Through his promotion of the German language and his personal love of music, Martin Luther laid the foundations for the success of the Protestant chorale. The Reformer himself wrote nearly 40 hymns, which were published in a variety of hymn books from 1523 onward, many of them still being a part of the liturgical repertoire today. Numerous composers used this musical treasure-trove as a basis for new compositions. Johann Sebastian Bach wrote 14 cantatas based on Luther chorales, ranging from the early »Christ lag in Todes Banden«, written in Mühlhausen (1707), to his late Leipzig cantata, »Wär Gott nicht mit uns diese Zeit« (1735).