Not to be confused with the Catholic liturgical arrangement, the Missa cantata.
Title page of Membra Jesu Nostri, seven cantatas in medieval Latin by Dieterich Buxtehude, 1680
A church cantata or sacred cantata is a cantata intended to be performed during Christian liturgy. The genre was particularly popular in 18th-century Lutheran Germany, with many composers writing an extensive output: Stölzel, Telemann, Graupner and Krieger each wrote nearly or more than a thousand. The best known examples, however, are those of Johann Sebastian Bach, whose output stands out not by quantity but by the high level of expertise and craftmanship which they showcase.[1]
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, and most 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. The genre was later taken up by composers such as Felix Mendelssohn.
^Cantagrel, Gilles (2010). Les cantates de J.-S. Bach: textes, traductions, commentaires (in French). Paris: Fayard. pp. 13–14. ISBN 978-2-213-64434-9.
A churchcantata or sacred cantata is a cantata intended to be performed during Christian liturgy. The genre was particularly popular in 18th-century...
19th-century cantata, which was effectively a type of short oratorio. Cantatas for use in the liturgy of church services are called churchcantata or sacred...
The following is a list of churchcantatas, sorted by the liturgical occasion for which they were composed and performed. The genre was particularly popular...
both churchcantatas, most of them for specific occasions of the liturgical year of the Lutheran Church, and secular cantatas. Bach's earliest cantatas were...
job to perform a churchcantata every Sunday and holiday, conducting soloists, the Thomanerchor and orchestra as part of the church service. In his first...
A chorale cantata is a churchcantata based on a chorale—in this context a Lutheran chorale. It is principally from the German Baroque era. The organizing...
Apart from his hundreds of churchcantatas, Johann Sebastian Bach wrote secular cantatas in Weimar, Köthen and Leipzig, for instance for members of the...
France. Bach's compositions include hundreds of cantatas, both sacred and secular. He composed Latin church music, Passions, oratorios, and motets. He often...
der Herr, mein Gott, BWV 129. The cantata Höchsterwünschtes Freudenfest, BWV 194, composed for dedication of the church and organ at Störmthal, was performed...
the date of Easter. In the Catholic Church, it is the Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church, marking the resumption of Ordinary Time...
This is a list of churchcantatas by Christoph Graupner (1683–1760), the German harpsichordist and composer of high Baroque music. The format is to list...
for performance in church during the Christmas season. It is in six parts, each part a cantata intended for performance in a church service on a feast...
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