St Matthew Passion structure

St Matthew Passion BWV 244
Passion by J. S. Bach
Schmerzensmann (Man of sorrows) by Lucas Cranach the Elder (1515)
Original	Passio Domini Nostri J.C. Secundum Evangelistam Matthaeum
Related	BWV 244a
Occasion	Good Friday
Performed	11 April 1727 (1727-04-11): Leipzig
Movements	68 in two parts (29 + 39)
Text	Picander
Bible text
Chorale	Nikolaus Decius Johann Heermann Paul Gerhardt Albert, Duke in Prussia Sebald Heyden Adam Reusner Johann von Rist
Vocal	two choirs SATB Evangelist Vox Christi solo: soprano, alto, tenor, bass, soliloquents
Instrumental	two orchestras, each of 2 recorders 2 flauti traversi 2 oboes 2 oboes da caccia 2 oboes d'amore bassoon 2 violins viola viola da gamba continuo

Johann Sebastian Bach's St Matthew Passion (Matthäuspassion), BWV 244, is structured on multiple levels: the composition is structured in three levels of text sources (Gospel, libretto and chorales) and by the different forms that are used for musical expression (arias, recitatives and choruses).

Bach's large choral composition was written to present the Passion, as told in the Gospel of Matthew, in a vespers service on Good Friday. It is composed in two parts, that were to be performed before and after the sermon of that service. Part I covers the events until the arrest of Jesus and Part II concludes with his burial and the sealing of his grave.

Bach took the Gospel text for the composition from Martin Luther's German translation of and . Contemporary poetry in Picander's libretto and chorales comment on the Bible text and open and close most scenes of the narration.

Bach did not number the sections of the St Matthew Passion but twentieth-century scholars have done so. The Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis (BWV, Bach Works Catalog) divides the work into 78 numbers (vocal movements), while the Neue Bach-Ausgabe (NBA, New Bach Edition) divides the piece into 68 movements. Both use lettered subsections in some cases. Movement numbers in this article follow the NBA scheme, except for the table with the movements that cross-references both numbering systems.

The text is taken from three sources: the biblical texts, contemporary poetry by Picander and chorales.

The St Matthew Passion can be divided in scenes or "stations" that follow the dramatic action of the Gospel account in different locations. Whatever the chosen scene division (none of them indicated by the composer in the score), scenes end on an aria, a chorus, or in the midst of a Gospel text section. In the latter case the ending of the scene would usually be on a turba chorus, e.g. "Wahrlich, dieser ist Gottes Sohn gewesen" ending the scene where Jesus dies at the cross.