The St. Matthew Passion's additional texts, not from the Bible, were written by Picander, the pseudonym of Leipzig poet Christian Friedrich Henrici.
Composition History
Bach composed five Passion settings, but only those based on the Gospels of St. Matthew and St. John survive; his St. Mark Passion is lost.
Composer Biography
Bach was briefly imprisoned in Weimar in 1717 for seeking to leave the Duke's service before becoming Court Kapellmeister to Prince Leopold of Anhalt-Cöthen.
Performer Biography
Géza Oberfrank, the conductor, studied composition and conducting at the Ferenc Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest and was principal conductor at the Komische Oper in Berlin from 1974 to 1979.
Historical Context
Traditional Roman liturgy involved singing accounts of Christ's suffering and crucifixion from the Gospels on four days preceding Easter.
Composer Biography
Johann Sebastian Bach, the composer, lived and studied music with his elder brother in Ohrdruf from the age of ten, after both his parents died.
Performer Biography
The Hungarian State Symphony Orchestra, founded in 1923 as the Budapest Municipal Orchestra, was reorganized after World War II by Ferenc Fricsay and László Somogyi.
