In May 1723, Bach took up the post of Thomaskantor in Leipzig — and immediately embarked on a creative marathon without parallel in Western music. Over the next twelve months he composed a new cantata for almost every Sunday and feast day, producing roughly 60 works in a single year.

The first cycle establishes what we now recognise as the "mature Bach cantata": an opening chorus of contrapuntal grandeur, alternating recitatives and arias that explore the day's Gospel, and a plain four-part chorale to close. The orchestra expands dramatically — oboes d'amore, hunting horns, festive trumpets appear for the first time.

Notable works include Die Elenden sollen essen (BWV 75, his first Leipzig performance), Ein feste Burg (BWV 80), and the majestic Himmelskönig, sei willkommen (BWV 182).