Credits:

Howard Arman

Description:

Bach began composing motets in 1723, his first year as cantor in Leipzig, but fewer than 10 of these works have survived to the present day. Since some of these are forgeries, it is believed that only five or six are actually authentic. Compared to the more than 200 cantatas he wrote, the number of motets seems truly small. Although the motet genre was not originally limited to religious music, by the 17th century it had come to be used as vocal music with religious lyrics and eventually fell out of favor. That said, motets were still being sung in churches during Bachs time; however, since these were primarily drawn from existing songbooks, there was no need to compose new works. Instead, it seems Bach was expected to compose new cantatas. For this reason, it is believed that Bachs motets were written for private use; all of them feature complex vocal parts, and many are sung a cappella (unacc