This collection is a selection of excerpts from Bach cantatas, chosen not only for the beauty of their musical content but because from the pedagogical point of view too they deserve a place in a publication intended for educational purposes. The excerpts embrace two distinct areas of Baroque vocal music, the melodic realms of the aria and the recitative. The aria and arioso quotations in the collection, generally presented without accompaniment, are intended for sight-singing. The aria and recitative excerpts with continuo accompaniment also provide students with serious harmonization tasks and are therefore principally related to their music theory studies. Volume I contains the easier cantata excerpts, Volume II the more difficult ones.