Johann Sebastian Bach‹s spiritual vocal music comprises more than half of his oeuvres. His cantatas, his passions and his oratorios are subjects of music history and interpretation today and at the same time are also regarded as the highest point of Scriptural interpretation. The works in this volume are based on the assumption that a well-founded historico-theological understanding of the texts will make the music more easily accessible, whereas conversely the analysis of the composition will reveal the content and the messages of the texts. In numerous individual studies, the author shows the close connection between sacred texts and the Lutheran sermons and devotional literature of the 17th century and the beginning of the 18th century. She introduces the musical »language» with which Johann Sebastian Bach presented theological content and translated religious experience and pastoral solace into an aesthetic experience.