Bach's St. John Passion

General Commentary

Bach wrote the first version of the St. John Passion in 1723. Its first performance was on April 7, 1724, at the Nikolaikirche in Leipzig. This was his first attempt at a large scale setting of the Passion story. Such an attempt came in anticipation of his first appearance before the Leipzig public as cantor. The St. John text was chosen probably since the church authorities produced a setting of it. Further revisions of the Passion were made in 1724 (performed March 30, 1725), sometime in 1727, and in 1736 (possibly the date of a third performance).

Order of the action (from John, ch. 18-19):

  1. The arrest of Jesus
  2. Jesus is led before Annas
  3. Peter's denial (I)
  4. The hearing before Caiaphas
  5. Peter's denial (II)
  6. The trial before Pilate (I)
  7. The soldiers mock Jesus
  8. The trial before Pilate (II)
  9. The Crucifixion. The death of Jesus
  10. The descent from the Cross and the burial

St. John's account of the passion story was not a favored one in the seventeenth century. Bach's St. John Passion is weaker in construction than his other Passions for several reasons. One reason is the basic structure and lack of important background material like the Last Supper and Agony in the Garden. St. John begins the story with the arrest of Jesus. Bach compensates for this by elaborating and repeating certain areas of the text. Another reason is that Bach had no skilled literary collaborator. Instead Bach borrows texts from Heinrich Brockes, which he adapts for his own use. Finally, the missing of certain pictorial details such as the earthquake at Jesus' death make it hard for Bach to be expressive.

Despite these problems, Bach's St. John Passion is a strong and creative interpretation that may be linked to the Liturgical drama of the Middle Ages. There is a sharp contrast between the anger of the crowd and the serenity and separation of Christ. Basil Smallman describes the Passion as being great "in the vivid, visual realism of its dramatic presentation of the story." Musical techniques that Bach uses include recitative for the Gospel narration, dramatic choral writing for the crowd utterances, chorales, and lushly accompanied arias, and choruses for the meditative element.

This page written by Jason Piehl.
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