Product Description
It is also found on the album PROPIUM MISSAE 1982.
It was written in the run-up to Good Friday in 1724, and is based on chapters 18 and 19 of the Gospel of John. The opening words, arias, recitatives and chorales were taken from various sources, including the St Matthew Passion, BWV 244, and Martin Luther's translation of the Bible.
The St John Passion is perhaps less familiar than the longer St Matthew Passion, which allowed audiences to rediscover J. S. Bach through Felix Mendelssohn's performance of the work in 1829. Comparing the two works, the St John Passion has been described as more extravagant, with sometimes unbridled expressive immediacy and less finished.
Unlike the St Matthew Passion, the work underwent several modifications, the best known being that of 1724.3
In 1725 Bach changed the original opening Herr, unser Herrscher, dessen Ruhm to O Mensch bewein dein Sünde groß, which later became the finale of the chapter in the St Matthew Passion. The ending of the first part was changed to Christe, Du Lamm Gottes from BWV 23, with the addition of three arias. In 1730 the work was modified again, removing the changes that had been introduced in 1725 and adding two recitatives from the Gospel of Matthew. In 1749 Bach changed some dialogues, returning to the version of 1740, which remained the definitive one.
Period/Genre: Baroque
Theme: Easter / Holy Week
Category: Oratorios: Johannes-Passion
Difficulty: Medium
Opus number: BWV 245
Performance: Registered in some society of authors and composers
Instrumentation: Mixed choir a cappella. Choir: SSAATTBBXX.
Language of text: Latin
Number of pages: 7
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