Bach Cantata Day Information:
Trinitatis I or 1st Sunday after Trinitatis
1st Sunday after Trinitatis. Liturgical period : Ordinary time II.
Occurrences: June 2 2024, June 22 2025, June 7 2026, May 30 2027, June 18 2028, June 3 2029, June 23 2030, June 15 2031, May 30 2032, June 19 2033, June 11 2034, May 27 2035, June 15 2036, June 7 2037.
Music for this day
- Die Elenden sollen essen, BWV 75
(first performance 30 May 1723, Leipzig period) - O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort, BWV 20
(first performance 11 June 1724, Leipzig period) - Brich dem Hungrigen dein Brot, BWV 39
(first performance 23 June 1726, Leipzig period)
Trinitatis I is the first Sunday after Trinitatis. Bach has three cantatas for you, all from the Leipzig period.
The first cantata, Die Elenden sollen essen, BWV 75, is remarkable because this is the first cantata Bach composed and performed when he took up his position as Thomaskantor in Leipzig. It was first performed in the Nikolaikirche on 30 May 1723. Because this was his first perfomance as cantor, he created a very ambitious cantata with no less than 14 movements.
Because his first Leipzig cantata was on Trinitatis I, his three cycles start on that day. So one year later, on Trinitatis I 1724, Bach starts his second cantata cycle, the so called chorale cantata cycle because each cantata is based on a hymn from the Protestant liturgical tradition. Unfortunately this cycle abruptly ends in March 1725, because Bach's preferred poet, Andreas Stübel, passed away in January of that year. O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort, BWV 20, is a very elaborate cantata marking the start of this second cycle. It is based on a hymn by Johann Rist, which served also for the cantata O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort, BWV 60, written not long before for Trinitatis XXIV (November 1723).
After Trinitatis I 1725, so at the start of his third cycle, Bach halved his tempo to a new cantata every 2 weeks, which means that Brich dem Hungrigen dein Brot, BWV 39, from 1726 is indeed still part of the third cycle.
Extra information
The Netherlands Bach Society website has more information and a performance of BWV 75:
https://bachvereniging.nl/en/bwv/bwv-75/
Playlist
WBC42-Trinitatis I or 1st Sunday after Trinitatis
Choose one of these streaming services to listen to this playlist:
Image of the day
Then and now, the Thomanerchor is instrumental in the performance of Bach cantatas in the Thomaskirche, here under direction of the previous Thomaskantor, Gotthold Schwarz. The predecessors of these choristers performed under Bach's direction as Thomaskantor.