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Primary sourceBook1727

St Matthew Passion

Johann Sebastian Bach · 1727

A grand sacred oratorio by Johann Sebastian Bach setting the Passion story from the Gospel of Matthew, first performed in Leipzig in 1727.

Bach composed and directed this monumental Passion, showing his mastery of large-scale sacred vocal music.

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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.
Johann Sebastian Bach, St Matthew Passion, end of aria no. 41 'Geduld', manuscript, 1727.

About this source

What it is

The St Matthew Passion, BWV 244, is a sacred oratorio composed by Johann Sebastian Bach for solo voices, double choir and double orchestra, with a German libretto by the poet Picander. It was probably first performed on Good Friday 1727 at St. Thomas Church in Leipzig, where Bach worked as music director.

Why it matters

This work is considered one of the greatest pieces of Baroque sacred music. It shows how Bach combined Lutheran hymn tradition with dramatic storytelling and intense emotion. Its later revival by Felix Mendelssohn in 1829 helped spark renewed interest in Bach's music across Europe, known as the Bach Revival.

Look closer

  • Why might Bach have used two separate choirs and orchestras instead of one?
  • What does the handwritten manuscript tell you about how music was composed and copied in Bach's time?
  • How might performing this piece in a church change how an audience experiences it?

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 orchestral and choral score in brown ink on aged paper, with the heading 'Symbolum Nicenum' at top. Multiple staves for voices and instruments, with Latin text 'Credo in unum Deum' written under the notes.Book

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Johann Sebastian Bach · completed 1749

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Johann Sebastian Bach · 1721

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Johann Sebastian Bach · 1722 (Book 1); 1742 (Book 2)

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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Portrait of Bach

Elias Gottlob Haussmann · 1746

Page 158 of Mizler's Musikalische Bibliothek, 1754, in Fraktur black-letter type. Header reads 'VI. Denkmal dreyer verst. Mitglieder'. Section 'C.' begins with a heading about Johann Sebastian Bach, followed by a body of German text.Newspaper article

Secondary source

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