The Lutheran Church Cantata

Overview

Unlike oratorio, the Lutheran church cantata was part of a regular religious service (specifically, the Sunday service). It evolved as a musical commentary on a given week’s particular Bible reading, becoming known as the musical “sermon before the sermon.” This lecture examines the evolution of the Lutheran church cantata and its use of operatic elements. It concludes with a discussion of Johann Sebastian Bach’s Cantata no. 140, Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme.