In 1712 the Hamburg businessman and poet Bartold Heinrich Brockes published a libretto for a passion oratorio under the title: Der für die Sünden der Welt marterte und sterENDE Jesus. The text was the starting point for countless so-called Brockes-Passions. Keizer, Telemann, Handel, Mattheson, Stölze and Fasch contributed to the genre. Even Bach took advantage of it, although his St John and St
… Matthew passions actually belong to a different type of passion music. In later times Brocke's text has often been criticized for its theatrical effect. Telemann, however, found Brocke's imagery unsurpassed. He must have composed his Brockes-Passion very quickly: he read the text for the first time in 1716, and that same year, at the beginning of April, the first performances were played in Frankfurt am Main. Telemann's Brockes-Passion is a masterpiece of its kind, which does not alter the fact that this oratorio has also been discouraged by the immense popularity of Bach's passion music. For that reason alone, this performance under René Jacobs is more than welcome. (HJ)more
