Cantatas No. 20-22: Miniature Score (German Language Edition), Miniature Score, Vol. 6 Book

The Name "Cantata" is Italian - something which is sung and is used to denote a certain type of composition viz. recitatives, solor arias, orchestral interludes. Carissimi (1606 -1674) mentions this form of composition first, as "Cantata da chiesa," Church Cantata.

Bach composed his cantatas over a period of forty years, viz. his first one in 1704, and his last in 1744. He came to Leipzig in the year 1723 as Cantor (Choirmaster) of the Thomas Church, and brought with him some thirty composed before. At Leipzig it was his duty to provide music for all the Sundays and Principal Festival days of the Church Year, some 59 occasions. He composed 5 complete cycles for these 59 times himself or the astounding total of 295 cantatas - but in order not to repeat himself too often, he had also to copy the works of other composers. Therefore, many of the manuscripts found later on and attributed to Bach were not his at all. The mere physical feat of writing down his cantatas, oratorios, organ, calvier, and instrumental music, etc. is so tremendous that one can hardly understand how Bach with his teaching and conducting could do all this.