Bach: Passionsoratorium, BWV Anh. 169 (Reconstructed by Alexander Grychtolik)

Featuring

Alexander Ferdinand Grychtolik
Miriam Feuersinger
Jana Pieters
William Shelton
Daniel Johannsen
Tiemo Wang

Jonathan Sells
Il Gardellino
Johann Sebastian Bach

Did you know?

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Compositional Technique

This version of the Passionsoratorium has exactly 33 movements, a deliberate choice reflecting Bach's number symbolism and alluding to the 'number of Christ,' as Jesus is believed to have died at age 33.

Composition History

Picander, the librettist, included excerpts from this Passionsoratorium libretto in Bach's St Matthew Passion, which was likely first performed in 1727.

Composition History

This Passionsoratorium is a reconstruction and completion by Alexander Grychtolik of a work by J. S. Bach, based on a mysterious libretto by the poet Picander.

Composer's Artistic Vision

The Passionsoratorium, like Bach's Easter Oratorio, presents biblical content as free poetry in a cantata style, with biblical characters appearing in arias, which was part of Bach's systematic approach during his cantata year.

Composition History

The libretto for this Passionsoratorium was initially considered by Bach biographer Philipp Spitta to be a lost Passion performed by Bach in 1725, but it is now listed in the Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis as a work without clear attribution.

Recording & Production

This recording is a world premiere, captured at the Festival Europäische Kirchenmusik 2023 in the Augustinuskirche Schwäbisch Gmünd, Germany, from August 6-10, 2023.

Compositional Technique

The Passionsoratorium's key signature progression, from E major (four sharps) to A-flat major (four flats), is symbolic, representing the journey from Jesus's 'raising' on the cross to his burial in the 'deep' tomb.