular cantatas), 217–224 (cantatas where Bach's authorship is doubtful). Since Schmieder's designation, several of the cantatas he thought authentic have been redesignated "spurious." However, the spurious cantatas retain their BWV numbers. The List of Bach cantatas is organized by BWV number, but sortable by other criteria.
 

Structure of a Bach cantata
A typical Bach cantata of his first year in Leipzig follows the scheme:

Opening chorus
Recitative
Aria
Recitative (or Arioso)
Aria
Chorale
The opening chorus (Eingangschor) is usually a polyphonic setting, the orchestra presenting the themes or contrasting material first. Most arias follow the form of a da capo aria, repeating the first part after a middle section. The final chorale is typically a homophonic setting of a traditional melody.

Bach used an expanded structure to take up his position in Leipzig with the cantatas Die Elenden sollen essen, BWV 75, and Die Himmel erzählen die Ehre Gottes, BWV 76, both in two parts, to be performed before and after the sermon (post orationem) and during communion (sub communione), each part a sequence of opening movement, five movements alternating recitatives and arias, and chorale. In an exemplary way both cantatas cover the prescribed readings: starting with a related psalm from the Old Testament, Part I reflects the Gospel, Part II the Epistle.

Bach did not follow any scheme strictly, but composed as he wanted to express the words. A few cantatas are opened by an instrumental piece before the first chorus, such as the Sinfonia of Wir danken dir, Gott, wir danken dir, BWV 29. A solo movement begins Gott, man lobet dich in der Stille, BWV 120, because its first words speak of silence. Many cantatas composed in Weimar are set like chamber music, mostly for soloists, with a four-part setting only in the closing chorale, which may have been sung by the soloists. In an early cantata Erschallet, ihr Lieder, erklinget, ihr Saiten! BWV 172, Bach marked a repeat of the opening chorus after the chorale.

The chorale can be as simple as a traditional four-part setting, or be accompanied by an obbligato instrument, or be accompanied by the instruments of the opening chorus or even expanded by interludes based on its themes, or have the homophonic vocal parts embedded in an instrumental concerto as in the familiar Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben, BWV 147, or have complex vocal parts embedded in the concerto as in Ärgre dich, o Seele, nicht, BWV 186, in a form called Choralphantasie (chorale fantasia). In Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland, BWV 61, for the 1st Sunday in Advent, the beginning of a new liturgical year, he shaped the opening chorus as a French overture.

























Schlosskirche in Weimar where Bach composed and performed church cantatas monthly from 1714 to 1717
 

Singers and instrumentation

Vocal
Typically Bach employs soprano, alto, tenor and bass soloists and a four-part choir, also SATB. He sometimes assigns the voice parts to the dramatic situation, for example soprano for innocence or alto for motherly feelings. The bass is often the vox Christi, the voice of Jesus, when Jesus is quoted directly, as in Es wartet alles auf dich, BWV 187, or indirectly, as in O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort, BWV 60.

In the absence of clear documentary evidence, there are different options as to how many singers to deploy per part in choral sections. This is reflected in the recordings discussed below. Ton Koopman, for example, is a conductor who has recorded a complete set of the cantatas and who favours a choir with four singers per part. On the other hand, some modern performances and recordings use one voice per part, although Bach would have had more singers available at Leipzig, for example, while the space in the court chapel in Weimar was limited. One size of choir probably does not fit all the cantatas.
 

Instrumental
The orchestra that Bach used is based on string instruments (violin, viola) and basso continuo, typically played by cello, double bass (an octave lower) and organ. A continuous bass is the rule in Baroque music; its absence is worth mentioning and has a reason, such as describing fragility.

The specific character of a cantata or a single movement is rather defined by wind instruments, such as oboe, oboe da caccia, oboe d'amore, flauto traverso, recorder, trumpet, horn, trombone, and timpani. In movements with winds, a bassoon usually joins the continuo group.

Festive occasions call for richer instrumentation. Some instruments also carry symbolic meaning such as a trumpet, the royal instrument of the Baroque, for divine majesty, and three trumpets for the Trinity. In an aria of BWV 172, addressing the Heiligste Dreifaltigkeit (Most holy Trinity), the bass is accompanied only by three trumpets and timpani.

In many arias Bach uses obbligato instruments, which correspond with the singer as an equal partner. These instrumental parts are frequently set in virtuoso repetitive patterns called figuration. Instruments include, in addition to the ones mentioned, flauto piccolo (sopranino recorder), violino piccolo, viola d'amore, violoncello piccolo (a smaller cello), tromba da tirarsi (slide trumpet), and corno da tirarsi.

In his early compositions Bach also used instruments that had become old-fashioned, such as viola da gamba and violone. Alto recorders (flauti dolci) are sometimes used in connection with death and mourning as in Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit, BWV 106.
 

Solo cantata
Some cantatas are composed for only one solo singer (Solokantate), as Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen, BWV 51 for soprano, sometimes concluded by a chorale, as in Ich will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen, BWV 56 for bass.
 

Dialogue cantata
Some cantatas are structured as a dialogue, mostly for Jesus and the Soul (bass and soprano), set like miniature operas. Bach titled them for example Concerto in Dialogo, concerto in dialogue. An early example is Tritt auf die Glaubensbahn, BWV 152 (1714). He composed four such works in his third annual cycle, Selig ist der Mann, BWV 57 (1725), Liebster Jesu, mein Verlangen, BWV 32, Ich geh und suche mit Verlangen, BWV 49, (both 1726), and Ach Gott, wie manches Herzeleid, BWV 58 (1727).
 

Text of Bach's sacred cantatas
Within the Lutheran liturgy, certain readings from the Bible were prescribed for every event during the church year; specifically, it was expected that an Epistel from an Epistle and Evangelium from a Gospel would be read. 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. 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, or Georg Christian Lehms or Picander in Leipzig, with whom Bach collaborated. The final words were usually a stanza from a chorale. Bach's 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.


















Thomaskirche, one of the two Leipzig churches where Bach composed and performed church cantatas almost weekly from 1723 to 1726
 

Periods of cantata composition
The following lists of works (some marked as questioned) relies mainly on Alfred Dürr's Die Kantaten von Johann Sebastian Bach. Usually the cantatas appear in the year of their first performance, sometimes also for later performances, then in brackets.
 

Mühlhausen
Bach moved to Mühlhausen in 1707 when he was 22 to take up an appointment as organist of St. Blasius church ("Divi Blasii"). There is evidence suggesting that he composed a cantata as an audition piece for Mühlhausen, and this may have been Christ lag in Todes Banden, BWV 4. One or two more surviving cantatas may have been composed while Bach was at his previous post in Arnstadt, for example, Nach dir, Herr, verlanget mich, BWV 150.

A couple of the surviving cantatas can be firmly dated to his time in Mühlhausen. For example, Gott ist mein König, BWV 71, was composed for the inauguration of the town council in 1708. By Bach's own account Aus der Tiefen rufe ich, Herr, zu dir, BWV 131 was also composed at Mühlhausen. Other cantatas are assumed to date from this period:

Lobe den Herrn, meine Seele, BWV 143, related to Psalm 146, likely for New Year's Day
Der Herr denket an uns, BMV 196, assumed to be a wedding cantata
Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit, BWV 106, a funeral cantata

















Weimar in 1650

Weimar
For more details on this topic, see Weimar cantata (Bach).
Bach worked in Weimar from 1708. He composed a secular cantata Was mir behagt, ist nur die muntre Jagd, BWV 208 in 1713. The composition of cantatas for the Schlosskirche (court chapel) on a regular monthly basis started with his promotion to Konzertmeister in March 1714. His goal was to compose a complete set of cantatas for the liturgical year within four years. Cantatas 54 and 199 were performed within the cycle but possibly composed earlier.

1713: Gleichwie der Regen und Schnee vom Himmel fällt, BWV 18? * 63?
1714: Himmelskönig, sei willkommen, BWV 182 * Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen, BWV 12 * 172 * 21 * 54 * 199 * 61 * 152
1715: Der Himmel lacht! Die Erde jubilieret, BWV 31 * 165 * 185 * 162 * 163 * 132
1716: Mein Gott, wie lang, ach lange? BWV 155 * 161 * 80a *70a * 186a * 147a

Köthen
See also: Lobet den Herrn, alle seine Heerscharen, BWV Anh. 5
Bach worked in Köthen from 1717 to 1723, where he composed for example the Brandenburg concertos. He had no responsibility for church music, therefore only secular cantatas have survived. Later in Leipzig, he derived several church cantatas from congratulatory cantatas, such as Erfreut euch, ihr Herzen, BWV 66, for Easter from the birthday cantata Der Himmel dacht auf Anhalts Ruhm und Glück, BWV 66a. Even after he moved to Leipzig he could carry his title of Fürstlich Köthenischer Kapellmeister and continued to write secular cantatas for the court.

1717?: Durchlauchtster Leopold, BWV 173a (or between 1720 and 1722)
1718: Der Himmel dacht auf Anhalts Ruhm und Glück, BWV 66a
1719: Die Zeit, die Tag und Jahre macht, BWV 134a
















Leipzig in the 17th century​

Leipzig
In Leipzig Bach was responsible for the town's church music in the Thomaskirche and the Nikolaikirche and was head of the Thomasschule. Church cantata performances alternated in the two churches for ordinary Sundays and took place in both churches on high holidays such as Christmas, then one in the morning, one in the afternoon, and again alternating for the three days such an occasion was celebrated. Academic functions took place at the Universitätskirche St. Pauli. There is debate whether Bach performed Wer mich liebet, der wird mein Wort halten, BWV 59 there a week before he began his cantorate. Bach started it on the first Sunday after Trinity of 1723 and wrote a first annual cycle. Bach's major works such as the Passions and the Mass in B minor are inserted in the listing for comparison.

1723: Jesus nahm zu sich die Zwölfe, BWV 22 * Du wahrer Gott und Davids Sohn, BWV 23 (audition pieces)

First cantata cycle
1723: Die Elenden sollen essen, BWV 75 * 76 * (21) * 24 * 167 * 147 * Magnificat * 186 * 136 * 105 * 46 * 179 * (199) * 69a * 77 * 25 * 119 * 138 * 95 * 148 * (48) * (162) * 109 * 89 * (163?) * 60 * 90 * 70 * (61) * (63) * 40 * 64
1724: Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied, BWV 190 * 153 * 65 * 154 * (155) * 73 * 81 * 83 * 144 * 181 + (18) * (22 23) * (182) * St John Passion * (4) * 66 * 134 * 67 * 104 * (12) * 166 * 86 * 37 * 44 * 59 * 173 * 184 * 194
Second cantata cycle
After Trinity of 1724 he started a second annual cycle of mainly chorale cantatas. The chorale was typically the chorale prescribed for that week (Hauptlied or Wochenlied). These cantatas were performed even after his death, according to Christoph Wolff probably because the well-known hymns were appealing to the audience.

1724: O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort, BWV 20 * 2 * 7 * 135 * 10 * 93 * 107 * 178 * 94 * 101 * 113 * 33 * 78 * 99 * 8 * 130 * 114 * 96 * 5 * 180 * 38 * 115 * 139 * 26 * 116 * 62 * 91 * 121 * 133 * 122
1725: Jesu, nun sei gepreiset, BWV 41 * 123 * 124 * 3 * 111 * 92 * 125 * 126 * 127 * 1
The new cantatas Bach composed for Easter of 1725 and afterwards were not chorale cantatas:

1725: BWV 249, early version (later versions known as the Easter Oratorio but the 1725 version was a cantata) * 6 * 42 * 85 * 103 * 108 * 87 * 128 * 183 * 74 * 68 * 175 * 176
Two of these, BWV 128 and BWV 68, both starting with a chorale fantasia, are sometimes seen as included in the chorale cantata cycle.

Other cantatas by Bach that are usually seen as belonging to the chorale cantata cycle:

BWV 4 (version as restaged at Easter 1725, somewhat different from the early Mühlhausen version) * 137 (1725) * 58 (1727) * 129 (1727) * 80 (1727 or later, although an early version of this cantata, BWV 80b, may have been composed for or performed on Reformation Day in 1724) * 112 (1731) * 140 (1731) * 177 (1732) * 9 (1732) * 14 (1735)
For four further chorale cantatas it is unclear for which occasion they were composed, and whether they were intended to be added to the cycle:

BWV 117 (1728–1731) * 192 (1730) * 100 (1732–1735) * 97 (1734?)
Third to fifth year in Leipzig
After Trinity of 1725 Bach began a third annual cycle, but with less consistency. The first cantata is written for the ninth Sunday after Trinity, only the following year he added a substantial work for the first Sunday after Trinity. The cycle extends over several years, although the cantatas from 1727 have been termed as "between the third and the fourth cycles". Cantatas for some occasions are not extant.

Between Trinity and Advent 1725 (apart from chorale cantatas):
Trinity IX: BWV 168 Trinity XIII: BWV 164 Reformation Day: BWV 79
Liturgical year from Advent 1725 to the last Sunday after Trinity 1726 (includes 18 cantatas by Johann Ludwig Bach (JLB)):
Christmas: BWV 110 Christmas 2: BWV 57 Christmas 3: BWV 151 Christmas I: BWV 28 New Year: BWV 16 Epiphany I: BWV 32 Epiphany II: BWV 13 Epiphany III: BWV 72 Purification: JLB 9[12] Epiphany IV: JLB 1[13] Epiphany V: JLB 2[14] Septuagesima: JLB 3[15] Sexagesima: JLB 4[16] Estomihi: JLB 5[17] Easter: JLB 21 (a.k.a. BWV 15) Easter 2: JLB 10[18] Easter 3: JLB 11[19] Easter I: JLB 6[20] Easter II: JLB 12[21] Easter III: JLB 8[22] (+BWV 146?) Easter IV: JLB 14[23] Ascension: BWV 43 Trinity I: BWV 39 St. John's Day: JLB 17[24] Visitation: JLB 13[25] Trinity V: BWV 88 Trinity VI: BWV 170 and JLB 7[26] Trinity VII: BWV 187 Trinity VIII: BWV 45 Trinity X: BWV 102 Trinity XI: JLB 15[27] Trinity XII: BWV 35 Trinity XIII: JLB 16[28] Trinity XIV: BWV 17 St. Michael's Day: BWV 19 Trinity XVI: BWV 27 Trinity XVII: BWV 47 Trinity XVIII: BWV 169 Trinity XIX: BWV 56 Trinity XX: BWV 49 Trinity XXI: BWV 98 Trinity XXII: BWV 55 Trinity XXIII: BWV 52
Church cantatas of 1727 (apart from chorale cantatas):
New Year I: BWV 58 Purification: BWV 82 Septuagesima: BWV 84 Pentecost: BWV 34 Pentecost 2: BWV 173
Other:
Passions staged in this period: St Mark Passion, BC D 5b (1726), St Matthew Passion, BWV 244b (1727?) and St. John Passion, BWV 245 (1728?) Chorale cantatas: BWV 137 (Trinity XII), 129 (Trinity) and 117 Council election: BWV Anh. 4 and possibly BWV 193 Wedding: BWV 34a and 195 Funeral: BWV 157 and motet BWV 228 Motet for New Year BWV 225
Secular cantatas:
BWV 205 Anh. 196 36a 249b 207 204 Anh. 9 193a 198 216
Picander cycle of 1728–29
There is some circumstantial evidence that a complete fourth cycle of Bach cantatas, in scholarship indicated as Picander-cycle, may have existed.[11][29][30]

Extant cantatas of the fourth cycle:

1728: 149 * 188 * 197a * 117
1729: Gott, wie dein Name, so ist auch dein Ruhm, BWV 171 * O angenehme Melodei, BWV 210a * Klagt, Kinder, klagt es aller Welt, BWV 244a * 156 * 159 * 145 * 174
Other cantatas and church music
Not belonging to the foregoing:

1730: Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen, BWV 51
1731: Wir danken dir, Gott, wir danken dir, BWV 29 * Schwingt freudig euch empor, BWV 36
1732: Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ, BWV 177 * Was Gott tut, das ist wohlgetan, BWV 100
1733: BWV 232I, early version (later adopted as part I of the Mass in B minor) * Laßt uns sorgen, laßt uns wachen, BWV 213
1734: Preise dein Glücke, gesegnetes Sachsen, BWV 215 * Christmas Oratorio
1735: Lobet Gott in seinen Reichen, BWV 11 (Ascension Oratorio)
1738?: Kyrie–Gloria Masses, BWV 233–236
1742: Gott, man lobet dich in der Stille, BWV 120 * Mer hahn en neue Oberkeet, BWV 212
1744?: O holder Tag, erwünschte Zeit, BWV 210
1745: Gloria in excelsis Deo, BWV 191
1748?: Mass in B minor (largely a compilation of previously composed music)