Passion according to Saint John

Passion according to Saint John – Jean-Sébastien Bach | Sacred Music
Duration: Approximately 2 hours
Sung in German, with French/English surtitles

One of the major works in the history of sacred music.

The setting of the last days of Christ dates back to the early days of Christianity. The genre evolved little until the 14th century, before gaining its nobility two centuries later with the Lutheran Reformation, which imposed the text sung in German to make it comprehensible to all. Under the influence of Italian opera, it also developed a richer polyphonic form. The St. John Passion was the first large-scale work composed for Leipzig, the city where Bach had settled. This magnificent work impresses with the beauty of the solo airs as much as with its choral parts.