Why did Bach write the St Matthew Passion?

Why did Bach write the St Matthew Passion?

Johann Sebastian Bach wrote his St. Matthew Passion for a single purpose — to present the Passion story in music at Good Friday vesper services.

Who discovered Bach’s St. Matthew Passion?

Matthew Passion, along with most Bach compositions, was forgotten. Nearly eight decades later the 20-year-old Felix Mendelssohn reintroduced the work when he conducted a 400-member chorus and a full orchestra in a 19th-century premiere at the Berlin Sing-Akadamie on March 11, 1829.

What is the story of St Matthews Passion?

The St. Matthew Passion (German: Matthäuspassion) is a musical composition written by Johann Sebastian Bach. The words tell the story of Jesus’s death on the cross as told in chapters 26 and 27 of the Book of St Matthew in the Bible. The work is for a choir, solo voices and orchestra.

How long does Bach St John Passion Last?

two-hour
Performed without an interval but with a couple of pauses – including a moment of meditative silence following Jesus’s death – the two-hour-long structure of choruses, chorales, arias and recitatives maintained consistent impetus and impact.

How long did Bach take to write St Matthew’s Passion?

Features two orchestras and two choruses We know Bach wrote an earlier setting when he was the ducal concertmeister in Weimar (1714-1717) though this has not survived. In 1725, two years after he took up his appointment of cantor at St. Thomas’s, he wrote the Passion According To St.

How does St Matthew Passion end?

Part I covers the events until the arrest of Jesus and Part II concludes with his burial and the sealing of his grave. Bach took the Gospel text for the composition from Martin Luther’s German translation of Matthew 26 and 27.

Is St Matthew Passion sung in English?

St Matthew Passion (sung in English) / Cantata ‘Hold in affection Jesus Christ’ (sung in English), Kathleen Ferrier 3 CDs. Kathleen Ferrier was one of the greatest British singers of the 20th century.

Which Bach Passion is the best?

St Matthew Passion
This monumental St Matthew Passion is hailed as the greatest setting of the Passion story in western music, but surprisingly it was not until almost 100 years after its premiere that Bach’s music got the recognition it deserved.

Did Bach write a St Luke Passion?

Everyone now agrees that the passion is not by Bach, but the work is still known today because, even after scholars gave up on the idea that the work was his, they clung to the problematic claim that he had performed the piece as part of his working repertory in Leipzig. The St.