Cantata

A cantata [kanˈtaːta] (literally "sung", past participle feminine singular of the Italian verb cantare, "to sing") is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir.

The meaning of the term changed over time, from the simple single voice madrigal of the early 17th century, to the multi-voice "cantata da camera" and the "cantata da chiesa" of the later part of that century, from the more substantial dramatic forms of the 18th century to the usually sacred-texted 19th-century cantata, which was effectively a type of short oratorio. Cantatas for use in the liturgy of church services are called church cantata or sometimes sacred cantata, others sometimes secular cantata. Johann Sebastian Bach composed around 200 cantatas. Several cantatas were, and still are, written for special occasions, such as Christmas cantatas.

Historical context

The term originated in the early 17th century simultaneously with opera and oratorio. Prior to that all "cultured" music was vocal. With the rise of instrumental music the term appeared, while the instrumental art became sufficiently developed to be embodied in sonatas. From the beginning of the 17th century until late in the 18th, the cantata for one or two solo voices with accompaniment of basso continuo (and perhaps a few solo instruments) was a principal form of Italian vocal chamber music.

Cantatas (Bruckner)

Anton Bruckner composed seven cantatas during his life, the earliest Vergißmeinnicht, in 1845, the last, Helgoland, in 1893.

Kronstorf and Sankt Florian

The five cantatas, composed between 1845 and 1855 during Bruckner's stay as schoolteacher's assistant in Kronstorf and as organist in Sankt Florian, were Name-day cantatas. These cantatas are put in Band XXII/1 of the Gesamtausgabe.

During his stay as schoolteacher's assistant in Kronstorf Bruckner composed his first cantata:

List of Bach cantatas

This is a sortable list of the Bach cantatas, the cantatas of Johann Sebastian Bach. Bach's almost 200 extant cantatas are among his important vocal compositions.

The list includes both extant cantatas and, as far as known, lost cantatas. It is sortable by the cantata number which equals the number in the Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis (BWV), by title, by occasion during the liturgical year, the year of composition and date of first performance, as far as known. The scoring is provided, grouped by singers and groups of instruments. Colouring shows which cantatas are not extant church cantatas and which works were not even composed by Bach, but attributed to him in the past. A link to the free score of the Bach Gesellschaft in the International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP) is provided if available.

Abbreviations

The abbreviations of performers are given for solo singers, choir (typically SATB), brass instruments (plus timpani), woodwinds, strings, keyboard and basso continuo. The basso continuo consists of a group of players, depending upon the scoring of the cantata and the performance location. For example a bassoon is typically playing when other wind instruments are called for, an organ may be played in church, a harpsichord will be used in secular surroundings.