3 | The Church Cantata

Second in importance to oratorio among Baroque sacred-music genres is the church cantata. Cantata is a general name for a piece of moderate length for voices and instruments. Many Baroque cantatas, especially Italian ones, are not sacred music, but in Germany church cantatas were written to be performed during Lutheran church services. Lutheran churches had (and still have today) fixed readings and hymns specified for every Sunday of the year as well as for special occasions such as Easter and Christmas. The words of cantatas addressed the religious content of the day in question. Sung before the sermon, the cantata was in effect a second, musical sermon.

As cantor, or music director, of Leipzig’s biggest church (the Thomaskirche), Bach was required to produce cantatas for the entire year — a stupendous task that kept him very busy indeed for years after he was appointed. Over two hundred cantatas by Bach have survived, each of them with several movements. Most are sacred works, but they include some secular cantatas written for court or civic celebrations and for functions at the University of Leipzig.