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distinct styles formed within the genre that was present even in the seventeenth century.
The responsorial Passion also referred to as choral Passion or dramatic Passion set the
Evangelist‟s role monophonically while the words of Christ and turba sections were set
polyphonically. In contrast, the through-composed Passion, also known as motet Passion
portrayed each role polyphonically.
During the Reformation movement, areas with high Calvinist persuasion like
England and France saw a lack of interest in setting the Passion narrative. In contrast,
areas like Germany, where Lutheranism and Catholicism represented the majority of the
population, only mild repercussions developed such as the switch to the vernacular for
Lutheran congregations. Seventeenth century Northern Germany, with Hamburg as its
locus, saw a new Passion style emerge that fused dramatic elements of the oratorio with
the passion, and became simply known as the Oratorio-Passion. Its figured bass notation
demonstrates its inclination to monody and while the Gospel scriptures remained
important, it became increasingly vogue to include sentimental and moral poetic
passages. The Passion narrative that was overtly dramatic, like Judas‟s betrayal, Peter‟s
denial and the frenzied crowd calling for Christ‟s crucifixion, achieved conspicuous
importance in the genre.
Bach represents the height of the Passion genre and while there are several
scholars who believe he composed a Passion before his acceptance of the Leipzig post or
that Bach had begun composing the St. John Passion while still employed in his Cöthen
post, we can only verify that the 1724 version of the St. John Passion was his first
endeavor in the genre. The bulk of the libretto comes from chapters 18 and 19 of John
with synoptic inserts like Peter‟s weeping (Matthew 26:75) and the splitting of the temple
veil (Matthew 27: 51-52). It is believed that Bach deliberately chose fourteen hymn
stanzas that are found in the chorales and an added twelve original pieces in which nine
are closely modeled after the popular poetic setting of Brockes, a Hamburg senator.
Overall, this version is heavy in Christology, which aims to demonstrate the divine nature
of Christ and existed in the beginning with God.
Reconstructing the various versions of the St. John Passion can be confusing but
the research Arthur Mendel completed when editing the St. John Passion for the Neue
Bach-Ausgabe has benefited scholars and performers greatly. However, Mendel was
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