WHICH BACH
CANTATA TODAY?

The ceiling of the Thomaskirche in Leipzig.  

Bach's cantata calendar
Discover which cantata Bach wrote for which day, and listen to the playlists

Portrait of Charlotte Friederike of Nassau-Siegen (1702-1785), wife of Leopold of Anhalt-Kothen, painted around 1751, probably by Christoph Gottfried Ringe.

November 30, 2023
Birthday of Princess Charlotte Friederike of Nassau-Siegen
The Last Judgment, subject of the prescribed readings of Trinitatis XXV, as depicted so magnificently around 1445-1450 by Rogier Van der Weyden (1399 or 1400-1464). Commissioned by Nicolas Rolin, chancellor of the Duke of Burgundy, for the Hospices de Beaune (which he founded), and where it still hangs today.

November 26, 2023
Trinitatis XXV or 25th Sunday after Trinitatis
The Thomaskirche in Leipzig, water colour painting by Christian Gödert, a German artist born 1961.

November 19, 2023
Trinitatis XXIV or 24th Sunday after Trinitatis
View of the Schlosskirche in Weimar, where Nur jedem das Seine, BWV 163 was first performed on 24 November 1715. This Schlosskirche, as it appeared in Bach's time, was built between 1619 and 1630, but destroyed by fire in 1774.

November 12, 2023
Trinitatis XXIII or 23rd Sunday after Trinitatis
A view of the Bosehaus in Leipzig, residence of the Neue Bach Gesellschaft and the Bach Archiv Leipzig. The building itself was known to Bach. The Bosehaus was restored from 2008 to 2010 to comply with the latest safety requirements for archives, and was opened again on 20 March 2010.

November 5, 2023
Trinitatis XXII or 22nd Sunday after Trinitatis

Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach (aged 61) in a portrait by Elias Gottlob Haussmann, copy or second version of his 1746 canvas. The original painting hangs in the upstairs gallery of the Altes Rathaus (Old Town Hall) in Leipzig, Germany. (Wikipedia)

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) left us a wide collection of cantatas, written for celebratory days of the liturgical calendar or other special celebrations.

This website follows that calendar, based on the liturgical rhythm and the dates of those celebrations, presenting the cantata(s) for the day and playlists with those cantatas on five major audio streaming services: Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal, Qobuz and Deezer.