Between 1716 and 1767, Georg Philipp Telemann wrote a series of Passions, musical compositions reflecting on Christ's Passion – the physical, spiritual and mental suffering of Jesus from the hours prior to his trial through to his crucifixion. The works were written for performance in German churches in the days before Easter. A prolific composer, Telemann wrote over 40 Passions for the churches of Hamburg alone, of which 22 have survived according to the present state of research.Jason Benjamin Grant, The rise of lyricism and the decline of Biblical narration in the late liturgical Passions of Georg Philipp Telemann , Doctoral Thesis, University of Pittsburgh, 2005. PDF file retrieved 17 February 2008. He also wrote several Passion oratorios. Unlike the Passions intended for liturgical performance, they were not closely set to the literal text of the Gospels.
History In his dissertation The Rise of Lyricism and the Decline of Biblical Narration in the Late Liturgical Passions of Georg Philipp Telemann (University of Pittsburgh, 2005), Jason Benjamin Grant describes the three basic periods of Telemann's Passion composition as follows:
Style Stylistically, there are many differences between these works by Telemann and Johann Sebastian Bach's Passions, there are however more similarities with the Passions of C.P.E. Bach. The Telemann Passions were (unlike J. S. Bach's Leipzig Passions) not written for and used in the context of a separate Good Friday Vespers liturgical service, but rather in the regular church services for the five main churches in Hamburg for the Sundays of Lent (except for Oculi Sunday). In deference to Ulrich Leisinger, who states in the Passions Preface in the Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach Complete Works edition: and quotes (he states) pages 656–657 of the 4th Vorrath (Volume) of Johann Mattheson's Plus Ultra, ein Stückwerk von neuer und mancherley Art. Hamburg never really adapted the bipartite division of Passion settings (Part 1 being before the Sermon and Part 2 after it). What had changed was that after 1736, the narration of the Last Supper and the Entombment were eliminated (although in some cases, even before 1736 the Last Supper was not used, for example in the St Mark Passion attributed to Keiser). These Hamburg Passions were whole entities performed in succession. Unlike those in Leipzig, where the division before and after the Sermon was retained. The other issue with Leisinger's statement is that he quotes from a volume by Mattheson that is now lost.
Another element that is different between Telemann's and Sebastian Bach's works is viewpoint. Telemann was not a "preacher" like Bach was, although he did have a theological background and education. Telemann's viewpoint was that of the Enlightenment, which placed less emphasis on Christ's divinity and more on his humanity (to the extent that in many arias in both Telemann's and Emanuel Bach's works, Christ is referred to as "Menschenfreund" ("Friend of Man")). They emphasize less Christ as the revelation of God's will for the world and revelation of prophecy and divine grace, less Christ the Word incarnate, less Christ the Lamb of God, and more Christ the man, the healer, the sufferer. In opposition to this is Bach the Fifth Evangelist, Bach the Mystic, Bach the Orthodox Lutheran. One way that this difference is evidenced is the way Telemann and Sebastian Bach approach the word of Scripture. Bach does not alter one iota of the scriptural word, he writes the words of Scripture in red ink, and generally his whole attitude is that Scripture is supreme. In opposition to this is Telemann, who treats Scripture in his own manner. He does not hold it as sacred (as evidenced by two facts: in the St Matthew Passion of 1738, a whole Gospel verse is replaced by an aria,Schroeder, Felix. "Georg Philipp Telemann: Lukas-Passion 1744". CD Liner Notes to 1973 recording. and in the 1744 St Luke Passion, he changes the order of Scripture verses (specifically Luke 22:43–44) in Movement 2).
Finally, Telemann employs a more lyric style than Bach does. While there are places in Bach's Passions where he does employ more flourishes in the recitatives, these are usually few and far between. Bach usually uses a word-and-music form where the music is made to fit the words. Telemann, however, fits the words to the music that he writes, to the extent that many parts of recitatives are either elongated or repeated verbatim.
Passion oratorios Telemann wrote 6 Passion Oratorios (all of which were not used in the liturgy proper, but were still used in the church [either in the lesser churches or during the period between Judica Sunday and Good Friday, when it was traditional to have virtually non-stop Passion performances in the churches]).
His 1716 Passion oratorio Der für die Sünde der Welt gemarterte Jesus ("Jesus Who was martyred for the Sins of the World", TWV 5:1), used a poetic meditation on the passion story by Barthold Heinrich Brockes. Telemann himself wrote the text for his second Passion oratorio, Seliges Erwägen des bittern Leidens und Sterbens Jesu Christi ("Blessed Contemplation of the Bitter Suffering and Dying of Jesus Christ", TWV 5:2a, later reworked as TWV 5:2), which was one of the most beloved and frequently performed Passions in eighteenth-century Germany.
Year TWV Number Generic Name Title Librettist Scoring Notes 1716, rev. 1722 TWV 5:1 Der für die Sünde der Welt gemarterte und sterbende Jesus aus den IV. Evangelisten (Brockes-Paßion) Mich vom Stricke meiner Sünden Barthold Heinrich Brockes SSSAATTBBB with 3 transverse flutes, recorder (Flauto dolce), 2 oboes, bassoon, Strings, violetta, and continuo Barfüßerkirche Frankfurt/Main, 10 April 1716; repeated during Lent in 1717 or 1718 in Hamburg or Augsburg (source Telemann 1718 Autobiography), on 26 March 1717 at the Neukirche Leipzig (1st documented performance of Passion Oratorio in Leipzig), 4 April 1719 at the Reventher Dom Hamburg, 21 March 1720 at the Hamburger Drillhaus, 60 movements in a Pastiche performed on 22, 26, 28, and 30 March 1722, Lenten Season 1723 in Hamburg(?), included in a series of performances of all four (at that time) known settings (Reinhard Keiser, Telemann, Georg Friedrich Händel, and Johann Mattheson) over four evenings in 1719, 1722, 1723, and 1730, and 27 March 1739 at the Nikolaikirche Leipzig (under direction of J. S. Bach.);Bach-cantatas.com. Georg Philipp Telemann, Brockes Passion, TWV 5:1 Modern edition (Bärenreiter); Recorded — McGegan 1994 (reissued 1996 & 1999), Jacobs 2009 1722, perf. 1728 TWV 5:2a Paßions-Oratorium: Seliges Erwägen des Leidens und Sterbens Jesu Christi Schmücke dich, o liebe Seele Georg Philipp Telemann SATB with transverse flute, 2 oboes, Strings, and continuo Hamburg version, composed Hamburg 1722, revised and performed first Hamburg Lent 1728; Modern edition (Bärenreiter) 1731 TWV 5:3 Die Bekerung des römischen Hauptmanns Cornelius Mach dich auf, werde Licht! A. J. Zell **** Lost; Perf. Drillhaus Hamburg, 9 March 1731 1731 TWV 5:4 Die Kreutzigte Liebe oder Tränen über das Leiden und Sterben unseres Heilandes Nicht das Band, das dich bestricket Johann Ulrich von König SATB with 2 transverse flutes, chalumeau, Oboe d'Amore, 2 Oboes, Strings, Violetta, and continuo Perf. Drillhaus Hamburg, 9 March 1731(?); Recorded — Scholl 2004 1755 TWV 5:5 Betrachtung der 9. Stunde an dem Todestage Jesu Erhole dich, o Sonne Joachim Johann Daniel Zimmermann ATB with 2 transverse flutes, Bass Oboe, 2 Horns, Strings, and continuo perf. Lent 1755; Modern edition (Bärenreiter); Recorded — Max 1997 (reissued 2000) 1755 TWV 5:6 Der Tod Jesu (Paßions-Kantate) Du, dessen Augen flossen Karl Wilhelm Ramler SAATBB with 2 transverse flutes, 2 recorders (flûte à bec), 2 Oboes, Oboe d'Amore, Bass Oboe, 2 Clarinets, 2 Bassoons, 2 Horns, Trumpet, Trombone, Strings, and continuo Perf. Lent 1755; Modern edition (Bärenreiter); Recorded — Heyerick 1995 (reissued 2007), Rémy 2000 (reissued 2006), Schwarz 2012 1763 TWV 5:2 Paßions-Oratorium: Seliges Erwägen des Leidens und Sterbens Jesu Christi Schmücke dich, o liebe Seele Georg Philipp Telemann SATB with 2 oboes, 2 chalumeaux, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, Strings and continuo composed and performed Berlin, 3 April 1763; Modern edition by Johannes Pausch and Bärenreiter; Recorded – Schäfer 2001 (reissued 2003, 2004, 2007 & 2011) Retrieved 2 October 2011 from http://www.uquebec.ca/musique/catal/telemann/telgp02.html#sec05 .
Hamburg and Danzig liturgical Passions
Note that this list may be incomplete The Order of Church Service forbade performance of Passion music on Oculi Sunday (3rd Sunday in Lent—reserved for the Installation Music (Juraten-Einführungsmusik) at the Michaeliskirche) and the dense succession of Passion performances had to be modified whenever the Feast of the Annunciation (25 March) fell on a Sunday during Lent or anytime during Holy Week.See exception below (the year 1745).Leisinger, Ulrich. "Preface: Passions". Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach: The Complete Works, vol. IV/4.1 : Passion according to St. Matthew (1769). Los Altos, CA: The Packard Humanities Institute, 2008. Retrieved 23 May 2011 from http://www.cpebach.org/cpeb/prefaces/passions-preface.html . and see Barbara Wiermann, “Carl Philipp Emanuel Bachs Gottesdienstmusiken,” in Carl Philipp Emanuel Bachs Geistliche Musik. Bericht über das Internationale Symposium (Teil 1) vom 12. bis 16. März 1998 in Frankfurt (Oder), ed. Ulrich Leisinger and Hans-Günter Ottenberg (Frankfurt/Oder: Konzerthalle “Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach,” 2000), 90–91 The "Normal Order" for Passion music in Hamburg (as found in the Hamburg "Schreib-Kalendar") was as follows: Event Locale Quadragesima (Invocavit) Sunday St. Peter's Church, Hamburg Reminiscere Sunday St. Nikolai, Hamburg Laetare Sunday St. Catherine's Church, Hamburg Judica Sunday St. Jacobi, Hamburg Thursday after Judica Sunday Lesser St. Michael Church, Hamburg Friday after Judica Sunday Heilig-Geist Church, Hamburg Saturday after Judica Sunday St. Johannis Church, Hamburg Palm Sunday St. Michaelis Church, Hamburg Holy Monday St. Mary Magdalene Church, Hamburg Holy Tuesday St. Gertrude Chapel, Hamburg Holy Wednesday Pesthof Church, Hamburg Maundy Thursday St. Pauli Church, Hamburg Good Friday St. Georg Church, HamburgGrant, Jason Benjamin. The rise of lyricism and the decline of Biblical narration in the late liturgical Passions of Georg Philipp Telemann, Doctoral Thesis, University of Pittsburgh, 2005. p. 46. Retrieved 24 May 2011 from http://etd.library.pitt.edu/ETD/available/etd-04222005-050811/unrestricted/grantjb_etdPitt2005.pdf
In 1745, due to the mourning period following the death of Charles VII, Holy Roman Emperor on 20 January 1745 (the mourning period lasting from 14 February–14 March), the performance schedule was altered in the following way: