From On the Cantatas of J.S. Bach: Epiphany to Lent. Lent is the penitential preparation for Easter. It begins on Ash Wednesday and concludes on the night before Easter Sunday. Lent lasts forty days, hence it is also known as Quadragesima (meaning ‘fortieth’), from which originate the terms Quinquagesima, Sexagesima, and Septuagesima for the preceding Sundays. […]