Many superlatives have been lavished on Bach's mature vocal works, such as Georg Nägeli's acclamation of the B minor Mass as one of the ‘greatest musical works of art of all times and of all peoples’, or Mendelssohn's veneration of the Matthew Passion as ‘the greatest of Christian works’. But such evaluations have usually been based on the concept that these incomparable works of Bach are self-standing musical monuments. Following Mendelssohn's revival of the Matthew Passion in 1829, Bach's cantatas, oratorios, passions, Magnificat and the B minor Mass have generally been performed as autonomous works in a concert setting. But this later usage was not what the composer envisaged. What Robert Marshall writes with regard to the cantatas applies equally to most of Bach's other vocal works: ‘such compositions were not intended primarily for the “delectation” of a concert public, but rather for the “edification” of a church congregation … Bach's cantatas, in fact, were conceived and should be regarded not as concert pieces at all but as musical sermons; and they were incorporated as such in the regular Sunday church services.’ This chapter therefore discusses these works against the background of the liturgical imperatives that brought them into being.

Liturgy and music in Leipzig

The specific liturgical practices of Leipzig provide the immediate context for the creation of Bach's mature vocal works. Liturgical usage in Leipzig during the eighteenth century was somewhat conservative. Compared with other areas of Germany, where traditional Lutheran liturgical forms, based on Luther's two liturgies, were already beginning to be eroded, Leipzig retained a highly developed and rich liturgical and musical tradition.