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42-534: According to his " Nekrolog ", the 1754 obituary written by Johann Friedrich Agricola and the composer's son Carl Philipp Emanuel , Bach wrote "five Passions, of which one is for double chorus". The double chorus one is easily identified as the St Matthew Passion . The St John Passion is the only extant other one that is certainly composed by Bach. The libretto of the St Mark Passion

84-604: A pasticcio Passion oratorio possibly compiled by Bach's son-in-law Johann Christoph Altnickol , contains a few movements attributed to Bach, including the arioso for bass BWV 1088 , and Der Gerechte kömmt um (an arrangement of a SSATB motet attributed to Johann Kuhnau ). The pasticcio may have been performed in Leipzig in the late 1740s and/or the early 1750s. Bach performed Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel 's Die leidende und am Creutz sterbende Liebe Jesu on Good Friday of 1734. This Passion oratorio, composed for Gotha in 1720,

126-546: A few scenes, notably the young Bach secretly copying a score owned by his eldest brother, the story about a musical competition which Bach "won" by his competitor fleeing the town, and the visit to Frederick the Great in Sanssouci in the later years of his life. The last pages of the "Nekrolog" contain verse in memory of the composer. The "Nekrolog" sets out with tracing some of Bach's forefathers, listing previous composers of

168-692: A series of publications appearing from 1736 to 1754, reporting on and criticising music. As such it was the organ of Mizler's Musical Society, of which Bach had been a member from 1747. Bach's "Nekrolog" appeared in its last installment, Volume 4, Part 1 in 1754, as the third of three obituaries of former members of the Musical Society. Although no author is indicated in the article, its authors are known to be Carl Philipp Emanuel , Bach's son, and Johann Friedrich Agricola , one of Bach's students . The "Nekrolog" contains basic data about Bach's family and where he lived, lists compositions, and elaborates

210-399: Is all but detailed (pp. 168–169), and seems to exaggerate in numbers and/or indicates that a great number of Bach compositions went lost. The next paragraphs are devoted to Bach's two marriages, and his children (pp. 169–170). The narrative of the "Nekrolog" ends with a sketch of Bach as a musician, and his significance as a composer, with, in its last paragraph, a few sentences on

252-694: Is also known after the incipit of its opening chorus, a setting of Paul Gerhardt 's " Ein Lämmlein geht und trägt die Schuld ". Bach arranged one of its arias, "Dein Kreuz, o Bräutgam meiner Seelen", as Bekennen will ich seinen Namen , BWV 200 . This arrangement, dated around 1742–1743, was possibly part of a cantata for the feast of Purification of the Virgin Mary . Bach also knew a few passion-oratorios composed by Carl Heinrich Graun . He performed Graun's Ein Lämmlein geht und trägt die Schuld sometime in

294-465: Is even surmised Bach intended the audience to participate by singing along with the chorales they knew. Bach's Passions are set for an orchestra with strings, woodwind instruments such as oboes and flutes, and a continuo including organ. The Lenten period did however not allow usage of (festive) brass instruments like trumpets. The vocal forces include SATB choir (or double SATB choir for the St Matthew Passion ) and vocal soloists. In Bach's time none of

336-634: Is in the "Nekrolog" regarding the number of Passions composed by Bach. In his 1850 Bach-biography Carl L. Hilgenfeldt attempts to identify all five of the Passions mentioned in the "Nekrolog" and by Forkel. After mentioning the St Matthew , the St John , the St Luke and Picander's libretto of the lost St Mark , Hilgenfeldt mentions a Passion Bach would have composed in 1717, which was the last year Bach

378-615: Is the recitation of the unaltered Gospel text, as in Leipzig it was not allowed to paraphrase the Gospel in Passion presentations: for this reason an unaltered setting of the Brockes Passion , which contained a lot of such paraphrasing loosely based on all four Gospel texts of Christ's Passion, was not possible, although Bach returned often to Brockes' text, choosing parts of its poetry as lyrics for commenting arias after recitations of

420-462: The "Nekrolog", Bach went to Lüneburg after his brother's death; however, later research pointed out that Johann Christoph lived at least another 20 years. Next Bach is followed through his first positions as a musician (pp. 162–166). Again there is an anecdote that is elaborated over more than one page: the failed competition with Louis Marchand in Dresden, while the latter had left the town in

462-564: The 1703/04 season, Nebukadnezar, and Salomon . Early in 1704, when he was conducting the operas Nebukadnezar and Salomon in Hamburg, the season had to be unexpectedly concluded, for reasons most likely related to government affairs. He went to Brunswick, and afterward Weissenfels, to reconnect with areas in which he was previously active. He ended up coming out with a masterpiece, Almira , at Weissenfels, in July.(NB: According to Grove, this

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504-538: The 1717 Passion mentioned by Hilgenfeldt. It appears to have been performed at the court in Gotha on Good Friday 26 March 1717. Bach appears to have recuperated some of its material in later compositions, notably in his St John Passion . In the early 1710s Bach staged Jesus Christus ist um unsrer Missetat willen verwundet , a St Mark Passion, in Weimar. Bach added some of his own chorale settings to that Passion which

546-526: The 1730s-1740s, and even had a copy of the score in his library. The same with his "Great Passion" Kommt her und schaut . Bach also knew of a few passion-oratorios by Georg Philipp Telemann (his friend and Godfather to Carl Philipp Emanuel). In addition to Telemann's Brockes Passion , there is evidence that Bach performed the original (Hamburg) version of his '' Seliges Erwägen des Leidens und Sterbens Jesu Christi'' TWV 5:2a between 1732 and 1735. Bach also knew of George Frideric Handel 's setting of

588-615: The 20th century Bach biographers name the "Nekrolog" as a direct source for their work. An English translation of the "Nekrolog" is included in The New Bach Reader . Reinhard Keiser Reinhard Keiser (9 January 1674 – 12 September 1739) was a German opera composer based in Hamburg . He wrote over a hundred operas. Johann Adolf Scheibe (writing in 1745) considered him an equal to Johann Kuhnau , George Frideric Handel and Georg Philipp Telemann , but his work

630-645: The Bach family, and elaborating on their work (pp. 158–160). Follows a description of Bach's early youth in Eisenach, the stay with his eldest brother Johann Christoph in Ohrdruf after their parent's death, and the period when he was a student and chorister in Lüneburg (pp. 160–162). More than a page is devoted to the episode of the secret copying of his brother's manuscript (pp. 160–161). According to

672-485: The Gospel text. For this reason Bach's Passions for Leipzig are named after the Evangelist from whose Gospel the Passion text is used. Another characteristic of Bach's Passions are the chorales set in four-part harmony that recur often throughout the compositions. These chorales, representing a Lutheran tradition, were highly recognizable, both the text and the melody, by the audience for which he wrote his Passions. It

714-499: The Passion text by Barthold Heinrich Brockes ( Brockes Passion ). This is exemplified by a manuscript copy by Bach and one of his principal copyists dating from 1746 to 1748. Bach is known to have performed this work on Good Friday 1746, and used 7 arias from it in his last Passion-Pasticcio on the Hamburg St. Mark Passion (BNB I/K/2). Bach's Leipzig Passions were performed at Vespers on Good Friday , alternating between

756-567: The Passion was once thought to have been destroyed in the bombing of Dresden in World War II , but the recovered copy seems to show that the work was a parody of music from the so-called Trauer-Ode , Laß, Fürstin, laß noch einen Strahl , BWV 198 , and that some choruses were used also in the Christmas Oratorio . There are several reconstructions of the Passion. In his 1802 Bach-biography Johann Nikolaus Forkel repeats what

798-606: The St. Thomas Church. Four years earlier, Georg Philipp Telemann 's Brockes Passion , TWV 5:1, performed in the New Church , was the first Passion Oratorio that had been staged in Leipzig. A first feature of the structure of the Passions Bach wrote for Leipzig follows from the order of service: the Passions needed to be in two parts, for performance before and after the sermon. A second structural feature specific for Leipzig

840-592: The Town Council decided to pay for emergency reparations at St. Nicolas, and for a reprint of the announcements where the service was announced for St. Nicolas. Bach%27s Nekrolog The 1754 obituary of Johann Sebastian Bach is usually called the Nekrolog . It was published four years after his death. The "Nekrolog" appeared in Lorenz Christoph Mizler 's Musikalische Bibliothek ,

882-530: The arias are preceded by non-Gospel accompagnato recitatives. Apart from these sections, Bach composed grand choral movements with which to open or close the two parts of his Passions. Schematically, this is the structure of Bach's Passions: Bach was Thomaskantor in Leipzig from late May 1723 until his death in 1750. The Passion music he programmed for the Good Friday services is largely documented. The St Matthew Passion , with its double choir and orchestra,

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924-430: The bad state of the organ loft and its instruments (the organ and an harpsichord), Bach did not want to stage his St John Passion in St. Nicolas, despite it being the turn of that church to host the Good Friday service. Having announced the plan, sharp communications between Bach and the official bodies of the town ensued, with Bach having announcements printed that the service was going to be held at St. Thomas. Ultimately

966-427: The composer's character (pp. 170–173). As an epilogue to the "Nekrolog" pp. 173–176 contain poetry in remembrance of Bach. The "Nekrolog" played a determining role for the biographies of the composer that were written after it. In the introduction to his normative 19th-century biography of Johann Sebastian Bach, Philipp Spitta names the "Nekrolog" as one of a very few earlier biographies he trusts. Even in

1008-468: The dissolution of the opera troupe, Keiser returned once more to Hamburg, but changes in its operation made repeating past success difficult. Three operas from the period between 1722 and 1734 survive. Personal relations with Telemann remained good, with Telemann programming several productions of Keiser's operas. In 1728 he became the St. Mary's Cathedral precentor of Hamburg (succeeding Johann Mattheson to

1050-443: The duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel , though he had probably come to the court already as early as 1692 to study its renowned operas, which had been going on since 1691, when the city had built a 1,200-seat opera house. Keiser put on his first opera Procris und Cephalus there and, the same year, his opera Basilius was put on at Hamburg and, as the musicologist Johann Mattheson noted, "received with great success and applause". This

1092-645: The early morning of the day when the competition was scheduled (pp. 163–165). The description of Bach's last position as Thomascantor is relatively short, with most attention going to his visit to Potsdam in 1747, and the composer's death in 1750 (pp. 166–167). Follows a list of the compositions printed during the composer's life , which however omits the cantata(s) printed in Mühlhausen and songs and arias printed in Schemelli's Gesangbuch (pp. 167–168). The list of unpublished works that follows

1134-586: The opera company to be disorderly. Keiser worked in the background. Keiser would continue as the director probably when things got more stable in the city, maybe in 1710, and he advanced in composing, coming with his own passion music in 1712, which Händel would readily challenge in 1716. In 1718, with the Hamburg Opera defunct, he left Hamburg to seek other employment, going to Thuringia and then Stuttgart. From this period, three manuscripts of trio sonatas for flute, violin and basso continuo survive. During

1176-469: The principal churches of St. Thomas (uneven years) and St. Nicholas (even years). The order of service was: A more detailed layout of the Order of Service for Good Friday Vespers is as follows: The first time a concerted Passion in two parts was performed according to this order of service was in 1721, when Johann Kuhnau , Bach's predecessor, was given permission to perform the Passion he had composed in

1218-721: The reflective and resigned St. Matthew Passion . The St John Passion , BWV 245 is the first Passion Bach composed during his tenure as Thomaskantor in Leipzig, a tenure that started after the Easter season of 1723. Apart from the German translation of parts of the Gospel of St John and several Lutheran chorales , it used text of the Brockes Passion for its arias. The Passion was performed on Good Friday of 1724, 1725, 1730 and 1749. The double chorus St Matthew Passion , BWV 244

1260-530: The summer of 1721, he returned to Hamburg, but only a few weeks later made a rapid exit to Copenhagen with a Hamburg opera troupe, probably because of the growing influence of Georg Philipp Telemann , engaged by the city magistrate in Keiser's absence. Between 1721 and 1727, Keiser traveled back and forth between Hamburg and Copenhagen, receiving the title of Master of the Danish Royal Chapel. After

1302-461: The vocalists were women: the high voice parts were traditionally sung by treble choristers. The Gospel readings, set as a secco recitative for the Evangelist , complemented with recitatives and turba choruses by the characters and groups having direct speech in the text, are presented in parts of a few verses, alternating with commenting chorales and/or arias with a free verse text. In most cases

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1344-493: Was a fruitful period for him – composing not only operas, but arias, duets, cantatas, sérénades, church music and big oratorios, background music – all for the city's use. About 1697 he settled permanently in Hamburg, and became the chief composer at the highly renowned Oper am Gänsemarkt (now rebuilt as the Hamburg State Opera ) in Hamburg from 1697 to 1717; however he was actually first the director in 1702, and

1386-535: Was composed on a libretto by Picander for Good Friday of 1727 and/or 1729. After revision the Passion was performed again in 1736 and 1742. Bach's copy of an anonymous St Luke Passion , BWV 246, was published in the Bach Gesellschaft Complete Works (vol. xlv/2) but is regarded as spurious, with the possible exception of the introduction to the second half. Bach wrote the St Mark Passion , BWV 247 for 1731. Picander's libretto for

1428-491: Was employed in Weimar. Thus the "fifth" Passion possibly refers to Passion music Bach composed before his tenure as Thomaskantor in Leipzig, parts of which may have been recuperated in his extant Passions. It may also refer to one of the Passion oratorio pasticcios Bach was involved in and/or to a setting of Picander 's Erbauliche Gedanken auf den Grünen Donnerstag und Charfreitag über den Leidenden Jesum , published in 1725. Weimarer Passion , BWV deest, BC D 1, refers to

1470-613: Was first produced at the Hamburg Goose Mark Opera, presumably by Keiser, on 8 Jan 1705). He stayed there for a while, spending many holidays there, eventually heading back to Hamburg shortly after Easter in 1705, to produce a comeback to Händel's Nero , produced in February 1705. Keiser would have to face Händel again, but this time he would be at home, and Händel had switched to the phonetic Italian version of his name, Giorgio Friderico Hendel. Händel would put on what

1512-544: Was largely forgotten for many decades. Keiser was born in Teuchern (in present-day Saxony-Anhalt ), son of the organist and teacher Gottfried Keiser (born about 1650), and educated by other organists in the town and then from age eleven at the Thomasschule in Leipzig, where his teachers included Johann Schelle and Johann Kuhnau , direct predecessors of Johann Sebastian Bach . In 1694, he became court-composer to

1554-567: Was most likely written for the St. Thomas Church while it had two organ lofts, although Bach later also produced a version where the continuo instrument of the second choir was a harpsichord (instead of organ), so that a performance in St. Nicolas (with only one organ) was possible. Bach's first Passion presentation, the St John Passion of 1724, led to his first documented conflict with the Leipzig Town Council. Because of

1596-542: Was not at various times from then to 1717, almost each time due to political instabilities. From 1703 to 1709, Keiser changed the opera house from being a public institution to a commercial venture with two to three performances a week, in contrast to the opera houses intended for the nobility. He helped transition opera from the mid-Baroque to the late-Baroque. He introduced a more varied type of aria into his operas, with more passive arias, and also faster arias being introduced into his bilingual and non-bilingual operas all by

1638-457: Was planned as a double opera, but was in fact two, Florindo and Daphne ; he did that in January 1708, coming back from Italy. Keiser would counter that by eventually coming out with La forza dell'amore, oder, Die von Paris entführte Helena and Desiderius, König der Langobarden in the 1708/09 season, not as the theatre's manager, but as someone responding to political insecurities causing

1680-557: Was probably composed by Gottfried Keiser (older attributions of the original work are to Reinhard Keiser , Gottfried's son, and later to Friedrich Nicolaus Brauns ). This Weimar version is known as BC 5a. He staged a new version of this St Mark Passion pasticcio , BC 5b, in Leipzig in 1726, and finally, expanded with some arias from Handel 's Brockes Passion , again in the last years of his life ( BNB I/K/2). The Passion text included in Picander's Sammlung Erbaulicher Gedanken

1722-572: Was published around the time (or shortly before) Bach started his collaboration with this librettist. Bach used six parts of this Passion libretto in his St Matthew Passion , but there is no indication he set anything else of this libretto. As such the Passion libretto was classified among the works spuriously attributed to Bach in the Anhang (Appendix) of the Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis , as BWV Anh. 169. Wer ist der, so von Edom kömmt ,

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1764-519: Was published in Bach's time, allowing reconstruction based on the pieces Bach is known to have parodied for its composition, while the extant St Luke Passion likely contains little or no music composed by Bach. Which Bach compositions, apart from the known ones, may have been meant in the obituary remains uncertain. The St John Passion is shorter and has simpler orchestration than the St Matthew Passion . The St John Passion has been described as more realistic, faster paced and more anguished than

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