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Primary sourceBook1724, revised 1725-1749

St John Passion

Johann Sebastian Bach · 1724, revised 1725-1749

Bach's earliest surviving Passion setting, first performed in Leipzig on Good Friday 1724, narrating the Gospel of John's account of Christ's Passion.

Composed by Bach for Leipzig worship, this Passion reveals his dramatic approach to telling the Gospel story in music.

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Handwritten manuscript score page of Bach's St John Passion in brown ink on aged paper, with a title at top reading Passio secundum Joannem, multiple staves of music, and a red circular library stamp reading Biblioteca Regia Berolinensis.
Autograph manuscript, first page of the St John Passion by Johann Sebastian Bach.

About this source

What it is

The St John Passion (BWV 245) is an oratorio by Johann Sebastian Bach composed for Good Friday worship. It was first performed on 7 April 1724 at St. Nicholas Church in Leipzig, during Bach's first year as director of church music there. Bach revised it several times, in 1725, 1730 and 1749. The autograph manuscript survives, bearing a Berlin library stamp.

Why it matters

The work shows how Bach combined Gospel narration, reflective arias, and familiar Lutheran hymn tunes to create dramatic church music for his congregation. Its intense, less polished style compared to his later St Matthew Passion reveals an early stage in his development as Leipzig's music director, working under practical constraints like last-minute venue changes.

Look closer

  • Why might Bach have revised this piece multiple times over his career?
  • What does the choice to interrupt the Gospel story with hymns tell you about its purpose in worship?
  • What can a composer's handwritten manuscript tell us that a printed score cannot?

This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Johann Sebastian Bach on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Handwritten manuscript page of musical notation on aged, yellowed paper, with multiple staves of notes, slurs, and ornaments in ink, and handwritten inscription text along the bottom edge.Book

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Oil portrait of a man in a white powdered wig and dark coat with gold buttons, white cravat and cuffs. He holds a sheet of handwritten music with the inscription 'Canon triplex a 6 voci' and the signature 'J. S. Bach'.Painting

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