For the 1725 performance of the St. John Passion, Bach made changes to fit it into his 'Chorale Cantata Year', including replacing the opening chorus and adding new arias.
Composer Biography
The only authentic portrait of Bach, by Elias Gottlob Haussmann from 1748, shows traces of his lifelong struggles with authorities like budget-conscious city councillors and education reformers.
Composition History
Theological objections to the text of the St. John Passion may have led to a crisis in 1739, as the Passion performance for Good Friday was forbidden that year.
Composition History
Bach started a thorough revision of the St. John Passion in 1739, 15 years after its first performance, but suddenly broke off the new copy before the chorale 'Wer hat dich so geschlagen'.
Historical Context
Bach's understanding of a 'chorus' was a self-contained ensemble of relatively few, mainly solo voices and a small orchestra, a concept he fiercely defended to the Leipzig city council.
Composition History
The version of Bach's St. John Passion commonly performed today, based on the New Bach Edition, never actually existed in Bach's own performances.
Compositional Technique
American researcher Joshua Rifkin theorized in the 1980s that Bach used only eight singers for his Passions, not a large chorus, a theory supported by Bach's performance materials.
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