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Johannes-Passsion BWV 245
General Discussions - Part 7

Continue from Part 6

Discussions in the Week of March 29, 2015 (4th round)

William L. Hoffman wrote (April 1, 2015):
Discussion BWV 245: St. John Passion 1725 Version

Bach’s chorale cantata cycle abruptly ended with the serendipitous and rare dual festive celebration of the Marian Feast of Annunciation and Palm Sunday, on March 25, 1725, with BWV 1, a setting of Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern, (How beautifully shines the morning star), Philip Nicolai’s popular 1597 Epiphany hymn. That serendipity continued five days later in Holy Week with the second, repeat version of the St. John Passion, BWV 245II, during the Good Friday Vesper series at St. Thomas Church. Then, Bach substituted three existing, chorale-based lyric numbers (two choruses and an aria with interpolated chorale), until recently thought to be from his now-lost Gotha Passion oratorio of 1717, to complement the chorale cantata cycle with a chorale-enriched, extended work that had commenced Bach’s so-called Christological cycle of major oratorios involving the Passion and the extended feasts of Christmas, Easter, and Pentecost.

The latest supposition is that Bach reperformed the St. John Passion in 1725 because he could not finish a second Passion, possibly the setting of Matthew, which he finally presented in 1727, or a “chorale Passion as the culmination of Cycle II,” the latter suggests Richard D. P. Jones in The Creative Development of JSB, Volume II: 1717-1750.1 “Version II of the St. John Passion was thus purely a makeshift,” Jones says (Ibid.). Thus Bach chose to repeat the St. John Passion with the additions emphasizing chorales. “Presumably to avoid direct repetition he modified the piece considerably, adding several chorale-based movements that perhaps rendered the Passion closer to the chorale cycle of cantatas performed that year,” suggests John Butt in his 2013 liner notes to his Linn recording with reconstruction of the Passion vespers liturgy focusing on special service chorales.2

Bach’s original choice to use John’s non-synoptic version of the Passion in 1724 involved several factors. Lutheran tradition of the readings of the four gospel accounts during Holy Week prescribed John Chapters 18 and 19 to be read on Good Friday. John’s Passion account is the shortest, requiring the least musical treatment and with Matthew is the most-often treated musically in Protestant Germany. In contrast to the three synoptic readings from Matthew, Mark, and Luke, John’s Lutheran theological emphasis on Christ’s sacrifice and death was the Christus Victor concept of atonement rather than the Anselm satisfaction concept.

Besides the compatibility with the just-presented chorale cantata cycle, Bach chose chorales for other reasons.
Chorales played a central role in Bach’s sacred music, including the extensive use of plain chorales in his Passions (10 in John, 12 in Matthew and 16 in Mark). Chorales also are used in lyrical choruses and interpolated into arias in the St. John and St. Matthew Passions as well as chorale tropes in recitative movements in nine Cycle II chorale cantatas, mostly during early-middle Trinity Time . Further, The Good Friday Passion vesper service order is vested with Passion chorales:

Ancient Passion hymn Da Jesus an dem Kreuze stund ("There Jesus on the cross hung");
Part 1 of the Passion;
Hymn O Lamm Gottes unschuldig ("O Lamb of God, guiltless"), the text being the metrical version of Agnus Dei (Lamb of God) written by Nikolaus Decius (1531);
Pulpit hymn Herr Jesus Christ, dich zu uns wend ("Lord Jesus Christ, Thee to us turn around");
Sermon;
Part 2 of the Passion;
Motet such as Jacob Gallus' Ecce quomodo moritur justus ("Behold how dies the righteous");
Passion Collect intoned;
Rinhart's hymn Nun danket alle Gott ("Now thank we all Our God"); Blessing (Benediction).

In the 1725 version of the St. John Passion, Bach opened with the chorale chorus, “O Mensch, bewein dein Sunde groß” (O humankind, bewail your great sin, Sebald Heyden), replacing the chorus, “Herr, unser Herrscher” (Psalm 8; Lord, our ruler). He closed with the chorale chorus, “Christe, du Lamm Gottes” (Christ, you Lamb of God, the German Angus Dei) in place of the plain chorale, “Ach Herr, laß dein lieb Engelein” (Ah Lord, let your dear little Angels), Stanza 3 of Martin Schalling’s “Herzlich Lieb’ hab’ ich dich” (From my heart I hold you dear). “O Mensch, bewein” has a textual pattern that relates to Paul Gerhardt’s Passion song “Ein Lämmlein geht und trägt die Schuld” (A lambkin goes and bears our guilt) and its associated melody, “An Wasserflüssen Babylon.”

“This integrated chorale structure is clearly intended to reveal the central theological significance of the Passion, namely the Atonement,” says Jones (Ibid.: 158). “At the same time, mankind is called upon to ‘bewail [its] great sin’ that made the atonement a necessity. The movement [“O Mensch, bewein dein Sunde groß”] is thus not only an authoritative statement of church doctrine but also a great lament.”

For the record, here are the chorales Bach used in the St. John Passion

1(a). Chorus O Mensch, bewein’ dein’ Sünde groß =244/35
3. O große Lieb (S. 7, Herzliebster Jesu)
5. Dein will Gesche, (S. 4, Vater unser im Himmelreich)
11. Wer hat dich so geschlagen (V. 3, O Welt, sieh’ hier dein Leben); Ich, ich und meine Sünden (V. 4, O Welt, sieh’ hier dein Leben)
11(+). Bass Aria wth chorale, Jesu deine Passion (S. chorale)=245a (V. 33, Jesu Leiden, Pein)
14. Petrus, der nicht denk zurück (S. 10, Jesu Leiden, Pein)
15. Christus, der uns selig macht (Patris sapientia, M. Weisse)
17. Ach großer König (S. 8, Herzliebster Jesu), Ich kann’s mit meinen Sinnen (S. 9, Herzliebster Jesu)
22. Durch dein Gefängnis, mel. “Mach’s mit mir, Gott”
26. In meines Herzens grunde (V. 3, Valet will ich dir geben)
28. Er nahm alles wohl (V. 20, Jesu Leiden, Pein)
32, Bass aria with soprano chorale, “Jesu der du warest tot” (V. 34, Jesu Leiden, Pein)
37. O hilf, Christe, Gottes Sohn (V. 8, Christus der uns selig macht)
40. Ach Herr, laß dein lieb Engelein (V. 3, Herzlich Lieb’ hab’ ich)
40(a). Chorus Christe, du Lamm Gottes (German Agnus Dei) =23/4

Three New Arias

Of the three new internal arias in the 1725 version, the bass aria, No. 11+, “Himmel reiße, Welt erbebe” (Heaven, tear apart; world, quake) includes soprano chorale, the penultimate Stanza 33, “Jesu, deine Passion,” of Paul Stockman’s 1633 Passion hymn, “Jesu Leiden, Pein und Tod). This was inserted after the servant strikes Jesus (John 18:22) and the commentary plain chorale (No. 11), “Wer hat dich so geschlagen” (V. 3, O Welt, sieh’ hier dein Leben). Bach in 1724 had used two other Stockman stanzas in plain chorale settings later in the St. John Passion, when Peter denies knowing Jesus (Luke 18:25), SJP No. 14, “Petrus, der nicht denk zurück,” and the plain chorale when the disciple accepts Mary while Jesus hangs on the cross (John 19:26), SJP No. 28, “Er nahm alles wohl”

“Himmel reiße”/”Jesu, deine Passion,” BWV 245a, is a typical troped chorale stanza inserted into a lyric aria, Bach’s particular invention, originating in his early (1708) Mühlhausen memorial Cantata 106, the bass arioso “Today, thou will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43) to the alto chorale, “With peace and joy I go on my way,” Luther’s Nunc dimittis hymn setting (Luke 2:29). Bach made particular use of the troped chorale stanza in recitative movements of his chorale cantata cycle. In the 1724 St. John Passion, Bach composed and retained another aria-chorale setting, No. 32, bass “Mein teurer Heiland, lass dich fragen” (My precious Savior, let me ask you), with chorale, “Jesu der du warest tot” (Jesus, you who were dead), the final Stanza 34 of Stockman’s chorale, “Jesu Leiden, Pein und Tod.”

“By introducing a fourth arrangement of this chorale (“Jesu Leiden, Pein und Tod.”), Bach creates a symmetrical arrangement of two verses from it towards the end of Part 1 and two more near the end of Part 2; and in each case the first of the pair is sung in a plain-chorale setting and the second united with an ar,” observes Jones (Ibid: 158).

The bass aria, “Himmel reiße,” was influenced by the inserted soprano aria, “Bebet ihr Berge, zerberstet ihr Hügel” (Quake ye mountains, splinter ye crags), text of Henrich Postel in his 1705 Hamburg St. John oratorio Passion text, after Jesus death when the earthquake occurs in the three synoptic Gospels and Bach inserts it later in his St. John Passion.

Bach inserts another operatic-style agitato aria for tenor, (13 a/245b) “Zerschmettert mich, ihr Felsen” (Crush me, you rocks and hills), at the place where Peter weeps bitterly after denying Jesus, an action not found in John which Bach inserted from Matthew (26:75b) in 1724. This aria, which replaced the 1724 tenor aria “Ach mein Sinn” (Oh my sense), may have been influenced originally by Salomo Franck, Weimar court poet in 1717.

The third aria insert, a spinning style Baroque piece for tenor, No. 19a/245c, “Ach windet euch nicht so” (Ah, writhe [thou] not so), when Jesus is scourged (John 19:1), replaces the tenor arioso-aria combination, “Betrachte, meine Seele” (Ponder my Soul) and “Erwage” (Consider), and also shows the general influence of Postel’s “St. John Passion.” Postel’s soprano aria text, “Durch dein Gefängnis” (Through your imprisonment) Bach set to the Johann Hermann Schein 1628 chorale melody, “Mach’s mit mir, Gott” (Deal with me God), in a similar place in the trial with Pilate at No. 22 (John 19:12), where it is considered the central piece, or “Herzstück,” in this Passion.

Interestingly, Bach subsequently removed all three arias from further versions of his St. John Passion while the chorus “O Mensch, bewein dein Sunde groß” closed Part 1 of his St. Matthew Passion, BWV 244, in the final 1736 version. Meanwhile, Bach was content to remove the other chorale chorus, “Christe, du Lamm Gottes,” from further versions of his St. John Passion, letting it stand as the closing of his Leipzig test Cantata BWV 23, “Du wahrer Gott und Davids Sohn,” for Estomihi Sunday 1723.

“O Mensch bewein” and “Christe du Lamm Gottes” formed a powerful chorale-based frame around the Passion narrative,” says Jones (Ibid.: 160). The two texts “are closely interrelated: both speak of Christ’s ‘bearing the sins of the world. However, whereas the exordium [“O Mensch bewein”] is a chorus of lamentation, the conclusion [“Christe du Lamm Gottes”] is a prayer for mercy.

Weimar Origins Disputed

The origin of in particular of “O Mensch bewein” and “Himmel reiße” were through to have come from Weimar but probably were written in Leipzig, says Jones (Ibid.). “O Mensch bewein” “exhibits at its highest point of development a form of chorale-chorus that Bach devised specifically for the chorale cantatas of Cycle II,” “reflected in almost all the opening movements of the chorale cantatas.” “Nor does there appear to be a strong reason for dating any of the other [inserted] movements earlier than the Leipzig period,” Jones says (Ibid.: 161).

In fact, the recent discovery of a 1728 cantata cycle libretto book of Leipzig student Christoph Birkmann (1724-27) shows the Passion libretto “corresponds to the version of the St. John Passion that Bach performed on Good Friday, 1725,” says Christine Blanken in “A Cantata-Text Cycle of 1728 from Nuremberg.3 “The passion text has a German title not transmitted by any other historical source: Das schmählich- und schmertzliche Leiden Unsers HErrn und Heylandes Jesu Christi (The shameful and painful suffering of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ) with its addendum ‘sung as a dramatic oratorio’.”

If Birkmann worked as a librettist with Bach in 1725, he may have authored the three aria texts not found in the “1724 version but were added when Bach revised the work a year later,” says Banken (Ibid.). “The three arias clearly show the marks of Birkmann’s writing style; for example in their ‘I’-centred subjectivity and hidden, mathematical connotations. Further, the new movements included in 1725 version show a modern outlook in their adoption of subject ideas from the early-modern philosophy – an enlightened idealism, which in theology manifests itself as Pietism. The problematic nature of sin is shifted into a personalized soul” in the opening and closing chorale choruses with the latter “a crowning conclusion and framework that supports this line of argument” [footnotes omitted].

If indeed the second version of Bach’s St. John Passion was “the culmination of Cycle II,” as Jones suggests (Ibid. 161), the original plan for a chorale Passion for Good Friday 1725 began with “O Mensch bewein”, Heyden’s 23-verse Passion narrative hymn. Following the general plan of the chorale cantatas, the chorale “would have been used in the course of the work” with the opening and closing stanzas and (. . . “no doubt several intermediate ones [as plain chorales]) being retained in their original form and other verses being paraphrased for use in arias and ariosos.” Bach only set the opening stanza of “O Mensch bewein” that begins the summa Passion narrative embracing actions from all four Passion accounts, similar to the poetic Brockes Passion oratorio libretto, from which Bach borrowed several movement texts in the St. John Passion. Meanwhile, as noted above, the 1725 version added a second chorale trope to provide balance to the four stanzas of another summa chorale Passion narrative found in the St. John Passion, Paul Stockman’s 34-verse chorale, “Jesu, Leiden, Pein und Tod,” including the final two verses.

Jones goes on to suggest that the reason the chorale Passion was not composed and completed was the same reason the chorale cantata cycle ended – the loss or lack of a librettist to do the internal stanza paraphrases for some 12 chorale cantatas for the Easter-Pentecost season.

Evangelist John’s Christus Victor

The themes of theology, tonal planning and musical structure in Bach’s St. John Passion (SJP) are explored in depth in Erich Chafe’s 1991 book, Tonal Allegory in the Vocal Music of J.S. Bach (Berkeley, University of California Press: Chs. 10, 11. Bach’s first two Leipzig Passions “represent two different theological traditions” regarding Christ’s atonement, Chafe observes. The SJP emphasizes the early Greek Father’s view of Jesus as the Christus Victor concept of atonement, while the later SMP represents the “satisfaction” theory of redemption from Anselm in the 11th century, citing Jaroslav Pelikan’s <Bach Among the Theologians> (Philadelphia, Fortress Press: Chs. 7, 8). The “satisfaction theory was the “classic view” of the atonement during the early centuries of the church, lost during the Middle Ages, revived by Luther (who also endorsed John’s Christus Victor concept), and then lost again by Protestant Orthodoxy, according to Gustav Aulen, 20th century theologian.

The changes in the SJP 1725 second version, Chafe suggests (pp. 302-04), emphasize an acknowledgement of sin conforming with Leipzig church doctrine. Still, the “differing emphases in Bach’s two Passions are not incompatible with Luther’s theology or with each other, but only the SMP provides a well-rounded picture of orthodox Lutheran theology” of the times. The third historical theory -- or model -- of “atonement” (which means “at-one-ness”) is moral influence, as established by Peter Abelard, medieval French scholar.

Bach’s first Leipzig Passion reveals “John’s Theology of the Cross: The Passion as Jesus Glorification” in its general Christology of all aspects of the person of Christ, says Chafe (p. 282f). John’s emphasis on “the trial and Jesus’ speaking of the crucifixion as the ‘lifting’ that will draw all men to him” -- the fundamental idea of glorification through abasement, “which is completed in “Es ist vollbracht” (It is fulfilled) – and “is announced in the opening chorus,” “Herr, unser Herrscher” (Psalm 8; Lord, our ruler), says Chafe.

Beyond the repeat of the St. John Passion to be compatible with the chorale cantata cycle, Chafe in his new book, J. S. Bach’s Johannine Theology: The St. John Passion and the Cantatas for the Spring of 1725,4 shows the profound influence of John’s theology of Christus Victor on the works of Bach at this time. This happen from the Holy Week-Passiontide and Easter Season to Pentecost/Trinity (“the great 50 days), from the John Passion to the Jesus Farewell Discourse to the disciples in the Gospel of John (Chapters 14-16) found in the Easter Season gospels as treated in the cantatas for this period that are not in chorale form, particularly the nine final works with new texts of Leipzig poetess Christiane Mariane von Ziegler, “that project a striking indebtedness to the Gospel of John.” The total 59 days from Ascension to Pentecost represents Christ’s final days, end times and the second most intense period of music in Bachs time in Leipzig, rivaled only by Christmas to Epiphany with the beginning times. The greater John connection of this Eschatological times “is not only unified in its theological character, but it is also the oldest and most fundamental part of the Christian Liturgy, embodying the very core of Christian belief,” says Chafe (Ibid.: 11).

As the central part in John’s perspective on the final days, Bach’s St. John Passion at its core deals its two parts with the ordering of salvation, first: “Jesus’ divinity and foreknowledge, love as having brought him to the Passion, his obedience to God’s will, the purpose of the Passion – then the further stages that center on Peter as representative of the response of sinful humanity,” and Part 2 with Jesus’ trial, condemnation and death.

Café suggests a strong connection between the 1724-25 St. John Passion with its four verses from the Stockman Passion chorale narrative and the beginnings of the St. Matthew Passion with its opening chorale, “O Lamm Gottes Unschuldig” (O Lamb of God spotless, Agnus Dei), and the five settings of “O sacred head now wounded” -- as well as the 1736 incorporation of opening stanza of Heyden’s Passion chorale narrative, “O Mensch, bewein dein Sunde groß” (O man, bewail thy great sin), perhaps composed at Lent 1725 to open the John Passion second version. “It is possible that the St. Matthew Passion was originally conceived to form a component of the chorale cantata cycle, while the 1725 St. John Passion was a temporary solution,” says Chafe (Ibid.: 37).

Passion Chorales

A study of Bach’s setting of Passion chorales shows an intense interest from the Weimar period with the Orgelbüchlein (Little Organ Book) chorale preludes, many found in Bach’s Das neu Leipziger Gesangbuch, to the Good Friday Vesper setting in Leipzig, to the Other Plain, Sacred, and Organ Chorales mostly found in the unattached plain chorales (BWV 253-436) and the Pietist 1736 Schmelli Gesangbuch (BWV 437-508).

Lent (Passiontide) (Suffering & Death of Jesus Christ) [also see Death and the Grave (Dying)]
(7 OB set, 5 OB not set, 1 OB fragment)
21. BWV 618
— O Lamm Gottes, unschuldig; BWV 401(PC), BWV 656 (a)(18); BWV 1085(MC), 1095(NC), Emans 152 (D); BWV 244/1(soprano), SBCB44 (Z6283)
22. BWV 619
— Christe, du Lamm Gottes (Agnus Dei); BWV 23/4(EC)=BWV245/40a, BWV233a, SBCB39 (Z58)
23. BWV 620 — Christus, der uns selig macht; BWV 245/15,37(PC), BWV 283=?BC D1(PC), SBCB40-41,42-43 (Z5283), BWV 747(MC), Emans 46(MC)-D
24. BWV 621
— Da Jesus an dem Kreuze stund (Seven Last Words); BWV 1089(PC), SBCB46 (Z 1706), Emans 48(MC); = “In dich hab, ich gehoffet her”
25. BWV 622 — O Mensch, bewein dein Sünde groß; BWV 244/29, BWV 402(PC), SBCB54-55 (Z8303; BWV 622 variant(Emans 153), Anh. 61(MC)-D; = Es sind doch selig alle”
26. BWV 623 — Wir danken dir, HJC, dass du für uns gestorben; BWV 1096(NC); See OB 149, 6283Christe, der du bist Tag und Licht
27. BWV 624 — “Hilf, Gott, daß mir's gelinge” (Z4329); BWV 343(PC), SBCB45 (also Praise & Thanks, Easter)
OB 28. O Jesu, wie ist dein Gestalt (Z8360); BWV 1094(NC)*
OB 29.
O Traurigkeit, o Herzeleid (fragment, Z1915), BWV Anh. 200frag.)*; BWV 404(PC)
OB 30.
Allein nach dir, HJC, Verlanget mich (1 stanza) (Z8544, or others?) (NLGB 360 Death & Dying, Batholomäus Gesius, Z8541); Michael Praetorius, Gesamtausgabe der musikalischen Werke (ed. F. Blume, Wolfenbuttel, G. Kallmeyer, 1928)
OB 31. O(Ach) wir armen Sünder (“Ehre sei dir, Christe, der du Leides Not); BWV 407(PC), SBCB52-53 (Z8187 h), BWV 1097(NC)*; see OB 5, BWV 603
OB 32.
Herzliebster Jesu, was hast du verbrochen; BWV 1093(NC)*; BWV 244/3,46(PC), BWV 245/17, SBSC48 (Z983), Emans 105, 103(PC)-D
OB 33.
Nun gibt mein Jesus gute Nacht (340c); cf. So gibst du nun, mein Jesu, gute Nacht (Z849); BWV 412(PC), 501
Good Friday Vespers (4 OB set above, 2 others)
-- “Da Jesus an dem Kreuze stund” (7 Last Words); Vespers 1; see OB 24, BWV 621
-- “O Lamm Gottes unschuldig”; Vespers 2; see OB 21, BWV 618
-- “Herr Jesu Christ, dich zu uns wend”; Vespers 3; see OB 49. BWV 632 (Pentecost)
-- “Ecce quomodo moritur justus” (Jacob Gallus, 1577, 4 vv motet, Isaiah 57, NLGB 85a, Suffering & Death of Jesus): Vespers 4;
-- “O Trauigkeit, o Herzeleid”; Vespers 5; see OB 29, BWV Anh. 200 frag.); BWV 247, SBCB50 (Z1915)
-- “Nun danket alle Gott” (Rinkart, NLGB 234 Christian Life & Conduct) Zahn 5142; Vespers 6; see Christian Life
Others:
-- “Ach stirbt denn so mein allerliebestes Leben”; SBCB56 (Z1831a); = Ach Herr, erhör mein Seufzen”
-- “O hilf Christe, Gottes Sohn”; BWV 1084(PC)=BC D-5/14a
-- “Jesu, Leiden, Pein und Tod” (NLGB 77, Zahn 6288b); BWV 245/11+,14, 28; BWV 355(PC)=?247/21, SBCB47 (Z6288b); = “Jesu Kreuz, Leiden und Pein”
-- “O Welt, ich muss dich lassen/”;BWV 395(PC), BWV 244/10,36(PC); BWV 245/11(PC), BWV 247/7=BWV393(PC); = O Welt, sieh’ hier dein Leben,” SBCB51 (Z2293b); = “Nun ruhen aller Wälder” (see OB151)

[Other Plain, Sacred, and Organ Chorales]
-- “Als Jesus Christus in der Nacht”; BWV 265(PC), BWV1108(NC)
-- Brich entzwei, mein armes Herze: BWV 444(SG)
-- Da der Herr Christ zu Tische saß, BWV 285(PC)
-- Die bitter Leidenzeit beginnet abermal, BWV 450(SG)
-- “Der am Kreuz ist meine Liebe” (Z 6551a), SBCB58; = “Werde Munter, mein Gemüte”
-- Du grosser Schmerzenmann, BWV 300(PC)
-- Es ist vollbracht! Vergiß ja nicxht dies Wort, BWV 458(SG)
-- Herr Jesu Christ, du meist bereit’, BWV 333(PC)
-- Herr Jesu Christ, meins Lebens Licht: BWV 335(PC), BWV 750(MC-D)
-- Heut ist, O Mensch, ein großer Trauertag, BWV 341(PC)
-- Jesu, dein Liebeswunden: BWV 471(SG), BWV deest (Weimar 8, PC)
-- Lasset uns mit Jesu ziehen, BWV 413(PC) , BWV 481(SG)
-- Mein Jesu! Was vor Seelenweh, BWV 487(SG), BWV deest (Weimar 11, PC)
-- O du Liebe, mein Leibe, BWV 491(SG)
-- Selig, wer an Jesum denkt, BWV 498(SG)
-- “So gehest du nun, mein Jesu, hin”; BWV 500(SG); BWV 500a=BC D-5/9(PC)
-- So gibst du nun, mein Jesu, gute Nacht, BWV 412(PC), BWV 501(SG)
-- Warum sollt ich ich denn grämen, BWV 228 (motet, S. 11, 12), BWV 422(PC) (Thanks)
-- Werde munter, mein Gemüte, BWV 146/8(PC), BWV 55/5=?D-1(PC);
-- Wo Gott der Herr (Psalm 124,NLGB 698 Z4437)/Ach lieben Christen, BWV 257(PC)=?247/26, BWV 258(PC)=?247/3; BWV 1128=Anh. II 71(MC)

GLOSSARY

AMB – Anna Magdalena Buch
AS = Alternate setting
CP = Chorale Partitas, BWV 765-771
Cü III = Clavierübung III (Mass & Catechism Chorales), BWV 669-689
D = Doubtful work of JSB
KC = Kirnberger Chorales, BWV 690-713
MC = Miscellaneous Chorale Preludes, 714-64, etc.

NC = Neumeister Chorale Collection, BWV 1090-1120
OB = Orgelbüchlein Collection, BWV 599-644
PC = Plain Chorale, BWV 250-438, etc., c.1730
SBCB = Sebastian Bach’s Chorale Buch c.1740
SC = Schubler Chorales, 645-50 1746
SG = Schmelli Gesangbuch 1736
18 = Great 18 (Leipzig) Organ Chorale Collection, BWV 651-668

CH = Communion (& vespers) hymn
GH – Gradual Hymn (between Epistle & Gospel), Hymn de tempore
PH = Pulpit Hymn before sermon
CC = Chorale Cantata, (CC) = Chorale Chorus
EC = Elaborated Chorale setting
OC = Organ Chorale
EOC = Emans Organ Chorales = NBA KB IV/10 (2007)
NLGB = Das Neu Leipziger Gesangbuch> 1682 (Gottfried Vopelius)
Z = Johannes Zahn Melody Catalogue
OB# BWV# Melody title; other organ chorale preludes

FOOTNOTES

1 Jones, The Creative Development of Johann Sebastian Bach, Volume II: 1717-1750. “Music to Delight the Spirit” (New York: Oxford University Press, 2013: 161).
2 Butt SJP notes, BCW Recording details, http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Performers/Butt.htm#V3.
3 Blanken, Understanding Bach, 10, 9–30 © Bach Network UK 2015: 28, http://bachnetwork.co.uk/ub10/ub10-blanken.pdf .
4 Chafe, J. S. Bach’s Johannine Theology (New York: Oxford University Press: 2014:).

 

Continue on Part 8

Johannes-Passion BWV 245: Details
Complete Recordings: 1900-1949 | 1950-1959 | 1960-1969 | 1970-1979 | 1980-1989 | 1990-1999 | 2000-2009 | 2010-2019 | 2020-2029 | Complete Recordings sung in English | Recordings of Individual Movements
General Discussions: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8
Systematic Discussions: Part 1: Mvts. 1-7 | Part 2: Mvts. 6-14 | Part 3: Mvts. 15-20 | Part 4: Mvts. 21-26 | Part 5: Mvts. 27-32 | Part 6: Mvts. 36-40 | Part 7: Summary
Individual Recordings: BWV 245 - F. Brüggen | BWV 245 - S. Cleobury | BWV 245 - P. Dombrecht | BWV 245 - D, Fasolis | BWV 245 - J.E. Gardiner | BWV 245 - E.z. Guttenberg | BWV 245 - N. Harnoncourt-H. Gillesberger | BWV 245 - P. Herreweghe | BWV 245 - E. Higginbottom | BWV 245 - E. Jochum | BWV 245 - E. Kleiber | BWV 245 - P.J. Leusink | BWV 245 - H. Max | BWV 245 - P. McCreesh | BWV 245 - H. Münch | BWV 245 - P. Neumann | BWV 245 - A. Parrott | BWV 245 - P. Pickett | BWV 245 - K. Richter | BWV 245 - H. Rilling | BWV 245 - P. Schreier | BWV 245 - R. Shaw | BWV 245 - K. Slowik | BWV 245 - M. Suzuki | BWV 245 - J.v. Veldhoven
Articles: Saint John Passion, BWV 245 [T.N. Towe] | The Passion of Saint John, BWV 245 [M. Steinberg] | St. John Passion [A. Wong & N. Proctor] | The St. John Passion on stage [U. Golomb] | Literary Origins of Bach’s St. John Passion: 1704-1717 [W. Hoffman] | Bach’s Passion Pursuit [W. Hoffman] | Bach's St. John Passion and its Dramatic History of Origin [M. Maul]


Recordings & Discussions of Other Vocal Works: Main Page | Motets BWV 225-231 | Mass in B minor BWV 232 | Missae Breves & Sanctus BWV 233-242 | Magnificat BWV 243 | Matthäus-Passion BWV 244 | Johannes-Passion BWV 245 | Lukas-Passion BWV 246 | Markus-Passion BWV 247 | Weihnachts-Oratorium BWV 248 | Oster-Oratorium BWV 249 | Chorales BWV 250-438 | Geistliche Lieder BWV 439-507 | AMN BWV 508-523 | Quodlibet BWV 524 | Aria BWV 1127 | Motet BWV 1165=Anh 159




 

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Last update: Thursday, February 03, 2022 05:12