A cantata is a vocal composition originated in the 17th century and made famous during the Italian Baroque era. The composition is generally an expressive narrative that consists of a progression of arias, duets, and choruses. Cantatas may be either sacred or secular in subject and can vary in the number of singers required. Sacred cantatas were often hymns of praise and used a holy text as their narrative basis. On the contrary, secular cantatas were not religious in nature and often told historical or pagan-based narratives.
In all of music, some of the most beloved cantatas are those of composer Johann Sebastian Bach. During his career, Bach composed over 200 cantatas. Cantata No. 140 is one of the most well known and praised of his sacred cantatas. The work is a chorale cantata, or one that draws on the texts and melodies of Lutheran hymns. After Bach’s death in 1750, the cantata became less frequently composed, but no less admired.