Palm Sunday, Marian Annunciation feast (March 25), Holy Week

William L. Hoffman wrote (March 30, 2024):
Bach's first cycle of music for the church year (1723-24), neared completion with the de tempore Christological double service of Palm Sunday and the Marian Feast of Annunciation (Carus-Media: Page 4, also Wikipedia), which was the beginning of Holy Week and the annual Passion oratorio at Good Friday afternoon vespers. It was a fruitful time for Bach as he pursued his calling of a "well-regulated church music to the glory of God," with the first cycle of church pieces for the closing season of Easter-Pentecost, some of which were delayed a year. He used the Leipzig tempus clausum (closed period) of Lent to complete his first full Passion, according to John, BWV 245.1, and to plan for his second (homogeneous) cycle of chorale cantatas and his second annual Passion, according to Matthew, BWV Anh. 169 with a published libretto of Picander (BCW).

Early Music of Joy, Sorrow

Bach had extensive experience with both music of joy and sorrow from his earliest days in Arnstadt, c.1706 with joyous works for weddings — Quodlibet BWV 224 (BCW, Cantata 196, BCW), and Cantata 195 (BCW), as well as town council installations (Cantata 71, BCW), Cantata BWV 1138.1=Anh. 192, BCW), and Cantata BWV 1138.2, which may be early versions of Cantata 143, BCW and Bärenreiter, and Cantata 21, fugal choruses Nos. 2, 6, 9, 11 (BCW; also Peter Wollny has an NBArev edition, BA 5940-01, of Pre Weimar Cantatas BWV 21, 106, 131, 150, Bärenreiter. Music of sorrow involved memorial Cantata 150 (BCW); Cantata 106 (BCW), Cantata 131 (de profundis, Psalm 130; BCW), Missa Kyrie “Christe du Lamm Gottes” in F Major, BWV 233a, dated to 6 April 1708, Good Friday Service of Confession and General Absolution; and Easter Sunday chorale Cantata 4 (BCW).

Holy Week, Annunciation Feast

One entire week, Holy Week, a moveable observance, "is the most sacred week in the liturgical year in Christianity," says Wikipedia (Wikipedia). "Holy Week begins with the commemoration of Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, marks the betrayal of Jesus on Spy Wednesday (Holy Wednesday), climaxing with the commemoration of the Mystical or Last Supper on Maundy Thursday and the Passion of Jesus on Good Friday. Holy Week concludes with Christ's rest in death and descent into hell on Holy Saturday. One fixed date observance during Lent is the Marian Feast of the Annunciation¹ of Our Lord (Mariae Verkündigung) on March 25 (Gospel Luke 1:26-38 (BCW), which also occurred in 1724 on Palm Sunday for dual services with two cantatas, "Siehe eine Jungfrau ist schwanger"² (Lo now, there a virgin is pregnant, Philip Z. Ambrose trans.)^2a, BWV 1135 (previously BWV Anh. 199; music lost; Bach Digital)[2] and Weimar cantata "Himmelskönig, sei willkommen" (King of heaven, thou art welcome, Ps. 40:8-9, Ambrose trans.), BWV 182 restaged (Wikipedia). An extensive discussion of Annunciation double bill Cantatas 182 and 1135 is found at BCW. The most appropriate Bach works for the Annunciation feast, says John S. Setterlund,³ are the Visitation feast chorus Cantata 147.2, "Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben" (Heart and mouth and deed and living, Ambrose trans.; BCW), alternate Annunciation feast chorale Cantata 1, "Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern" (How beauteous beams the morning star, Ambrose trans.; BCW). The incipit, "Siehe, eine Jungfrau ist schwanger," also is found in Telemann's cantata, TWV 1:1326 (Goethe Universität: G.P. Telemann UniverstätsBibliothek); Neumeister 1716–17 cantata cycle, Concerten- Jahrgang).

Palm Sunday

The closed season of Lent in Leipzig did not observe Palm Sunday although when it fell on March 25, the fixed date of the Annunciation Feast,⁴ both events were observed. In Bach''s one-year lectionary, Palm Sunday⁵ (Sunday of the Passion) falls on 24 March (see LCMS Worship — 2023-2024 Church Year Calendar. The current 3-Year Revised Common Lectionary identifies two observances on the 6^th Sunday in Lent, 24 March 2024, Liturgy of the Palms and Liturgy of the Passion. The current Year B Liturgy of the Palms readings are limited (Lectionary Library) to the Introit Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29 and alternate Gospel readings, Mark 11:1-11 (Preparation and Jesus entry into Jerusalem) or John 12:12-16 (Jesus entry) with no Old Testament or Epistle readings, as well as Year C, 13 April 2025 (Psalm 118 and Luke 1928; Lectionary Library), and Year A, 29 March 2026 (Psalm 118 and Matthew 21:1-11; Lectionary Library. 2023-24 Church Year Calendar: Three-Year Series (B) Readings: Old Testament, Zech. 9:9–12; Introit, Ps. 118:19– 29 or Ps. 31:9–16; Epistle, Phil. 2:5–11; and Gospel Passion account Mark 14:1—15:47 or Mark 15:1–47 or John 12:20–43 (Son of Man is glorified). The full liturgy with Gospel readings for the Liturgy of the Passion (same dates 2024-2026) are Year B (Lectionary Library); Mark Chapter 14 and 15, Bethany preparation and Passion or March Chapter 15 Good Friday; Year C (Lectionary Library; Luke 22:14-23:56, Last Supper, Passion, Day of Preparation or Luke 23:1-19 Passion); Year A (Lectionary Library.

Passion Sunday

Palm Sunday, now known as the "Passion Sunday" for its current 3-year Revised Common Lectionary with Gospel readings of Bach's Passions (source, BCW), has designated chorales in Bach's time in the Neu Leipziger Gesangbuch (NLGB) of 1682: Hymn of the Day, "Aus tiefer Not schrei' ich zu dir" (From deep affliction I cry out to you), Wolfgang Dachstein's 1525 paraphrase of penitential Psalm 130 (BCW, BCW); and "Christus, der uns selig macht" (BCW) and "Christe, der du bist Tag und Licht" (BCW). Other appropriate hymns were Johann Walther's chanted Passion setting of Matthew's Passion gospel (Google Books, BCW), NLGB 179, as well as other Passiontide hymns (Wikipedia). By 1766, the Passion hymns were sung on Palm Sunday in one of two Leipzig main churches, either St. Nikolaus or St. Thomas, while the Stockman hymn "Jesu Leiden, Pein und Tod," was sung in the other, says Günther Stiller.⁶ The Palm Sunday Readings in the one-year lectionary in Bach's time were: Epistle: Philippians 2:5-11 (The humility of Christ) or 1 Corinthians 11:23-32 (The Last Supper); Gospel: Matthew 21:1-9 (Christ’s entry into Jerusalem). The German and English texts are found at BCW BCW. The Introit Psalm is Psalm 92, Bonum est confiteri (It is a good thing to give thanks). The alternative Introit Psalm is Psalm 22, Deus, Deus meus "God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Bible Gateway), says Paul Zeller Strodach in his one-year lectionary study,⁷ which also is the sermon text, or Isaiah 53, Suffering Servant (King James Bible Online), at the Leipzig Good Friday vespers alternating with a Passion oratorio between the two main churches since 1722. Psalm 22, a psalm of lament, characterizes the entire Holy Week, he says. There are no polyphonic motet settings extant for Palm Sunday.

3-Year Revised Common Lectionary: Bach Works

A range of Bach's works is available in the current 3-year Revised Common Lectionary for the Sunday of the Passion, says Setterlund (Ibid: 46f): Year B, 24 March 2024, readings (Lectionary Library, Gospel Mark Chapters 14-15), St. Mark Passion, BWV 247.1 (BCW), alternate, Trinity 19 bass solo Cantata 56, "Ich will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen" (I will the crosier gladly carry, Ambrose trans.; BCW). Year C, 13 April 2025, readings (Lectionary Library), Gospel Luke 22:14-23:56 (Last Supper, Crucifixion, Preparation) or Luke 23:1-49 (Trials, Crucifixion), Mühlhausen funeral Cantata 106, "Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit" (God's own time is the very finest time, Adaptation of Acts 17:28, Ambrose trans.; BCW), which is a mini-Lukan Passion with its two references to the Last Words from the Cross, (3a. "Into your hands I commit my spirit," Luke 23:46 and 3b. "Today you will be with me in paradise," Luke 23:43. Year A, 29 March 2025, readings (Lectionary Library), Gospel Matthew 26:14-27:66 (Judas' betrayal, Passion) or Matthew 27:11-54, (Trial, Passion, Earthquake), St. Matthew Passion, BWV 244.1 (BCW), alternate, Palm Sunday/Annunciation Cantata 182, "Himmelskönig, sei willkommen" (King of heaven, thou art welcome; BCW). Various works for Palm Sunday also were available (Wikipedia): Johann Walter's Passio Secundum Matthæum, NLGB 179; Telemann's "Wer ist der, so von Sodom kommt" TWV 1:158 in the Bach "Graun Pasticcio," "Wer ist der, so von Sodom kommt," BWV 1167 (Wikipedia), performed in 1748 and 1750; and Picander's 1728-29 cycle cantata "Machet die Tore weit (Psalm 24.7; same text as Advent 1, Ernst-Scherzhafte und Satyrische Gedichte by Christian Friedrich Henrici: Page 144 (Internet Archive)).

Holy Week Daily Observances

Setterlund's Bach Through the Year (Ibid.: 47-51) shows alternate cantatas available for all the Holy Week days, Monday through Saturday, 25-30 March 2024 (readings, Lectionry Library). Bach's One-Year lectionary Holy Week readings, according to Strodach (Ibid.: 135-48) have for Monday through Friday the Introit Psalm, Gloria, Collect, Epistle (from Isaiah), Gospel (John except Luke 22:1-23:42 on Wednesday). Saturday in Holy Week lists the Epistle Col. 3:1-4, and Gospel Matt. 28:1-7). The Gospel for the other four days is John 12:1-13, 12:24-43, 13:1-15, and chapters 18 and 19. John's Gospel in the 3-year lectionary is appropriate for the following services:
+Monday of Holy Week (Wikipedia), John 12:1-11 (Bethany, Lectionary Library); +Tuesday of Holy Week (Wikipedia), John 12:20-36 (Son of Man glorified, Lectionary Library);
+Wednesday of Holy Week (Wikipedia), John 13:21-32 (Judas betrayal, Lectionary Library);
+Maundy Thursday (Wikipedia), John 13:1-17, 31b-35 (Jesus washes disciples feet, Lectionary Library);
+Good Friday (Wikipedia), John 18:1-19:42 (Jesus' arrest, Peter's denial, Lectionary Library);
+Holy Saturday (Wikipedia), Matthew 27:57-66 or John 19:38-42 (Joseph of Arimathea, Nicodemus bury Jesus, Lectionary Library).

Bach''s Holy Week Appropriate Music

Bach's music appropriate for the Monday through Friday of Holy Week with John's gospel cites only one work and alternate for each of the five days: +Monday in Holy Week (John 12:1-11), Motet "Jesu, meine Freude" (Jesus, my joy, BCW: scroll down to "Discussions in the Week of June 19, 2016 (4th round), alternate Trinity 1 chorus Cantata 39, "Brich dem Hungrigen dein Brot" (Break with hungry men thy bread, Is. 58:7-8, Ambrose trans.; BCW);
+Tuesday in Holy Week (John 12:20-36), Estomihi chorus Cantata 22, "Jesus nahm zu sich die Zwölfe" (Jesus took aside the twelve then, Lk. 18:31, Ambrose trans.; BCW), alternate Estomihi solo Cantata 159, "Sehet! wir gehn hinauf gen Jerusalem" (See ye! We're going up to Jerusalem, Lk. 18:31, Ambrose trans.; BCW);
+Wednesday in Holy Week (John 13:21-32), Jubilate chorus Cantata 12, "Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen" (Weeping, wailing, grieving, fearing, Acts 14:22, Ambrose trans.; BCW), alternate Exaudi chorus Cant44, "Sie werden euch in den Bann tun I" (In banishment they will cast you, John 16:2; BCW);
+Maundy Thursday (John 13:1-17, 31b-35), 20 Trinity chorale chorus Cantata 180, "Schmücke dich, o liebe Seele" (Deck thyself, O soul beloved, Ambrose trans.; BCW), alternate Pentecost Tuesday chorus Cantata 184, "Erwünschtes Freudenlicht" (O welcome light of joy, Ambrose trans.; BCW);
+Good Friday (John 18:1-19:42), St. John Passion: "Herr, unser Herrscher," BWV 245.1 (Lord, thou our master, Ambrose trans.; BCW), alternate, Cantata 159 (see alternate in Tuesday in Holy Week);
+Holy Saturday (Vigil of Easter, John 20:1-18): Year B, 30 March 2024 (readings, Lectionary Library; Gospel [John 20: 1-18, Easter morning]), Easter Tuesday solo Cantata 145, "Ich lebe, mein Herze, zu deinem Ergötzen" (I live now, my spirit, to thy purest pleasure, Ambrose trans.; BCW), alternate Trinity 12 chorale chorus Cantata 137, "Lobe den Herren, den mächtigen König der Ehren" (Praise the Almighty, the powerful king of all honor, Ambrose trans.; BCW). Year C, 19 April 2025 (readings, Lectionary Library; Gospel [John 20:1-18, Easter morning]), Easter Sunday Oratorio, BWV 249.3: "Kommet, eilet und laufet" (Come, hasten and hurry, Ambrose trans.; BCW), alternate, Easter Sunday chorale Cantata 4, "Christ lag in Todesbanden" (Christ lay to death in bondage, Ambrose trans.; BCW). Year A, 4 April 2026 (readings, Lectionary Library; Gospel [J ohn 20:1-18, Easter morning]); Easter Monday chorus Cantata 66, "Erfreut euch, ihr Herzen" (Rejoice, all ye spirits, Ambrose trans.; BCW), alternate Easter Sunday Cantata 31.2, "Der Himmel lacht! Die Erde jubilieret" (The heavens laugh! The earth doth ring with glory, Ambrose trans.; BCW).

Holy Week Passion Preparation

Following Palm Sunday, Holy Week in Bach's time in Leipzig focused on the Christological Passion and sacrifice of Jesus Christ, central to Christian belief, with music dating to the Middle Ages that accompanied the accounts in the canonical Gospels (source: BCW). Gospel readings in Holy Week in Leipzig appointed 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. Johann Walther's setting of Matthew (NLGB 179) was presented on Palm Sunday (Google Books) and John (NLGB 227) on Good Friday (Google Books), source, Gottfried Vopelius' Das Neu Leipziger Gesangbuch (NLGB) of 1682, Passion chorales, Wikipedia. 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 Sünde groß" (O man, bewail thy sins so great, Ambrose trans., BCW), emphasizing 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 (BCW).

Maundy Thursday

Maundy Thursday ("Gründonnerstag"), which commemorates the Last Supper and the institution of Communion, was a Lenten exception half-day feast with organ and figural music in Bach's Leipzig "with a traditional, full-main service," "the Communion liturgy was embellished in an unusual way, and the sermon was based on [Paul's account of] the Words of Institution at the Last Supper, that is the Epistle for Mundy Thursday" (1 Cor. 11:23-32, Bible Gateway), says Stiller (Ibid.: 62). It must be assumed that Bach left a prefect in charge at the service in order prepare to rehearse the annual Passion performance in the afternoon, preceded by the Thomaner boys distributing the Passion libretto book throughout Leipzig. The Gospel was John 13:1-15 (Jesus' symbolically washing disciples' feet) and the Introit was Psalm 116:12-19 "What shall I return to the Lord / for all his goodness to me?" (Bible Gateway). The Hymn of the Day for Maundy Thursday in Bach's Neu Leipziger Gesangbuch (NLGB) of 1682 was Martin Luther's "Jesus Christus, unser Heiland, der von uns den Gotteszorn wandt," (Jesus Christ, our Savior, turned God's wrath from us; No. 184, Catechism Communion, Google Books). The NLGB pulpit/communion hymns for Maundy Thursday were: "Wir wollen singen Heut von grossen Dingen" (NLGB 189) Johann Heermann's "Als Jesus Christus in der Nacht" (NKGB 188) and "Ich danke dem Herrn von ganzem Herzen" (NLGB 186), Psalm 111 setting, none of which Bach set.

Good Friday

Good Friday (BCW) in Leipzig became the venue for annual performances of Passion musical settings of Bach while in Hamburg, Georg Philipp Telemann presented annual settings of the four gospels from 1722 to 1768, succeeded by Emanuel Bach (Wikipedia. Sebastian Bach about 1728 presented in succession four settings: John, Matthew, Luke, and Mark and repeated all of them in the 1740s. The NLGB has Good Friday settings of Walther's St. John Passion (NLGB 84) and Jacob Handl's Ecce quomodo moritur justus motet (Wikipedia, Google Books), as well as "Da Jesus an dem Kreuze stund" (Seven Last Words of Christ from the Cross, Google Books) and other hymns related to the Passion of Christ Wikipedia. Various composers Passion settings are listed at IMSLP. German composers with cantatas for Lent involved music consistently presented at the Gotha Court (Christian Friedrich Witt, Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel, Wolfgang Carl Briegel, and Georg Benda), as well as Georg Philipp Telemann in Frankfurt and Hamburg and Christoph Graupner in Darmstadt.

Leipzig Good Friday Vespers

For the annual Leipzig Good Friday Vespers, Bach had considerable materials available to present three original gospel Passion oratorios, BWVV 244, 245, 247 (Matthew, John, Mark), and two Pasticcio assemblages, "Kaiser"/Handel, Pasticcio, BWV 1166.3 and Graun Pasticcio, BWV 1167, as well as works of other composers, "Kaiser" St. Mark Passion, 1726; Telemann Seliges Erwägen, TWV 5:2, 1728, 1735; Stölzel, "Ein Lämmlein geht und trägt die Schuld," 1734; andan anonymous "St. Luke Passion," BWV 246, 1732 and 1743 or 1745. Earlier, Bach in Weimar performed the first version of the "Kaiser" Markus-Passion, BWV 1166.1 (1710-11, Wikipedia) and the Weimar-Gotha Passion (1717, Wikiedia). There are various versions of all three Bach Passions of John, Matthew and Mark. The four versions of Bach’s St. John Passion, BWV 245 (SJP), represent variants of the biblical and theological perspectives as found in Bach’s selection of biblical narrative texts, use of chorales, and lyrical chorus and aria commentaries: 1724, John Chapters 18 and 19, the usual version with the addition from Matthew gospel Passion account of Peter weeping at his betrayal of Jesus (Matthew 26:75 after John 18:27) and the rending of the veil of the temple (Matthew 27:51-52 after John 19:30); 1725 version with the substitution of chorale choruses and arias that emphasized more the theological theme of Satisfaction as Atonement; 1728 or 1732, return to 1724 version but removal of non-Johannine references to Peter weeping and temple veil rending, for a John-only Christus Victor emphasis; 1739/1749, return to 1724 version with changes to the poetic texts and richer chorale harmonization. The St. Matthew Passion has at least two and possibly three versions: 1727 (possibly for single chorus), 1729 (double chorus), 1735 (definitive version), and 1742 (last performing version, Jesus recit. revisions with sustained notes, not string accompaniment, BCW). The St. Mark Passion has the original version of 1731 and an expanded version with two additional arias (1740, 1744).

Bach's 3 Oratorio Passions

The core major works in Bach's Christological cycle of vocal music are the oratorio Passion settings of Matthew and Mark, BWV 244 and 247, emphasizing the satisfaction atonement sacrifice, and the John Passion, BWV 245, emphasizing the Christus Victor concept. In 1734, Bach presented Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel's poetic Passion Oratorio "Ein Lämmlein geht und trät die Schuld," on Good Friday, 23 April 1734. This broke the oratorio Passion mold for Bach. While still presenting annual oratorio gospel Passion settings, beginning in 1735 and continuing in the 1740s, Bach ventured into two parody and two pasticcio settings appropriate for the Leipzig Good Friday vespers with four works: 1. Motet parody "Der Gerechte kömmt um" (The righteous perishes), BWV deest, BC C-8; 2. About 1746-47, motet parody, "Tilge, Höchester, meine Sünden" (Blot out, Highest, My Sins), a transcription of Giovanni Pergolesi's Stabat Mater of 1735 (BCW; 3. About 1747 he created a pasticcio version of the "Keiser" St. Mark oratorio Passion, adding seven arias from Handel's "Brockes oratorio Passion (details, see Wikipedia Wikipedia, YouTube); and 4. sometime in the 1740s, Bach may have assembled a pasticcio setting of C. H. Graun's 1730 poetic Passion cantata, "Ein lämmlein geht und trägt die Schuld," with music of Bach, Telemann, Johann Christoph Altnikol, and the motet "Der Gerechte kömmt um" (BCW, BCW).

Bach Leipzig Passion Performances

The new BWV3 works catalogue has a list of the Leipzig Passion performances (ISSUU: drag bottom bar 1/94 right or click on > right to 20-21/94). Bach also was familiar with various settings of the Brockes Passion (BCW), notably Telemann, TWV 5:1 and Handel, HWV 48, although neither can be assigned a Bach performance year during his tenure in Leipzig, while the Brockes text is used in the St. John Passion, BWV 245.1: eight movements, Nos. 7, 19, 20, 24, 32, 34, 35 (partial), and 39 (BCW: borrowings). The Leipzig Good Friday vespers, while the platform for Bach's Passion creations, was steeped in Lutheran tradition. On Good Friday afternoon in Leipzig the bells at the Thomaskirche (St. Thomas Church) began to ring at 1:15 p.m. The congregation of as many as 3,000 assembled and the Vespers service with its simple liturgical form began at 1:45 p.m. The service order was probably: 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"); Verse and Passion Collect intoned; Rinhart's hymn "Nun danket alle Gott" (Now thank we all Our God"); Blessing (Benediction). [The hymn O Traurigkeit, o Herzeleid ("O darkest woe, o heart's pain") followed the motet. The best available recording of the 1724 Good Friday Vespers with the St. John Passion is John Butt's Dunedein Consort: contents, Linn Records, BCW; recording, (YouTube); liner notes, BCW.

Leipzig Passion Performances (full accounting, see BCW)
1723 none
1724 NK St. John Passion, BWV 245.1 (1st version)
1725 TK St. John Passion, BWV 245.2 (2nd version)
1726. NK "Kaiser," St. Mark Passion, BWV 1166.2 (2nd version)
1727 TK St. Matthew Passion, BWV 244.1 (1st version)
1728. NK Telemann Seliges Erwägen, TVW 5:2
1729 TK St. Matthew Passion, BWV 244.1(a) (?2nd version)
1730. NK St. John Passion, BWV 245.3 (3rd version, handed down incompletely)
1731. TK St. Mark Passion, BWV 247.1
1732 NK Anon. St. Luke Passion, BWV 246
1733 TK none (National Mourning)
1734 TK Stölzel, Ein Lämmlein geht und trägt die Schuld
1735 NK Telemann Seliges Erwägen, TVW 5:2
1736. TK St. Matthew Passion, BWV 244.2 (?3rd version)
1737 NK St. John Passion, BWV 245 (or 1739)
1738. TK ?
1739 NK ?St. John Passion, BWV 245.4 (unfinished revision, see 1737)
1740 TK St. Mark Passion, BWV 247.2 (2nd version)
1741 NK ?
1742. TK St. Matthew Passion, BWV 244.2
1743. NK Anon. St. Luke Passion, BWV 246
1744 TK St. Mark Passion, BWV 247.2
1745 NK (see 1743)
1746 TK St. Matthew Passion, BWV 244.2
1747 NK "Kaiser"/Handel Pasticcio, BWV 1166.3
1748 TK Graun Pasticcio: "Wer ist der," BWV 1167
1749 NK St. John Passion, BWV 245.5 (4th version)
1750. TK Graun Pasticcio: "Wer ist der," BWV 1167
Abbreviations: TK=Thomas Church, NK=Nikolai Church

Extended Passion Chorales

Bach also made extensive use of extended Passion chorale settings found in various hymn books. Besides Siebald Heyden's "O Mensch, bewein dein Sünde groß" (23 stanzas) and Paul Stockmann's "Jesu Leiden, Pein und Tod" (34 stanzas), there were the Paul Gerhardt (BCW) 10-stanza "Ein Lämmlein geht und trägt die Schuld" (A Lambkin goes and bears the guilt, Wikipedia), which had a profound influence on Bach's colleagues, and the 16-stanza “O Welt, sieh hier dein Leben” (O World, see here thy life; text, BCW, which is the only chorale appearing in all three Bach original Passions (BWV 244/10, 37; BWV 245/11, and BWV 247/7).
An early Reformation Passion csetting is Johann Böschenstein's "Da Jesus an dem Kreuze stund"⁸ (There Jesus on the cross hung), to the associated melody, Adam Reusner's "In dich hab ich gehoffet, Herr." Another early Reformation Passion chorale is Bohemian Brethren Michael Weiße's eight-stanza "Christus, der uns selig macht," based on the 14th c. Latin hymn Patris Sapientia (Christus wahrer Gottes Sohn) for the Canonical Hours of Good Friday (German text and Matthew Garver English translations, Hymnologypt). In 1630, Johann Heermann (BCW), did a 15-stanza chorale, "Herzliebster Jesu, was hast du verbrochen" (O dearest Jesus, how hast thou offended, Ambrose trans.), based on Luke 23:20-24 as a miniature trial drama (BCW), found in the John, Matthew (YouTube), and Luke Passions.
Post-Script: For details of the Good Friday Vespers liturgy and music, particularly the hymns and the chorales used in Bach's three Passions and lesser-known Passion hymns, see BCW. The original version of the St. Matthew Passion in Picander's text, Passionsoratorium, BWV Anh. 169,⁹ Sammlung erbaulicher Gedancken ueber und auf die gewoehnlichen Sonn- und Festtage (Collection of uplifting thoughts about and on the usual Sundays and holidays, Google Trans.), which provided six movements for BWV 244.1. The reconstruction and completion of BWV Anh. 169 by Alexander Grychtolik is part of his extensive realizations, BCW.
For Bach Mailing List Discussions of Bach's Passions, see:
+BWV 245, Details, BCW: 245.2 discussion, BCW; "Literary Origins of Bach’s St. John Passion": 1704-1717 [by William L. Hoffman], BCW; "Bach’s Passion Pursuit" [by William L. Hoffman], BCW.
+BWV 244, Details, BCW: articles: "Matthäus-Passion BWV 244 - Early History (A Selective, Annotated Bibliography) [by William Hoffman]," BCW; "The Genesis of Bach's `Great Passion': 1724-29 [by William Hoffman] [PDF], BCW; and "Spiritual Sources of Bach's St. Matthew Passion [by William Hoffman]," BCW.
+BWV 247, Details, BCW: discussion, BCW; article, Narrative Parody In Bach's St. Mark Passion (by William L. Hoffman) [PDF], BCW.

ENDNOTES

¹ Annunciation Feast: description, Wikipedia; 3-year Revised Common Lectionary (Year B) readings, Lectionary Library; music & liturgy, Wikipedia; Neu Leipiger Gesangbuch Annunciation chorales, Wikipedia: Nos. 112-121; possible works Bach performed, BCW; Bach performance calendar, BCW.
² "Siehe eine Jungfrau ist schwanger," BWV 1135: details, BCW; description, BCW; text (Ambrose, UVM); Bach Digital description, Bach Digital.
^2a Incipit translations: Z. Philip Ambrose, J. S. Bach: J. S. Bach: The Vocal Texts in English Translation with Commentary (Bloomington IN: Xlibris, 2020), UVM, Amazon.com.
³ John S. Setterlund, Bach Through the Year: The Church Music of Johann Sebastian Bach and the Revised Common Lectionary (Minneapolis MN: Lutheran University Press, 2013: 36), Amazon.com.
⁴Annunciation Feast: description, Wikipedia; 3-year Revised Common Lectionary (Year B) readings, Lectionary Library; music & liturgy, Wikipedia; Neu Leipiger Gesangbuch Annunciation chorales, Wikipedia: Nos. 112-121; possible works Bach performed, BCW; Bach performance calendar, BCW. (Wikipedia). Bach could have performed nine works on Annunciation in Leipzig: BWV 182, 1135=Anh. 199, 1; Johann Ludwig Bach "Ich habe meinen Konig," Picander P-27, J. F. Fasch's "Gottes und Marien Kind," G. H. Stözel 1736, 1737 cantatas, and Telemann Cantata BWV Anh 156, "Herr Christ der einge Gottessohn," TVWV 1:732 (BCW).
⁵ Palm Sunday: description, Wikipedia; music and liturgy, Wikipedia; Bach performance calendar, BCW.
⁶ Günther Stiller, Johann Sebastian Bach and Liturgical Life in Leipzig, ed. Robin A. Leaver, trans. Herbert J. A. Bouman etc (St. Louis MO: Concordia Publishing, 1985: 158).
⁷ Paul Zeller Strodach, The Church Year: Studies in the Introits, Collects, Epistles, and Gospels (Philadelphia PA: United Lutheran Publication House, 1924: 132ff).
⁸ "Da Jesus an dem Kreuze stund," BWV 1089: music, BCW; a nine-stanza setting (German text, Hymnary.org; English text, Bach Chorals by C.S. Terry [PDF]: scroll down to Page 133); melody & text, BCW; Bach Digital, Bach Digital; recordings, YouTube, YouTube; Johann Hermann Schein settings, YouTube, All Music; IMSLP; Presto Music.
⁹ Passionsoratorium, BWV Anh. 169: details, BCW; commentary, BCW; text, BCW; Bach Digital, Bach Digital.

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To Come: Easter-Pentecost Season 1724, end of first Church Year cycle.