Description

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This Theological Commentary is the first full-length work in English to consider Johann Sebastian Bach's St John Passion in its entirety, both the words and the music. Bach's oratorio is a globally popular musical work, and a significant expression of Lutheran theology.

The commentary explains the Biblical and poetic text, and its musical setting, line by line. Bach's Passion is shown to be the work of a master craftsman and trained theologian, in the collaborative and cultural milieu of eighteenth-century, Lutheran Leipzig.

For the first time, this work makes much German scholarship available in English, including archival sources, and includes a new scholarly translation of the libretto. The musical and theological terms are explained, to enable an interdisciplinary understanding of the Passion's meaning and continued significance.

About the Author

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The Very Revd Dr Andreas Loewe is Dean of Melbourne and a Fellow and Lecturer in Music at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music. A historian and theologian, his research centres on the European Early Modern and pre-Enlightenment periods, with an emphasis on the use of language, meta-language and other media to communicate ideas. Recent research includes publications on Lutheran educational drama, Luther's music theory, and Lutheran music-making. Loewe has lectured extensively and published on the music of Johann Sebastian Bach, and has curated both concert and liturgical performances of Bach's major works, for which he provided both scholarly introductions and specially commissioned sermons.