Lenten Chorales, Sundays

William L. Hoffman wrote (March 24, 2025):
While the periods of Advent and Lent were closed times in Leipzig, Bach was able to provide in his one-year lectionary this music during his tenure in Weimar where, from 1714 to 1717, he was able to compose cantatas for all four Sundays in Advent 1-4 (BWV 61, 70a, 186a, 147a) and for Oculi (3rd Sunday in Lent), BWV 54 and 80a. The Bach Mailing List has a 2018 article, Musical Context of Bach Cantatas: "Motets & Chorales for Sundays in Lent" (BCW) which reveals chorales for all five Sundays in Lent. For the five Lenten Sundays, the Neu Leipziger Gesangbuch of 1682 lists for Invocavit, "Vater unser im Himmelreich" (Lord's Prayer); for Reminiscere and Oculi, "Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ," "Wenn wir in höchsten Nöten sein,” "Gott der Vater wohn uns bei," "Erbarm dich mein, o Herre Gott," and "Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott"; for Laeteri and Judica, "Herr Jesu Christ, wahr Mensch und Gott," "Herr Jesu Christ, meins Lebens Licht," and "In dich hab ich gehoffet Herr." German composers with cantatas for Lent involved music consistently presented at the Gotha Court (Christian Friedrich Witt, Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel, Wolfgang Carl Briegel, and Georg Benda), as well as Georg Philipp Telemann in Frankfurt and Hamburg and Christoph Graupner in Darmstadt. In Weimar, it is assumed that Kapellmeister Johann Samuel Drese and his son, Johann Wilhelm, alternated with Bach in the presentation of the Sunday cantatas each month between 1714 and 1717, with Bach as court organist presenting chorale music.

Today's current three-year Revised Common Lectionary, says John S. Setterlund,¹ provides music for three years from 2025 onwards, beginning with Ash Wednesday (Wikipedia), Year C, 5 March 1725, gospel Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21 (alms giving & prayer, Bible Gateway), preferred Cantata 32 (1^st Sunday after Epiphany, Carus-Media, IOPN Library Illinois), alternate Cantata 136 (8th Sunday after Trinity, Carus-Media, IOPN Library Illinois); Year A, 18 February 2026, gospel Matthew 6;:1-6, 16-21 (alms & prayer, Bible Gateway), preferred Cantata 199 (11th Sunday after Trinity, Carus-Media, IOPN Library Illinois), alternate Cantata 26 (24^th Sunday after Trinity, Carus-Media, IOPN Library Illinois); Year B, 10 February 2027, gospel , gospel Matthew 6;:1-6, 16-21 (alms & prayer, Bible Gateway), preferred Cantata 135 (3rd Sunday after Trinity Carus-Media, IOPN Library Illinois), alternate Cantata 181 (Sexagesimae, Carus-Media, IOPN Library Illinois); Ash Wednesday, single lectionary, gospel Matthew 6;:1-6, 16-21 (alms & prayer, Bible Gateway), preferred Cantata 135 (see above Year B, preferred), alternate gospel Luke 7:36-50 (Sinful woman forgiven), preferred Cantata 135 (see above, Year B, preferred); Years A-C, alternate gospel, Luke 18:9-14 (Parable of Pharisee & Tax Collector): Year A, Cantata 199 (see above, Year A, Preferred Cantata 199; Year B, preferred Cantata 179 (11th Sunday after Trinity, Carus-Media, IOPN Library Illinois), Year C, preferred Cantata 32 (see above, Year C, preferred Cantata 32).

The 1st Sunday in Lent: Year C, 9 March 2025, gospel Luke 4:1-13 (Jesus tempted, Bible Gateway), preferred Cantata 54 (Oculi Sunday, Carus-Media, IOPN Library Illinois), alternate Cantata 179 (see above, Ash Wednesday, single lectionary, Year B, preferred); Year A, 22 February 2026, gospel Matthew 4:1-11 (Jesus tempted, Bible Gateway), preferred Cantata 40 (also Bach one-year lectionary, 2nd Day of Christmas, Carus-Media, IOPN Library Illinois), alternate Cantata 48 (19th Sunday after Trinity, Carus-Media, IOPN Library Illinois); Year B, 14 February 1727, gospel mark 1:9-15 (Jesus baptized & tempted, Bible Gateway), preferred Cantata 178 (8th Sunday after Trinity, Carus-Media, IOPN Library Illinois), alternate Chorale Cantata 80.3 (Reformationsfest, Carus-Media, IOPN Library Illinois).

The 2nd Sunday in Lent: Year C, 16 March 2025, gospel Luke 13:31-35 (Lament over Jerusalem, Bible Garteway), preferred Cantata 46 (10th Sunday after Trinity, Carus-Media, IOPN Library Illinois),, alternate Cantata 40 (see above, lst Sunday in Lent, Year A, preferred Cantata 40; also Bach's one-year lectionary, 1st Sunday in Lent, gospel Matthew 4:1-11 (Jesus tempted, Bible Gateway); Year A, 1 March 2026, gospel John 3:1-17 (Nicodemus visits Jesus, Bible Gateway), preferred Cantata 176 (Trinity Sunday, Carus-Media, IOPN Library Illinois), alternate Cantata 68 (2nd day of Pentecost, Carus-Media, IOPN Library Illinois), or gospel Matthew 17:1-9 (Transfiguration, Bible Gateway), see Years A-C, Transfiguration Sunday, BCW, "Pre-lenten Sundays, Special Occasions," scroll down to Transfiguration Sunday.

The 3rd Sunday in Lent: Year C, 23 March 2025, gospel Luke 13:1-9 (Fig tree parable, Bible Gateway), preferred Chorale Cantata 124 (1st Sunday after Epiphany, Carus-Media, IOPN Library Illinois), alternate Cantata 46 (see above, 2nd Sunday in Lent, Year C, preferred cantata 46); Year B, 8 March 2026, gospel John 2:13-22 (Jesus cleanses Temple, Bible Gateway), preferred Cantata 102 (10th Sunday after Trinity, Carus-Media), alternate Cantata 90 (25th Sunday after Trinity, Carus-Media, IOPN Library Illinois); Year A, 28 February 2027, gospel John 2:13-22 (Jesus cleanses Temple, Bible Gateway), preferred Cantata 170 (6th Sunday after Trinity, Bible Gateway), alternate Cantata 162 (20th Sunday after Trinity, Carus-Media, IOPN Library Illinois). Bach's one-year lectionary: gospel Luke 11:14-28 (Jesus and Beelzebul, Bible Gateway, preferred Cantata 54 (Oculi, Carus-Media, IOPN Library Illinois).

Lenten Sundays: 1st Sunday in Lent or Invocabit, 9 March 2025. The first 1st Sunday in Lent is known as Invocavit or Quadregesima Sunday, the former for the Introit Psalm 91:15 (He shall call upon me, Bible Gateway) and the latter designating the 40th day of Lent (Wikipedia). The readings in Bach's time were 2 Corinthians 6:1-10 (We then, as workers together with him, kjv Bible Gateway), and the Gospel, Matthew 4:1-11 (Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness, kjv Bible Gateway), the former referring to both the catechumen and the believers engaged in the Lenten fast, and the latter to Jesus' temptation in the wilderness of 40 days, says Paul Zeller Strodach,² while the Introit is "a song of trusting faith." The appropriate Hymn if the Day in the NLGB (No. 175) is Luther's Catechism chorale, "Vater unser im Himmelreich" (Lord's Prayer, Wikipedia, which Bach set as plain chorale, BWV 416 (BCW), and as chorale preludes BWV 636 (Baptism, Orgelbüchlein), BWV 682-3 (Catechism, Clavierübung III) and BWV 737 (miscellaneous chorales), further information, BCW: "Vater unser im Himmelreich.”

While there are no Bach cantatas appropriate for the 1st Sunday of Lent, a new on-line column called "Which Bach Cantata Today" (Which Bach Cantata: Cantata Days, Which Bach Cantata: Cantata Daays: Invocabit), suggests that among Bach's sacred cantatas without designation on the score, three possibly appropriate Lenten works are: 1. Cantata 106, "Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit," possibly Bach's earliest work for a Mühlhausen funeral service 1707-08 (Carus-Media, IOPN Library Illinois); 2. wedding Cantata 195.3, "Dem Gerechten muß das Licht" Carus-Media, IOPN Library Illinois), one of Bach's last works in 1748; and 3. possible wedding Cantata 100 III (Carus-Media, IOPN Library Illinois), purpose not transmitted, 1734–1735. Cantatas for unknown occasions are listed as IOPN Library Illinois and several may be for weddings: BWV 117, 192, and 97.

The 2nd Sunday in Lent, 16 march 2025, is called Reminiscere (BCW), for "remembering," from the Introit Psalm 25:6, "Remember, O Lord, thy tender mercies and thy loving-kindnesses (kjv)," from Psalm 25, Ad te, Domine, levavi (O my God, I trust in thee, kjv Bible Gateway. It is a reference to Misericordias Domini or the 2nd Sunday after Easter. It means the "Goodness (literally "tender mercies") of the Lord." It comes from the incipit of Psalm 89, "Your love, O Lord, for ever will I sing." The 2nd Sunday after Easter is also called "Good Shepherd Sunday," referring to its Gospel of John 10: 12-16, "I am the Good Shepherd" (Bible Gateway).

The pulpit readings for Reminiscere in Bach's single lectionary were the Epistle, 1 Thes. 4:1-7 (plea for Purity), urging the Christian "to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more," says Strodach (Ibid: 121). The Gospel is Matt. 15:21-28 (Jesus heals Canaanite woman's daughter. Her plea (Mat. 15:22b, "Have mercy on me, O God" Miserere mei, in German is "Erbarm dich mein, o Herre Gott," also found in Penitential Psalm 51, Bible Gateway, and Bach's contrafaction setting, "Tilge, Höchester, meine Sünden" (Cancel, Highest, my sins, UVM), BWV 1083 (BCW), composed in the 1740s. Today's three-year common lectionary uses John's Gospel in Lent, which is shared today and in Bach's time for the 4th and5th Sundays in Lent.

The new on-line column called "Which Bach Cantata Today" finds for Reminiscere (Which Bach Cantata: Cantata Days: Reminiscere) three undesignated sacred cantatas possibly appropriate for this date: 1. Cantata 150, "Nach dir, Herr, verlanget mich" (Carus-Media, IOPN Library Illinois), homage or birthday before 1707, Mühlhausen period; 2. Cantata 34.1(a), "O ewiges Feuer, o Ursprung der Liebe," partial wedding 1726, BWV 34.2 (Pentecost, after 1745 or 1727, Carus-Media, IOPN Library Illinois), ; and 3. Chorale Cantata 117, "Sei Lob und Ehr dem höchsten Gut," Leipzig 1728-31 (possible wedding, Carus-Media, IOPN Library Illinois).

The Third Sunday in Lent, 23 March 2025, Oculi (3rd Sunday in Lent). In Bach's time, the 3rd Sunday in Lent, called Oculi from Introit Psalm 25:15, "Mine eyes are ever toward the Lord (kjv)" was a momentous time in the middle of Passiontide as Bach was able in Weimar to present two solo cantatas for this Sunday, BWV 54, "Widerstehe doch der Sünde" (Stand firm against sin), and BWV 80a, "Alles was von Gott geboren" (All that is born of God, 1 John 5:4), music that firmly helped to established his goal of a "well-ordered church music." Bach produced two intimate, striking church cantatas, BWV 54 a three-movement alto solo work with a two striking arias, and BWV 80a, a substantial four-voice work which includes a Bach chorale trope in the opening bass aria and closing with a plain chorale setting of the same Luther hymn, "A Mighty Fortress is our God," which was transformed into a hybrid chorale Cantata by 1740. Both works did not become part of Bach's church-year cantata cycles but were available for copying in 1761 by the Leipzig published Breitkopf in the fall catalogue.

The Oculi Sunday readings show Bach's close attention to Luther's sentiments, source is the Common Service Book with Hymnal (United Lutheran Church in America, Philadelphia 1917: 73f) "Oculi" means "look." It is alluded to in the initial Introit, "Mine eyes are ever toward the Lord." The name of the 3rd Sunday in Lent, Oculi, comes from the first word of the Introit Psalm 25:16, "Mine eyes are ever toward the Lord, kjv" Psalm 25, Ad te, Dominum, levavi (Unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul, Bible Gateway). The 3rd Sunday in Lent is variously named as Dies scrutinii (day of scrutiny), Dominica abrennunciationis (Lord's day of the renunciation), and Dom. exorcisimi (Lord's day of the exorcism). The succeeding Collect asks God to "look upon the hearty desires of the humble servants, and . . . be our defence against our enemies." Epistle, "Living in the Light," Ephesians 5:1-9, warns in verse 6: "Let no man deceive you with vain words." The Gradual affirms that "When mine enemies are turned back: they shall fall and perish at Thy presence." The Gospel, "Jesus and Beelzebub," Luke 11:14-28, is Christ's explanation of casting out devils. The most salient Gospel verses are Luke 20-22: "But if I with the finger (Word) of God cast out devils, no doubt the Kingdom of God is come upon you. When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his good are in peace: but when a stronger than he shall come upon him, he taketh from him all his armour wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils."

There is no closing chorale in Lehms' text for Cantata 54 in E-flat Major. A possibly is plain chorale BWV 353 in g minor (Bach-Chorales), says Martin Petzoldt,⁴ found in the Dresdener Gesangbuch 1725 , No. 287, Johann Rist 1662 melody (Zahn 6804), "Jesu, der du meine Seele" (Jesus, it is by you that my soul, BCW); Bar Form text stanza 16, "Jesum nur will ich lieb haben" (Only Jesus I shall hold dear); Martin Jahn 1661 "Jesu meiner Seele Wonne" (Jesus, delight of my so), BCW. The same stanza to the Johann Schoop 1642 melody, "Werde munter mein Gemüte" (Be alert , my soul), closes chorus Cantata BWV 147, "Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben" (Heart and mouth and deed and life), Feast of the Visitation 1723. The Bach Stiftung adds a closing four-part chorale (Mvt. No. 4) not in the Lehms Cantata 54 libretto: Martin Jahns’ text, “Jesum nur will ich liebhaben” (Only Jesus I shall hold dear), BWV 360 in B-flat Major (Bachipedia, BCW).

The on-line column "Which Bach Cantata Today," Which Bach Cantata: Cantata Days: Oculi, shows two cantatas for Oculi Sundays in Weimar: ''Widerstehe doch der Sünde," BWV 54 (first performance 4 March 1714?, Carus-Media, IOPN Library Illinois) and "Alles, was von Gott geboren," BWV 80.1(a) (first performance 24 March 1715 or 15 March 1716 - music lost, Carus-Media, BCW.

Addendum
There is no closing chorale in Lehms' text for Cantata 54 in E-flat Major. A possibly is plain chorale BWV 353 in g minor (Bach-Chorales), says Martin Petzoldt,⁴ found in the Dresdener Gesangbuch 1725 , No. 287, Johann Rist 1662 melody (Zahn 6804), "Jesu, der du meine Seele" (Jesus, it is by you that my soul, BCW); Bar Form text stanza 16, "Jesum nur will ich lieb haben" (Only Jesus I shall hold dear); Martin Jahn 1661 "Jesu meiner Seele Wonne" (Jesus, delight of my so), BCW.

ENDNOTES

¹ John S. Setterlund, Bach Through the Year: The Church Music of Johann Sebastian Bach and the Revised Common Lectionary (Minneapolis MN, Lutheran University Press 2013: 50f), Kirk House Publishers, Amazon.com).
² Paul Zeller Strodach, The Church Year: Studies in the Introits, Collects, Epistles, and Gospels (Philadelphia PA: United Lutheran Publication House, 1924: 107ff).
⁴ Petzoldt, Bach Kommentar: Theologisch Musikwissenschaftlicke Kommentierung der Geistlichen Vokalwerke Johann Sebastan Bachs; Vol. 2, Die Geistlichen Kantaten vom 1. Advent bis zum Trinitatisfest; Internationale Bachakademie Stuttgart (Kassel: Bärenreiter, 2007: 640, 645).

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To Come: Lenten Sundays 4th Laetare, 5th Judica; Palm Sunday