As with Protestant German Passion Musical accounts, Holy Week in Leipzig in Bach's time produced a plethora of Passion versions which he realized through all four gospel accounts with multiple versions of the three according to John (BWV 245), Matthew (BWV 244), and Mark (BWV 247), as well as extensive use of Passion chorales primarily in the format of the Oratorio Passion form with the full gospel versions, as well as the Passion Oratorio form of a poetic paraphrase, best known in the development of the Brockes Passion (), as well as similar poetic forms such as Gottfried Heinrich St?lzel 's Gotha Passion, "Ein L?mmlein geht und tr?gt die Schuld" ( which Bach premiered on Good Friday, 23 April 1734, in the St. Thomas Church.? A third distinct form was the Passions-Pasticcio developed by Bach in the 1740s, a mixture of various Passion-style music involving the "Keiser"/Handel Pasticcio, BWV 1166.3, 31 March 1747 (), and the "Beitr?ge (Contributions) zur Passionsmusik" of Carl Heinrich Graun's "Kleiner Passion," ?12 April 1748, BWV 1167 (). ?
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Before these three forms were developed in the 18th century, the Lutheran Tradition established the gospel readings of the Passion accounts as follows:? Palm Sunday, St. Matthew, Chapters 26 and 27; Tuesday, St. Mark, Chapters 14 and 15; Wednesday, St. Luke, Chapters 22 and 23; and Good Friday, St. John, Chapters 18 and 19. In Leipzig in Bach's favored chorale book, the Gottfried Vopelius' Passion chorales in Das Neu Leipziger Gesangbuch (NLGB) of 1682 (), Johann Walther's setting of Matthew (NLGB 83) was presented on Palm Sunday () and John (NLGB 84) on Good Friday ().?
Lutheran tradition built on this with congregational chorales that emphasized both the theology and the biblical accounts, most notably in the multi-stanza settings Passion Gospel harmony of Siebald Heyden's 23-stanza 1530 "O Mensch, bewein dein S¨¹nde gro?" (O man, weep for your great sins, ), emphasizing the Stations of the Cross, as ell as the satisfaction atonement sacrificial model, Paul Stockmann's 34-stanza 1633 "Jesu Leiden, Pein und Tod" (Jesus suffering, pain, and death, ), the Johannine Christus Victor concept.? Bach favorite composer Paul Gerhardt ( ) composed two extended Passion chorale narratives:? the 10-stanza ""Ein L?mmlein geht und tr?gt die Schuld" (), and the 16-stanza, "O Welt, sieh hier dein Leben" ().? By Bach's time, Passion musical settings ranged from the Brockes poetic oratorio Passion gospel harmony versions, beginning in Hamburg in 1712 and popular throughout Germany, to various municipal liturgical Passion settings of chorales, similar to Johann Kuhnau's 1722 Leipzig St. Mark Passion and the Bach apocryphal St. Luke Passion.? ?
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While Bach composed music only for the Good Friday services in Leipzig, his vocal music is appropriate for the other days of Holy Week, using the gospel of John, as found in John S. Sutterlund's study of the current three-year Revised Common Lectionary.1? Liturgically in Bach's time, the Gospel readings for Monday to Thursday were: Monday, John 12:1-11 (Mary annoints Jesus, ); Tuesday, John 12:20-36 (Jesus speaks of his death, ); Wednesday, John 13:21-32 (Jesus foretells his betrayal, ); Maundy Thursday, John 13:1-17, 31b-35 (Jesus washes disciples feet, ); Good Friday, John 18:1-19:42 (Jesus arrest, trials, crucifixion). The single gospel readings in today's lectionary are virtually the same, except for Wednesday in Holy Week, where Luke's gospel is replaced today by John 13:21-32 (Jesus predicts his betrayal). Manudy Thursday in Bach's Leipzig was a unique day when a full communion service with music was presented with the Hymn of the Day being Martin Luther's "Jesus Christus, unser Heiland, der von uns."? Setterlund's Holy Week suggestions are as follows: Monday in Holy Week, preferred Motet BWV 227, "Jesu, meine Freude" (, :? scroll down to "Discussions in the Week of June 19, 2016 (4th round); alternate Cantata 39, ¡°Brich dem Hungrigen dein Brot¡± (1st Sunday after Trinity, , ); Tuesday in Holy Week, preferred Cantata 22 (Quinquagesima Estomihi, , ); alternate? Cantata 159 (Quinquagesima Estomihi, , ); Wednesday in Holy Week, preferred Cantata 12 (Jubilate Sunday, , ); and alternate Cantata 44, "Sie werden euch in den Bann tun I" (Exaudi Sunday, , ); Mundy Thursday, preferred Cantata 180 (20th Sunday after Trinity, , ), alternate Cantata 184.2 (3rd Day of Pentecost, , ); Good Friday, preferred BWV 245.2 John Passion (), alternate Cantata 159 (Quinquagesima Estomihi, , ).
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ENDNOTES
1 John S. Sutterlund, Bach Through the Year: The Church Music of Johann Sebastian Bach and the Revised Common Lectionary (Minneapolis MN: Lutheran University Press, 2013: 47ff).
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To Come:? Easter Music.
William Hoffman