The musical life of the region in which Bach grew up was centred around three dominating forces—church, court and town. As Stadtpfeifer or town musician of Eisenach, Bach’s father Ambrosius was involved with all three. Although a less distinguished position than that of cantor (who was responsible for the organisation of church music and education), it was none the less a respected post. In addition to Ambrosius’ secular duties, each Sunday and feast day would have found him in St. George’s, the principal church of Eisenach, to participate in services. The music Ambrosius was called upon to play would have included sacred vocal concertos dominated by Lutheran hymns, or chorales. It is difficult to exaggerate the importance of Lutheranism in the region in which Bach was brought up and worked. Its influence extended far beyond Sunday worship to also stand at the centre of education, much of which was itself controlled by the church. Much of Bach’s academic instruction (and he was the most academically minded of all the Bach family) revolved around the works of Martin Luther, whose output formed the foundation of his own personal library.

Music played an integral part in Lutheran philosophy and liturgy, which above all lays emphasis on justification by faith and the propagation of the scriptures. At its heart lay the collection of chorale tunes and texts commenced by Luther and subsequently expanded during the 16th and 17th-centuries.