Church year
Liturgical cycle with musical feasts.
What it means
The church year is the annual cycle of Christian feasts and seasons. It begins with Advent and leads via Christmas, the pre-Easter season of penance, Easter, and Pentecost to a long series of Sundays before the circle begins anew. Some feasts fall on fixed calendar days, others follow the movable date of Easter. For music this cycle is fundamental, because it determines which texts and which music sound on which day.
Musical use
A large part of the transmitted church music is tied to particular days: the changing liturgical chants of the Proper, the chorales of the hymnal, and the cantatas with their texts are each assigned to a Sunday. Some seasons have rules of their own — for instance the omission of the Gloria or of the Alleluia in the season of penance, in whose place the Tract steps. Whoever performs or plans church music must know this order, otherwise texts and music stand in the wrong place. For understanding historical works it is equally important: many compositions can be understood only from the occasion for which they were written.
The church year begins with the first Sunday of Advent and determines the texts and music of the service. Bach's cantata cycles follow it Sunday by Sunday.
Performance practice
Keep an annual overview with the Sundays and the intended music and plan early, because studying takes time. For every work, check for which day it is intended, and coordinate the selection with the leader of the service. Observe the peculiarities of the respective season, for instance the omission of certain chants. Distribute demanding works over the year so that the forces suffice. For concert performances it is worthwhile briefly to explain the liturgical context in the programme.
Bear in mind that individual seasons have rules of their own: in the season of penance, Gloria and Alleluia are omitted, the Tract takes their place, and certain instruments are used sparingly. Check this before you schedule a work.