The ''St Luke Passion'' (german: Lukas-Passion),

BWV The (BWV; ; ) is a catalogue of compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach. It was first published in 1950, edited by Wolfgang Schmieder. The catalogue's second edition appeared in 1990. An abbreviated version of that second edition, known as BWV2 ...

246, is a

Passion setting In Christian music, a Passion is a setting of the Passion of Christ. Liturgically, most Passions were intended to be performed as part of church services in the Holy Week. Passion settings developed from Medieval intoned readings of the Gosp ...

formerly attributed to

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wo ...

. It is included in the

catalog under the number 246. Now it appears in the catalogues under the heading apocryphal or anonymous.

History

A surviving manuscript of the ''St Luke Passion'' from about 1730 is partly in Bach's hand, though scholars believe that the music is certainly not his own. The music was later thought to have been composed by

Johann Melchior Molter Johann Melchior Molter (10 February 1696 – 12 January 1765) was a German composer and violinist of the late Baroque period. He was born at Tiefenort, near Eisenach, and was educated at the Gymnasium in Eisenach. By autumn 1717 he had l ...

, but that was proven false because if Molter composed the music, then the manuscript would date to later than 1730. Presumably Bach performed it, or intended to perform it, in Leipzig. C. P. E. Bach and

Agricola Agricola, the Latin word for farmer, may also refer to: People Cognomen or given name :''In chronological order'' * Gnaeus Julius Agricola (40–93), Roman governor of Britannia (AD 77–85) * Sextus Calpurnius Agricola, Roman governor of the mi ...

may have mistaken it for a work of Bach's and thus included it in their census. Of course, given his delight in exhaustive cycles, Bach should have composed a ''St Luke Passion''. Apparently J. S. Bach took the anonymous ''St Luke Passion'' and arranged it for four voices, chorus, orchestra, and continuo to meet an urgent deadline for Good Friday in 1730.

Authenticity

With regard to the authorship of the passion, Felix Mendelssohn commented in a letter to

Franz Hauser Franz Xaver Hauser (12 January 1794, Krasovice – 14 August 1870 in Freiburg im Breisgau) was a singer, voice teacher, and music manuscript collector. Life Franz Hauser was born in Krasowitz (today Krasovice, part of Kondrac Czech Republic). ...

who had just paid a large sum of money to purchase the Lukaspassion: "I am sorry to hear you have given so much money for the St. Luke Passion." Mendelssohn repudiated Bach's authorship of the work upon the evidence of a single chorale, 'Weide mich und mach' mich satt' (No. 9). He continued:

"No doubt, as an authentic autograph, it would be worth the price. But it is not by Bach. You ask, 'On what grounds do you maintain your opinion?' I answer, on intrinsic evidence, though it is unpleasant to say so, since it is your property. But just look at the chorale, 'Weide mich und mach' mich satt'! If that is by Sebastian, may I be hanged! It certainly is in his handwriting, but it is too clean. Evidently he copied it. 'Whose is it?' you ask; 'Telemann, or M. Bach, or Altnichol?' Jung Nichol or plain Nichol, how can I tell? It's not by Bach. Probably it is of North German origin." (Terry, 78).

In popular culture

Starting in 1999, an English performance of the aria "Lasst mich ihn nur noch einmal küssen" ('Just let me kiss him one more time') from the St. Luke Passion was used by musician Leyland James Kirby, also known as

The Caretaker ''The Caretaker'' is a play in three acts by Harold Pinter. Although it was the sixth of his major works for stage and television, this psychological study of the confluence of power, allegiance, innocence, and corruption among two brothers a ...

, as the track "Friends Past Reunited" on several of his albums. Specifically, he included the track on his first album,

Selected Memories from the Haunted Ballroom ''Selected Memories from the Haunted Ballroom'' is the debut studio album by the Caretaker, an alias of musician Leyland Kirby. Released in 1999, it consists of an influence from the horror film '' The Shining'', manipulating songs from the 1920s ...

(1999) and ''

A Stairway to the Stars ''A Stairway to the Stars'' (stylized as “''A stairway to the stars''”) is the second studio album by the Caretaker, an alias of musician Leyland Kirby. Released in 2001, it was created after one of Kirby's pop manipulations as V/Vm gained a ...

'' (2001). He also used the same performance recording as the ending to the final track of Stage 6, "Place in the World fades away", the finale to his final project, ''

Everywhere at the End of Time ''Everywhere at the End of Time'' is the eleventh and final recording by the Caretaker, an alias of English electronic musician Leyland Kirby. Released between 2016 and 2019, its six studio albums use degrading loops of sampled ballroom music ...

'' (2016-2019). The exact performance remains unknown.

References

External links

Structure and Gospel texts
* * {{authority control Passions and oratorios by Johann Sebastian Bach 1730 compositions Bach: spurious and doubtful works category:Music based on the Crucifixion of Jesus

History

Authenticity

In popular culture

References

Further reading

External links