Rogate

Bach Cantata Day Information:
5th Sunday after Easter or Rogate

5th Sunday after Easter. Liturgical period : Easter.

Occurrences: May 5 2024, May 25 2025, May 10 2026, May 2 2027, May 21 2028, May 6 2029, May 26 2030, May 18 2031, May 2 2032, May 22 2033, May 14 2034, April 29 2035, May 18 2036, May 10 2037.


Music for this day

  • Wahrlich, wahrlich, ich sage euch, BWV 86
    (first performance 14 May 1724, Leipzig period)
  • Bisher habt ihr nichts gebeten in meinem Namen, BWV 87
    (first performance 6 May 1725, Leipzig period)


Rogate is the 5th Sunday after Easter ("pray" in Latin). Two Leipzig cantatas on the playlist, from the first two annual cantata cycles Bach composed there, both based on the scriptures for the day covering (like the preceding Sundays) the farewell speeches given by Jesus to his disciples.

The poet who wrote the text for Wahrlich, wahrlich, ich sage euch, BWV 86 is unknown.

Bisher habt ihr nichts gebeten in meinem Namen, BWV 87, is again one of the nine cantatas written by Christiane Mariane von Ziegler. For the closing chorale, she chose a stanza of Heinrich Müller's hymn "Selig ist die Seele" (1659). You may recognise the music of that chorale, as Bach repurposed the music of his beautiful motet Jesu Meine Freude, BWV 227.


Extra information

The Netherlands Bach Society website has more information and a performance of BWV 86:
https://bachvereniging.nl/en/bwv/bwv-86/