Cantata II

E303345

Cantata II is the second of six cantatas that make up J.S. Bach’s Christmas Oratorio, focusing on the biblical narrative of the angel’s announcement to the shepherds.

All labels observed (1)

Label Occurrences
Cantata II canonical 1

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (44)

Predicate Object
instanceOf church cantata
sacred vocal work
biblicalChapter Luke 2
biblicalNarrativeFocus announcement of the angel to the shepherds
BWVNumber 248 II
choralForces SATB choir
composer Johann Sebastian Bach
countryOfOrigin Electorate of Saxony
cycleLiturgicalPeriod Christmas
surface form: Christmas season
firstPerformanceChurch St. Thomas Church, Leipzig
surface form: Thomaskirche, Leipzig
firstPerformanceDate 1734-12-26
firstPerformancePlace Leipzig
followedBy Cantata III
surface form: Cantata III (Christmas Oratorio)
follows Cantata I
surface form: Cantata I (Christmas Oratorio)
genre oratorio movement
historicalPeriod Baroque
language German
liturgicalFunction music for the Gospel reading and reflection on the Nativity
liturgicalOccasion Feast of Saint Stephen
surface form: Feast of St. Stephen

Second Day of Christmas
narrativeRole continues the Christmas story begun in Cantata I
numberOfCantatasInCycle 6
orchestration continuo
flutes
horns
oboes
strings
ordinalPosition second cantata
originalCityOfComposition Leipzig
originalPurpose Christmas festival services in Leipzig in 1734–1735
partOf Christmas Oratorio
placeOfUse Leipzig Lutheran churches
precededBy Cantata I
surface form: Cantata I (Christmas Oratorio)
religiousTradition Lutheran
scoring mixed choir
orchestra
solo voices
subjectMatter appearance of the angel to the shepherds in the fields
textSource Gospel of Luke
textType combination of biblical narrative, recitatives, arias, and chorales
vocalForces alto solo
bass solo
soprano solo
tenor solo

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (1)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Christmas Oratorio hasPart Cantata II