Feast of the Ascension
Bach had an audience familiar with the text and its background. In Leipzig, a Latin Magnificat was sung on the high holidays (Christmas, Easter and Pentecost, then performed on two of the three days of celebration) and on the three Marian feasts Annunciation, Visitation and Purification. According to some scholars, further feast days included New Year's Day, Epiphany, Feast of the Ascension, Trinity Sunday, St. John's Day and St. Michael's Day, and the vespers before the feast days.