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Barthold Heinrich Brockes
Brockes-Passion

Text of Brockes-Passion

The original text by Barthold Heinrich Brockes titled as Der für die Sünden der Welt gemarterte und sterbende Jesus ((Jesus who Suffered and Died for the Sins of the World)) was printed in connection with the private Hamburg premiere in 1712 probably had only limited distribution. But the revised version dating from 1713, with some additional texts, was published in 1715 as a supplement to B.H. Brockes’ German translation of Giambattista Marino’s Slaughter of the Innocents. That volume was frequently reprinted in the first half of the 18th century and appears to have been in wide circulation. 3
See: Complete German text of the 1712 version of Brockes-Passion (printed in 1715).

Below are presented all known musical settings of Brockes-Passion and all known performances of the various settings up to 1750.

Any corrections/additions to these two lists would be most welcome.

 

Musical Settings of Brockes-Passion

Composer

Year

Place

Work/Recordings

Comments

Reinhard Keiser

1712

Hamburg

Brockes-Passion

1st Brockes-Passion oratorio. All 117 mvts.

Reinhard Keiser

1714

Hamburg

Excerpts of Brockes-Passion reduced for voice & continuo

Published by the composer himself

Georg Friedrich Handel

1715 / 1716

London

Brockes-Passion, HWV 48

Only 106 mvts.

Georg Philipp Telemann

1716

Hamburg

Brockes-Passion, TWV 5:1

All 117 mvts.

Johann Mattheson

1719

Hamburg

Brockes-Passion

 

Johann Balthasar Christian Freißlich

1721-1726

Danzig

Brockes-Passion3

 

Georg Philipp Telemann

1722

Hamburg

Matthäus-Passion TWV 5.7 (Wenn meine Sünd mich kränken)7

Uses 8 free poetic texts, all drawn from Brockes Passion; music lo+st

Georg Philipp Telemann

1722

Hamburg

Brockes-Passion, TWV 5:1

Revised version

Georg Philipp Telemann

1723

Hamburg

Markus-Passion TWV 5.8 (Ein Lämmlein geht und trägt die Schuld)7

Uses 13 free poetic texts, 9 from Brockes Passion; music lost

Johann Friedrich Fasch

1723 / 1717-1719 / c1730

Zerbst / Greiz

Brockes-Passion, FWV F:1

Only 30 mvts., with some alterations and additions

J.S. Bach

1724

Leipzig

Johannes-Passion BWV 245

1st version; uses Brockes’ text in Mvt. 7(11), Mvt. 19(31), Mvt. 20(32), Mvt. 24(48), Mvt. 32(60), Mvt. 34(62), partly Mvt. 35(63) & Mvt. 39(67)

Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel

1725

Gotha

Brockes-Passion

Abridged version, with addtitions of 3 traditional chorales

J.S. Bach

1725

Leipzig

Johannes-Passion BWV 245

Revised (2nd version)

Christoph Gottlieb Fröber

1729

Leipzig

Brockes-Passion (not known whose music was heard)

Considerably shortened, evidently omitting approximately half of the arias.

J.S. Bach

c1730

Leipzig

Johannes-Passion BWV 245

Revised (3rd version)

J.S. Bach

Late 1740's

Leipzig

Johannes-Passion BWV 245

Revised (4th version)

Paul Steiniger (Steininger)

c1750

Nürnberg

Brockes-Passion4

 

Jacob Schuback

c1750 / 1755

Hamburg

Brockes-Passion4 9

 

Johann Caspar Bachofen

1759

Zürich

Brockes-Passion4

Printed posthumously

         

Performances of Brockes-Passion’s Musical Settings 1712-1750

Date

Place

Composer

Work

Comments

Lenten Season 1712

Brockes home, Hamburg

R. Keiser

Brockes-Passion

1st performance

Lenten Season 1713

Brockes home, Hamburg

R. Keiser

Brockes-Passion

Adds Nos. 68-69, Faithful Soul recitative and aria; publisher Roger Brown

1716

Barfüßerkirche, Frankfurt am Main

G.P. Telemann

Brockes-Passion, TWV 5:1

1st performance

Mar 26, 1717 (Good Friday)

Neukirche, Leipzig

G.P. Telemann

Brockes-Passion, TWV 5:1

1st Leipzig performance of a Passion oratorio, Gottfried Vogler, organist & music director

1717 or 1718

Hamburg & Augsburg (no date or venue)

G.P. Telemann

Brockes-Passion, TWV 5:1

 

Apr 10, 1718 (Palm Sunday)

Domkirche, Hamburg

J. Mattheson

Brockes-Passion

1st performance

Mar 20, 1719

St. Marie-Magdalene Church, Hamburg

J. Mattheson

Brockes-Passion

 

Mar 23, 1719 or
April 3,
1719

Hamburg Cathedral
Reventher Dom,
Hamburg

G.F. Handel

Brockes-Passion, HWV 48

1st performance

Holy Week 1719

Hamburg (no specific date or venue)

R. Keiser

Brockes-Passion

 

Apr 4, 1719

Reventher Dom, Hamburg

G.P. Telemann

Brockes-Passion, TWV 5:1

 

Mar 21, 1720

Drillhaus, Hamburg

G.P. Telemann

Brockes-Passion, TWV 5:1

 

Mar 20, 1721

Drillhaus, Hamburg

G.F. Handel

Brockes-Passion, HWV 48

 

Apr 2, 1721

Reventher Dom, Hamburg

R. Keiser

Brockes-Passion

 

Mar 22, 26, 28 & 30, 1722

Hamburg (no venue cited)

-
G.F. Handel
R. Keiser
G.P. Telemann
J. Mattheson

Omnibus Brockes Passion:
Brockes-Passion, HWV 48
Brockes-Passion
Brockes-Passion, TWV 5:1
Brockes-Passion

Pasticcio:
15 movements
36 movements
60 movements
5 movements

Lenten Season, 1722

Hamburg (no date or venue cited)

G.F. Handel

Brockes-Passion, HWV 48

 

Mar 26, 1723 (Good Friday)

Lüneburg

G.F. Handel

Brockes-Passion, HWV 48

 

Lenten Season 1723

Hamburg

R. Keiser

Brockes-Passion

Possible

Lenten Season 1723

Hamburg

G.P. Telemann

Brockes-Passion, TWV 5:1

Possible

Lenten Season 1723

Hamburg

G.F. Handel

Brockes-Passion, HWV 48

Possible

Lenten Season 1723

Hamburg

J. Mattheson

Brockes-Passion

Possible

1723 or
1717-1719 or
c
1730

Zerbst
Greiz
?

J.F. Fasch

Brockes-Passion, FWV F:1

 

Apr 5, 1724

Drillhaus, Hamburg

G.F. Handel

Brockes-Passion, HWV 48

.

Apr 7, 1724 (Good Friday)

Nikolaikirche, Leipzig

J.S. Bach

Johannes-Passion BWV 245

1st performance (1st version)

Mar 28, 1725

Drillhaus, Hamburg

G.P. Telemann

Brockes-Passion, TWV 5:1

 

Mar 30, 1725 (Good Friday)

Thomaskirche, Leipzig

J.S. Bach

Johannes-Passion BWV 245

2nd performance (2nd version)

Lenten Season 1725

Castle Chapel at Friedenstein Castle, Gotha

G.H. Stölzel

Brockes-Passion

1st performance

Holy Week 1727

Hamburg

R. Keiser

Brockes-Passion

With Overture to Handel’s opera Admeto

1727

Sonderhausen

R. Keiser

Brockes-Passion

Performed by J.B.C. Freißlich

Mar 25, 1728

Drillhaus, Hamburg

G.P. Telemann

Brockes-Passion, TWV 5:1

 

Apr 15, 1729 (Good Friday)

Neukirche, Leipzig

Composer unknown

? (no musical sources survive)

Directed by C.G. Fröber

1729

Nuremberg

Composer unknown

?

Presented in multiple parts spread over Lent

1730

Hamburg

G.F. Handel
R. Keiser
G.P. Telemann
J. Mattheson

Brockes-Passion, HWV 48
Brockes-Passion
Brockes-Passion, TWV 5:1
Brockes-Passion

Brockes text presented for artistic comparison in 4 different settings on a series of four evenings

Apr 11 (?), 1732 (Good Friday)

Nikolaikirche, Leipzig

J.S. Bach

Johannes-Passion BWV 245

3rd performance (3rd version)

1st half of the 1730’s.

Barfüßerkirche, Erfurt

R. Keiser

Brockes-Passion

Performed by Johann Martin Klöppel

1735 (?)

Sonderhausen

G.H. Stölzel

Brockes-Passion

Several performances

Mar 27, 1739 (Good Friday)

Nikolaikirche, Leipzig

G.P. Telemann

Brockes-Passion, TWV 5:1

Performed by J.S. Bach

Apr 8, 1746 (Good Friday)

Leipzig

G.F. Handel

Brockes-Passion, HWV 48

Prepared for performance and performed by J.S. Bach. 2 stanzas of the original poem (beginning Mich vom Stricken meiner Sünden and Es muß meiner Sünden Flecken, respectively) have been replaced.

Apr 31, 1747 or Apr 12, 1748 (Good Friday)

Thomaskirche, Leipzig

G.F. Handel

Pasticcio Passion, based on Markus-Passion by F.N. Brauns [previously attributed to R. Keiser] with insertion of 7 arias from Brockes-Passion, HWV 48

Performed by J.S. Bach

Aug 1748 - Oct 1749 (Good Friday)

Leipzig

G.F. Handel

Brockes-Passion, HWV 48

2nd performance by J.S. Bach

Apr 4, 1749 (Good Friday)

Nikolaikirche, Leipzig

J.S. Bach

Johannes-Passion BWV 245

4th performance (4th version)

Mar 27, 1750 (Good Friday)

Leipzig

J.S. Bach

Johannes-Passion BWV 245

5th performance (4th version):

         
 

Comments:

G.P. Telemann’s Brockes-Passion, TWV 5:1 was heard in central and south Germany and in Riga, and figured in the concert repertory in Stockholm in the 1730’s, integrgrated into another pacticcio along with G.F. Handel’s setting.6

Georg Friedrich Handel’s Brockes-Passion, HWV 48 was performed in Hamburg at least 6 times betweemn 1719 and 1724. 8

 

Sources:

1. Christoph Wolff: Johann Sebastian Bach The Learned Musician (W.W. Norton & Company, 2000)
2. William Hoffman:
Literary Origins of Bach’s St. John Passion: 1704-1717 (BCW, March 2010)
3. Daniel R. Melamed:
Johann Sebastian Bach and Barthold Heinrich Brockes in Bach Perspectives 8, edited by Daniel R. Melamed (University of Illinois Press, 2011)
4. Liner notes by Axel Weidenfeld to the recording of Stölzel’s Brockes-Passion (CPO, 1998)
5. Liner notes by Nigel Springthorpe to the recording of Fasch’s Brockes-Passion (Naxos, 2007)
6. Liner notes by Carsten Lange to the recording of Telemann’s Brockes-Passion (Harmoniia Mundi, 2008)
7.
Telemann Passion by Kim Patrick Clow in Wikipedia (accessed: January 26, 2011)
8. Howard E. Smither: A History of the Oratorio: The oratorio in the baroque era: Protestant Germany and England (University of North Carolina Press, 1979)
The main two sources are
2 & 3
9. Johannes Pausch, Edition Musiklandschaften Hamburg (January 24, 2023): There is a textbook of that passion in D-B, Mus. Tb 1346 that gives 1755 as year of performance and
Hamburg as place. The composer is not named, but it says "Die Music ist neu dazu verfertiget worden" (music is newly composed). The score copy in the hand of Otto Ernst Gregorius Schieferlein (D-B Mus.ms. 20213) has several data entries from 1754. It was most probably only performed once. In contrast to Schuback's later oratorios, the style is quite much some Telemann late style epigonism, which is not the worst you can get.

Prepared by Aryeh Oron (January 2011 - January 2023)
Thanks to contributors: William Hoffman (January 2010 - January 2011), Prof. Daniel Melamed (January 2011); Johannes Pausch (Hamburg, Germany - January 2011, January 2023)

Barthold Heinrich Brockes: Short Biography
Brockes-Passion: German Text | Musical Settings & Performances | Discussions
Musical Settings: J.F. Fasch: Brockes-Passion, FWV F:1 | G.F. Handel: Brockes Passion, HWV 48 | R. Keiser: Brockes-Passion | J. Mattheson: Brockes-Passion | G.H. Stölzel: Brockes-Passion | G.P. Telemann: Brockes Passion, TWV 5:1 | J.S. Bach: Johannes-Passion BWV 245


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Last update: Saturday, February 04, 2023 06:03