Beijing Review Vol 67no 3 2024

Johann Sebastian Bach arrived in Leipzig on May 22, 1723. Just eight days later, on May 30, Bach presented his first cantata. On every Sunday and feast day outside the periods of Advent and Lent preceding Christmas and Easter respectively, it was the task of the Thomaskantor to direct such pieces in the churches. Bach composed the cantatas himself. This was not one of his duties. It testifies all the more to the passion and the enthusiasm with which he went about his new assignment. Of the cantatas performed up to Trinity Sunday, 1724, some sixety have survived: the completely new works are supplemented by pieces from earlier stages in Bach's career, notably at Mühlhausen and Weimar.