St John Passion
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The Passio secundum Joannem or St John Passion, BWV 245, is a Passion or oratorio by Johann Sebastian Bach, the earliest of the surviving Passions by Bach. It was written during his first year as dire
First page of the autograph
St Matthew Passion
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The St Matthew Passion, BWV 244, is a Passion, a sacred oratorio written by Johann Sebastian Bach in 1727 for solo voices, double choir and double orchestra, with libretto in German by Picander. It se
St John Passion
…and arias reflecting on the action, and chorales using hymn tunes and texts familiar to a congregation of Bach's contemporaries. Compared with the St Matthew Passion, the St John Passion has been described as more extravagant, with an expressive immediacy, at times more unbridled and less "finished". The work is…
Fair copy in Bach's own hand of the revised version of the St Matthew Passion BWV 244 that is generally dated to the year 1743–46
"Small" organ loft in the St. Thomas Church, that would have fitted Chorus II and Orchestra II of the St Matthew Passion in Bach's time (note: the organ in this photograph is a late 20th-century addition)
"O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden", vocal score
The melody of Am Stamm des Kreuzes geschlachtet (slaughtered at the stem of the cross), the second line of Decius' chorale, is shown twice in red ink, without the words, on this page of Bach's autograph score: in the middle of the page for the ripienists, and in the upper of the two staves for organ II at the bottom of the page.