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of these organizations usually refer to large vocal forces of over one hundred voices. The
following paragraphs will explore the nineteenth-century performances of the St. John
Passion in Germany, England and the United States.
In 1830, a year after of the legendary performance of the St. Matthew
Passion conducted by Felix Mendelssohn, the vocal scores of both passions were
published in Berlin. 297 Three years later in 1833, the first documented performance of the
St. John Passion occurred since Bach‟s death. The revivification of the St. John Passion
is not credited to Mendelssohn but rather to the little known persona of Carl Friedrich
Rungenhagen. Rungenhagen‟s place in history is that he succeeded Carl Friedrich Zelter
in the post of directing the Berlin Singakademie. 298 Reviews of the performance hint at
the inequality already present in the nineteenth century that many viewed the St. John
Passion as a substandard composition when compared to the St. Matthew Passion.
Consider this review from the musicologist Carl von Winterfield who reported that the St.
John Passion “will never be able to make a similar impression on a larger audience as the
other one [St. Matthew Passion] because…it lacks the swift, immediate impression, the
effectiveness of the other. Most people would find it difficult to listen to the first chorus
independently and with understanding.” 299 Despite disparaging remarks of this nature, a
year later in 1834 the full score of the St. John Passion was published in Berlin. 300
As already mentioned in the previous chapter, Robert Schumann is known
through correspondence to have had an intense attraction to the St. John Passion. When
Schumann served as editor of the Neue Zeitschrift für Musik (New Journal of Music) he
was exposed to an essay by Eduard Krüger that compared the two passions and supported
the often overlooked advantages of the St. John Passion over its latter sister, the St.
Matthew Passion. 301 Schumann published the essay over seven installments in the journal
and it may have served as a catalyst for his studies with the work. Prior to Schumann‟s
297
Leaver, “The Revival of the St. John Passion,” 15.
298
Traditionally it is referenced that Mendelssohn had the aspiration to succeed Zelter as director of the
Berlin Singakademie. With Zelter‟s death, and the succession of Rungenhagen to the post, Mendelssohn
and others believed it was his Jewish heritage that caused him to be denied the position.
299
Max. “Notes on the Performance of Bach‟s St. John Passion in the version by Robert Schumann,” CPO,
2006.
300
Leaver, “The Revival of the St. John Passion,” 15.
301
Max. “Notes on the Performance of Bach‟s St. John Passion in the version by Robert Scumann,” CPO,
2006.
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