The Composition
Johann Sebastian Bach composed the Matthäus-Passion (BWV 244) for performance on Good Friday 1727 at the Thomaskirche in Leipzig, where he served as Kantor. The work is scored for two SATB choruses, two orchestras (each with strings, woodwinds, and continuo), a ripieno choir, SATB soloists, and additional solo voices for the Evangelist (tenor) and Jesus (bass). A complete performance lasts approximately two hours and forty-five minutes, divided into two parts separated by a sermon. Bach revised the work significantly for a 1736 revival, and this later version is the one most commonly performed today. The libretto combines the complete text of Matthew chapters 26 and 27 with poetic interpolations by Christian Friedrich Henrici (known as Picander) and traditional Lutheran chorale texts.
Biblical Text
The scriptural backbone is the continuous narrative of Matthew 26:1 through 27:66, sung in recitative by the tenor Evangelist. Bach sets every verse of these two chapters, from the conspiracy against Jesus through the sealing of the tomb. The direct speech of Jesus is always accompanied by sustained string chords (a 'halo' effect), except at his final cry 'Eli, Eli, lama asabthani' (Matthew 27:46), where the strings fall silent - one of the most devastating dramatic strokes in all music. The turba (crowd) choruses set the words of the disciples, priests, and mob in vivid fugal and homophonic writing. Interspersed among the biblical narrative are 15 Lutheran chorales, many drawn from Paul Gerhardt's Passion hymns, including the chorale 'O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden' (O Sacred Head Now Wounded), which appears five times in different harmonizations, each reflecting the changing emotional landscape.
The Creator
Bach was 42 years old at the time of the first performance and had been Thomaskantor in Leipzig since 1723. He was a devout Lutheran whose personal Bible (a three-volume Calov Bible Commentary) survives with his handwritten marginalia, including the note at 2 Chronicles 5:13: 'In devotional music, God is always present with his grace.' The St. Matthew Passion was the most ambitious work Bach had yet attempted, requiring resources that strained the limited musical establishment of Leipzig. His motivations were liturgical: the Passion was not a concert piece but an act of worship, designed to occupy the first half of the Good Friday Vespers service.
Musical Analysis
The opening chorus ('Kommt, ihr Töchter, helft mir klagen') is one of the most complex movements in all Baroque music: two choruses engage in dialogue over a walking bass, while the ripieno choir sings the chorale 'O Lamm Gottes, unschuldig' above them. The key of E minor establishes a tonal center of grief that governs much of the work. The arias function as meditative responses to the narrative: the alto aria 'Erbarme dich, mein Gott' (Have mercy, my God), with its solo violin obbligato in B minor, follows Peter's denial and weeping and is widely considered one of the most beautiful arias ever written. The bass aria 'Mache dich, mein Herze, rein' accompanies the burial of Jesus with a serene lullaby quality. Bach's word-painting is extraordinarily detailed: at the tearing of the temple veil (Matthew 27:51), the orchestra erupts in tremolo figures; at the earthquake, the continuo line shakes with trills.
Theological Content
The St. Matthew Passion is a work of Lutheran Passion theology. Its central theological concern is the believer's personal relationship to Christ's suffering - not merely as historical event but as present reality. The arias and chorales invite the listener to become a participant: 'Ich will bei meinem Jesu wachen' (I will watch beside my Jesus) places the believer in Gethsemane. The five appearances of 'O Sacred Head' trace a theological arc from contemplation of Christ's suffering to acceptance of his sacrificial death. The chorale 'Wenn ich einmal soll scheiden' (When I must depart) transforms the Passion narrative into a prayer for a good death, connecting Christ's death to every believer's mortality. The work assumes a congregation that knows these chorales by heart and sings them as personal confession.
Performance History
The premiere took place on Good Friday, 11 April 1727, at the Thomaskirche, Leipzig (some scholars argue for 15 April 1729). After Bach's death in 1750, the work fell into obscurity for nearly 80 years. On 11 March 1829, the twenty-year-old Felix Mendelssohn conducted a landmark revival at the Singakademie zu Berlin, with over a thousand people in attendance and hundreds turned away. This performance is widely credited with inaugurating the modern Bach revival and establishing Bach as a central figure in the Western canon. Mendelssohn's version was significantly cut and re-orchestrated, and the recovery of Bach's original scoring has been a project of historical performance practice since the 1970s.
Cultural Impact
The St. Matthew Passion transformed the cultural status of sacred music. After Mendelssohn's revival, it became a regular fixture of Holy Week observances in Protestant churches and concert halls across Europe. It established the model of the large-scale Passion performance that persists today. The work has been central to German cultural identity: its performance was a significant event during both World Wars, and its message of suffering and redemption has been invoked in contexts ranging from post-war reconciliation to anti-apartheid activism. Peter Sellars's 2010 staging with the Berlin Philharmonic under Simon Rattle placed the work in a contemporary theatrical context.
Controversies
The work has been the subject of debate regarding anti-Jewish content, particularly the turba chorus 'Sein Blut komme über uns und unsere Kinder' (His blood be on us and on our children, Matthew 27:25). Modern performers and scholars have grappled with how to present this text responsibly, and some conductors have added program notes contextualizing it. The question of performing forces - whether to use a large Romantic-era chorus or the small ensemble Bach likely had - remains a point of ongoing scholarly and artistic debate. The 1727 versus 1729 premiere date is still contested among Bach scholars.
Legacy
The St. Matthew Passion has been recorded over 100 times and is performed annually worldwide during Holy Week. It influenced virtually every subsequent Passion setting and large-scale choral work. Composers from Mendelssohn to Penderecki have responded to it directly. The work appears regularly in lists of the greatest compositions in Western music and is a cornerstone of the choral repertoire. Its influence extends beyond music: W.H. Auden, Ingmar Bergman, and Andrei Tarkovsky all cited it as a profound artistic influence.
Recommended Recordings
1. Karl Richter with the Munich Bach Orchestra and Choir (Archiv, 1958) - a monumental, deeply spiritual reading that defined the work for a generation, with Ernst Haefliger as Evangelist. 2. John Eliot Gardiner with the English Baroque Soloists and Monteverdi Choir (Archiv, 1988) - the definitive historically informed performance, combining scholarly rigor with intense emotional commitment. 3. Philippe Herreweghe with Collegium Vocale Gent (Harmonia Mundi, 1999) - a luminous, transparent reading that reveals the work's intimate devotional character alongside its monumental architecture.