During Lent before Easter in the early and mid-eighteenth century, the opera house in Hamburg was closed.

For this purpose, oratorios were performed in private houses and other halls, such as the popular and often set to music poem by Barthold Hinrich Brocke "Jesus who was martyred and dying for the sins of the world" from 1712. The churches, for their part, were filled with gospel passions that were part of the service were integrated, "sung before and after the sermon", as reported by the "Hamburger Relations-Courier".

Such passion music “wandered” through thirteen major and minor churches from Invocabit Sunday to Good Friday;

the venerable St. Peter's Church always made the beginning.

Georg Philipp Telemann, who was born in Magdeburg and was municipal music director of the Hamburg churches between 1721 and 1767, has preserved 36 printed libretti from a total of 46 Gospel Passions, and the music from at least 22 works.

This stock now formed the basis for a scientific conference in Magdeburg, the home of German-speaking Telemann research.

In 1961 the tradition of turning to one of the most influential composers of the eighteenth century began there, who incidentally was also productive in Frankfurt am Main as municipal music director (1712 to 1721) and premiered his version of the Brockes Passion here, among other things.

Aesthetics of the series

As a musical event, the oratorio with a richer cast was more significant and also more rewarding for the concert entrepreneur through the paying audience.

On the other hand, the Gospel Passion, which was linked to the church, was obviously close to Telemann's heart as a spiritual and musical event.

It inspired his compositional imagination, because he seems to have dealt with the internalized Bible prose anew each time.

With regard to eight St. John and six St. Matthew Passions, Wolfgang Hirschmann spoke of an "aesthetics of the series" that is more familiar from film art or the fine arts.

The form of the works basically corresponds to what today's concertgoer is familiar with from the Bach Passions.

"Mixed arias", as announced on the title page of a text printed in 1722, have the function of commenting on the Bible text;

Bernhard Jahn (Hamburg) compared them to an emblem, an epigram or even a sermon.

Frequently, the mediating verses are spoken by allegorical figures: the believing soul, love, contemplation, fidelity, zeal, courage.

Jahn named rhetorical procedures such as figure speech or depiction of affect.

Allegorical figures address Jesus himself (“Quiet as a lamb before his shearers / bear thou, Saviour, the shame of hell”), to the high priest (“Fluff, wicked deceiver, fleuch, Caiphas, fleuch!”) or to the congregation:

"See Peter in remorse and tears / longing for a look from Jesus.

/ See these tears, this pain.”

In the text of this aria from the 1748 St Luke Passion, Jahn identified a noticeable distancing from the affect of the penitent Peter.

The reflection takes up Martin Luther's admonition not to let the compassio, i.e. active compassion, become too great and thus prevent the self-knowledge of the listening sinner.

The profitable poetological perspectives of the lecture made the lack of music consideration all the more missing.

Jahn put it out loud: "I'm only looking at the text." How the quoted arias or duets were set to music, in which rhythm, in which harmonies and melodies the verses speak, one would have liked to have found out at an interdisciplinary conference.

Franziska Seils (Halle) examined the composition of the Turba choirs from a musical perspective.

The important element of the "turbae" is not missing in any passion,

it describes the disorderly cries of the agitated crowd, which is screaming: "Crucify him!"

Unrest arises when, in a homophonic movement, the alto voice stubbornly stresses against the grain, and the tenor voice does not come to the end on time, but instead "clatters".

This against the background that Telemann always paid very close attention to the linguistic articulation in the song.

the tenor voice does not come to the end on time, but “rattling on”.

This against the background that Telemann always paid very close attention to the linguistic articulation in the song.

the tenor voice does not come to the end on time, but “rattling on”.

This against the background that Telemann always paid very close attention to the linguistic articulation in the song.

Unpleasant limb twitching

In order to compose mockery and mockery, he resorts to dance rhythms, as Seils explained.

At one point the chorus sings its taunting 'Prophecy to us, who is it that hit you?' in 12/8 time, at another in light-footed 6/8 meter.

The swaying rhythm in 6/4 time with the words "I am God's son, I am God's son!" (Matthew Passion 1758) has a cruelly aping effect.

The stylistic device throws a harsh light on the banal-evil mob and makes it possible to experience the suffering of Jesus directly.

And the theology?

The Hamburg church historian Johann Anselm Steiger gave enlightening information about religious discourses, which can be seen as the breeding ground for the Gospel Passions.

The unknown librettist of the St. Luke Passion of 1748 is "at the center of Lutheran theology of the Passion", also in contrast to the Catholic and Calvinist faith;

Jesus suffers not only as a man but also as God.

In a recitative, a voice asks: “Who is suffering there?

who is it

The now exalted Jesus, God!” The added topos of tenderness — God looks down tenderly on man — is a novelty in theological history: “He looks down on the accomplished sufferings / And is around us, and sees in all hearts.

/ And looks with tender, with divinely loving emotion / For every thank you, for every sad movement.

As a further "open field of research", Steiger described the topic of the diverse reception of the Song of Songs in contemporary sermons, poetry and also in the libretti of the Gospel Passions.