Lukas passion telemann biography

In 1721, Telemann settled in Hamburg, where he became the director of music for the five principal churches in that city.  One of his obligations in that position was to set the passion story to music each year, cycling through the four evangelists one per year and then beginning the cycle over again.  In all, he composed some 46 passions, most of them at Hamburg.  Of these, 20 survive, including five St.

Luke passions.  The unknown poet who provided Telemann with his libretto for this passiondrew on the biblical text of St. Luke, 22:39-23:48 but contributed his own poetry for the arias, as well as for the contemplative chorus Ach, klage.  

Bach's two surviving passions from the 1720's, the only passions commonly performed today, come from a different world from this work by Telemann.  Although the two composers were exact contemporaries, Telemann's St.

Luke Passion of 1744 was written nearly two decades after Bach's passions and originated i