This course explores the musical, poetic, and theological contexts of the works Johann Sebastian Bach composed for the Lutheran liturgy from his early career (the cantata Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit, BWV 106) through his final years (Mass in B Minor, BWV 232). Consideration is given not only to the texts Bach sets but also, and more importantly, to the ways in which the music itself comments on and interprets those texts. A working knowledge of basic music notation is helpful for class discussion.