INTRODUCTION During Lent , Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach performed It is difficult to explain why Bach chose to borrow other his first setting of the Passion according to St. John. Had composers’ music rather than always write his own. After he continued the rotation from Georg Philipp Telemann’s performing his first Passion in , a work based in part time, Bach’s first Passion would have been a setting based and almost on the scale of his father’s St. Matthew Passion, on St. John’s Gospel. In Lent , before Bach arrived in BWV , C. P. E. Bach must have become discouraged or Hamburg, Georg Michael Telemann presented his grand- disillusioned with the Hamburg church authorities. Per- father’s St. Luke Passion of . It is not clear why Bach haps one of the pastors told him this work was too long decided to present a St. Matthew Passion in , skip- and elaborate for the services. In December , Bach ping St. John in the sequence. (e entries in Bach’s estate wrote a letter in which he said: “Hamburg is no place for catalogue indicate that he began assembling his Passions a fine musician to stay. (ere is no taste here. Mostly in the year preceding the season of Lent, so that the St. queer stuff and no pleasure in the noble simplicity.” As John Passion is dated –. While the title page of the early as January Bach mentioned that a pair of the libretto to Telemann’s St. John Passion of states “ein- church elders “said politely but pointedly (it was their gerichtet von G. P. Telemann” (arranged/adapted by Tele- right) that they now hoped I might present my own pieces mann), the title page to most of Bach’s Passion librettos and texts and in the future no longer conduct my office states “aufzuführen von Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach” (to be by commission.” Indeed, Bach had borrowed music from performed by Bach). All of Bach’s Passions are pasticcios G. M. Telemann, which he was returning on April , to a greater or lesser extent, and the first Passion according including “ Telemann Jahrgänge [of cantatas] and one of to St. John borrows the simple recitative for the biblical the same by Fasch, a number of Passions, Sanctus and Veni narrative from Telemann’s setting of , the one Passion along with all the textbooks.” Apparently, Bach had all (or that Telemann published. Other borrowed movements at least some) of this music copied, rather than using funds include the final chorus “Ruht wohl” from Johann Sebas- for copying his own music. Despite the warning, Bach con- tian Bach’s St. John Passion, BWV ; two arias, a duet, tinued to assemble his Passions and most of his cantatas and a chorus from Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel’s Pas- from borrowed material, occasionally inserting his own sion; and two arias, one with a parodied text, from Gott- original choruses, arias, or recitatives. fried August Homilius’s St. Mark Passion. “Hamburg ist kein Ort für einen braven Musicum, um hier zu bleiben. Es ist kein Geschmack hier, Buntes, wunderliches Zeug, . For further background, see Stephen L. Clark, “C. P. E. Bach and und keine noble Simplicitæt gefällt hier.” CPEB-Briefe, ; translation the Tradition of Passion Music in Hamburg,” Early Music (): – in CPEB-Letters, . , and Leisinger , –. “[E]in Paar H. Oberalten sagten mir kürzlich in Gesellschaft . NV , p. : “Paßions-Musik nach dem Evangelisten Johannes. höflich aber dreuste: (sie hatten das Recht dazu) daß sie nun hoffeten, H. und . Mit Flöten, Hoboen und Bassons.” daß ich künftig mit Stücken und Texten selbst erscheinen würde und . One exception is the first St. Matthew Passion of , which reads daß ich künftig mein Amt nicht in Coission führen mögte.” CPEB- “nach Bachischer-Musik abgesungen.” Of course this work borrows ma- Briefe, ; translation adapted from CPEB-Letters, . terial from J. S. Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, along with CPEB’s own . “ Telemannische Jahrgänge und einen dergleichen Faschischen, arias and duets. (e other exception is the St. Matthew Passion, ein Paar Paßionen, Sanctus und Veni nebst allen Textbüchern.” CPEB- which reads “in den Hamburgischen Kirchen aufzuführen. Ver- Briefe, ; translation in CPEB-Letters, . Copies of this music are fertiget von Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach”. Bach had completed this Pas- listed under the heading “Von verschiedenen Meistern,” in NV , sion, but died before he could perform it. See CPEB:CW, IV/. and pp. –. IV/., respectively, for further details. Apparently, few people who heard the works were aware that the . (is has been noted by Miesner, –, and Hans Hörner, G. Ph. music was only partly by Bach. For instance, Johann Friedrich Reich- Telemanns Passionsmusiken (Leipzig: Noske, ), . ardt, in Briefe eines aufmerksamen Reisenden die Musik betreffend, vols. Bach adapted Homilius’s undated St. Mark Passion for his (Frankfurt, –), :–, lavishly praises Bach for the music he Passion; see CPEB:CW, IV/.. heard in a Passion at St. Petri in Hamburg. [ xi ] In October , Bach confessed to Charles Burney that principal source for the St. John Passion is D-B, he felt under-appreciated in Hamburg: “M. Bach received SA , which consists of a short score with the bibli- me very kindly, but said that he was ashamed to think how cal narrative (labeled source A in the present edition) small my reward would be, for the trouble I had taken to and the original performing parts (source B). Bach had his visit Hamburg. ‘You are come here, said he [Bach], fifty copyist (Anon. , tentatively identified as the alto, Otto years too late.’ . He offered to accompany me to every Ernst Gregorius Schieferlein) assemble the biblical nar- church in Hamburg, where a good organ was to be found; rative and chorales from Telemann’s St. John Passion said he would look out for me some old and curious things; (source Q). In this short score, Bach indicated where the and told me at my departure, that there would be some arias, duet, and choruses were to be inserted in the biblical poor music of his, performed in St. Catharine’s church, the narrative. After the music for the arias, duet, and choruses next day, which he advised me not to hear.” Nevertheless, had been selected, Schieferlein prepared a set of perform- Burney returned the following day: ing parts, which Bach proofread and corrected before the first Sunday in Lent. For his next St. John Passion in , M. Bach accompanied me to St. Catherine’s church, where I heard some very good music, of his composition, very ill per- Bach used the St. John Passion by Homilius as his model formed, and to a congregation wholly inattentive. (is man (see CPEB:CW, IV/.), but he returned to the Telemann was certainly born to write for great performers, and for a setting in his later years (, , and ). refined audience; but he now seems to be out of his element. (e main difference between Telemann’s setting of (ere is a fluctuation in the arts of every city and country and Bach’s of is the overall length. While he retains where they are cultivated, and this is not a bright period for most of Telemann’s biblical narrative, Bach has only four music at Hamburg. arias (to Telemann’s eleven) plus one duet (no. , bor- At church, and in the way home, we had a conversation, rowed from Stölzel’s Passion). Table is a comparison be- which was extremely interesting to me: he told me, that if tween Bach’s setting and his immediate model; even with he was in a place, where his compositions could be well ex- a different numbering convention, it is immediately clear ecuted, and well heard, he should certainly kill himself, by how much material there is in common between the two exertions to please. ‘But adieu music!’ now, he said, these are settings. Telemann occasionally introduces recitatives or good people for society, and I enjoy more tranquility and in- ariosos that amplify the biblical texts (e.g., nos. –, , , dependence here, than at a court; after I was fifty, I gave the thing up, and said let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die! and ), all of which are omitted by Bach. We do not know and I am now reconciled to my situation; except indeed, when who wrote the texts of the arias, but it is likely that Bach I meet with men of taste and discernment, who deserve bet- himself chose a different stanza for the opening chorale, ter music than we can give them here. and made adjustments to the texts of aria no. (a parody of an aria in the St. Mark Passion of Homilius) and to the Bach’s frustration certainly began during his service to chorus “Ruht wohl” (no. ). Frederick II in Potsdam and Berlin. Perhaps Bach thought working conditions would improve in Hamburg, only to . On the possible identity of Anon. and Schieferlein see Peter discover that his new position was far from ideal. Wollny, review of Georg Philipp Telemann. Autographe und Abschriften, ed. Joachim Jaenecke, BJ (): . Of the Passions by Telemann, this was the only one published Sources and Musical Elements during his lifetime. Although it is not explicitly identified in Bach’s estate catalogue, the print would have been accessible to him in Hamburg. C. P. E. Bach left five complete Passions according to . See Uwe Wolf, “Der Anteil Telemanns an den Hamburger Pas- St. John, as well as six according to St. Matthew, five ac- sionen Carl Philipp Emanuel Bachs,” in Telemann, der musikalische cording to St. Mark, and five according to St. Luke. (e Maler. Telemann-Kompositionen im Notenarchiv der Singakademie zu Berlin.