This document explores the affects of—or the use of emotions in—J. S. Bach’s Sonata for Flute in E minor, BWV 1034, by examining for potential connections Bach’s cantatas that were written contemporaneously. In the fall of 1724, Bach suddenly began writing extensive flute obbligato parts in the arias of many of his cantatas. It is believed that a visiting flutist of some skill and proficiency resided in Leipzig during this period and may have inspired these cantata parts as well as the Sonata for Flute in E minor, BWV 1034. Each movement of the Sonata is compared to the flute parts in the arias of the cantatas— as well as other movements from the cantatas— for similarities in key, tempo, meter, style, and motive. The author discovers associations between these characteristics in the Sonata and Cantatas BWV 94, 114, 130, and 46. The musical relationships and the affects they portray are determined between the cantatas and the Sonata, the cantata librettos, as well as the additional liturgical readings that support the themes of these cantatas. These passages provide textual imagery and inspiration for interpreting the emotions of the individual movements of the Sonata.