Between 1716 and 1767, Georg Philipp Telemann wrote a series of Passions, musical compositions reflecting on Christ's Passion – the physical, spiritual and mental suffering of Jesus from the hours prior to his trial through to his crucifixion. The works were written for performance in German churches in the days before Easter. A prolific composer, Telemann wrote over 40 Passions for the churches of Hamburg alone, of which 22 have survived according to the present state of research.^[1] He also wrote several Passion oratorios. Unlike the Passions intended for liturgical performance, they were not closely set to the literal text of the Gospels.

In his dissertation The Rise of Lyricism and the Decline of Biblical Narration in the Late Liturgical Passions of Georg Philipp Telemann (University of Pittsburgh, 2005), Jason Benjamin Grant describes the three basic periods of Telemann's Passion composition as follows:

I divide Telemann's liturgical Passions into three major periods, based on important developments in the history of the genre. The first period comprises the "early" works, composed 1722–36. These Passions include the full scope of the narratio^[2] (Vorbereitung and 5 acti). Of the fifteen works that Telemann composed in this period, only four are extant (4/15, approx. 20%):^[3] the 1723 St Mark, the 1728 St Luke, the 1730 St Matthew, and the 1733 St John. It is difficult to discuss norms and exceptions during this period when only four of these fifteen Passions are extant. Even so, based on the repertory as a whole, we can identify the 1730 St Matthew as the "norm" and the 1728 St Luke as the exception.

The second group comprises the "middle" works, composed 1737–54. These works use the (mostly) reduced narratio (minus the Vorbereitung and actus sepulcrum). Of the eighteen^[4] Passions Telemann composed during this period, sixteen were totally original works, and two were parodies: the 1738 St Matthew was a parody of the 1726 St Matthew (neither is extant), and the 1749 St John is a parody of the 1741 St John. Eight (recte: nine) works are extant from this period (8/18, about 44.4%): the 1737 St John, 1741 St John, 1744 St Luke, 1745 St John, 1746 St Matthew, 1748 St Luke, 1749 St John, and 1750 St Matthew. Outstanding among these are the 1745 St John and the 1748 St Luke. "Typical" works worthy of comment include the 1744 St Luke, 1746 St Matthew, and the two parodies.

During the second period, the narrative structure of the liturgical Passion underwent a significant change. After 1736, the narration of the Last Supper and of the Burial of Jesus (Entombment of Christ) was eliminated, leaving Gethsemane and Golgotha (Calvary) as the narrative bookends, the primary loci of the Passion story. The reduction of narration allowed the expansion of the poetic interpolations (chorales, arias, recitatives, and choruses), especially in the exordium^[5] and conclusio.^[6] Often these expanded sections contained a meditatio^[7] on aspects of the Last Supper, the Burial, and perhaps even allusions to the Resurrection of Jesus, events not recounted in the narratio.

The third period comprises the "late" works, composed 1755–67. Of the thirteen works Telemann composed during this period, eleven are extant (11/13, about 84.6%), the only lost works being the 1756 St Luke and the 1763 St Mark. Based on the percentage of surviving works alone, the late Passions invite a detailed study that allows for the comparison of several works. These Passions were composed in the wake of the great influx of concert oratorios,^[8] typified by their avoidance of narratio. Obviously the liturgical Passions could not do away with the narratio, but the impact of the new oratorios was strong indeed. These Passions typically include the expanded exordium and conclusio, extended chorale sequences (I define "chorale sequence" as a series of chorale movements, usually based on the same tune, often separated by a chorus or other poetic interpolation), poetic depiction of events, large accompagnati,^[9] and reprocessed narratio in the last few works.^[10]

Stylistically, there are many differences between these works by Telemann and Johann Sebastian Bach's Passions, there are however more similarities with the Passions of C.P.E. Bach. The Telemann Passions were (unlike J. S. Bach's Leipzig Passions) not written for and used in the context of a separate Good Friday Vespers liturgical service, but rather in the regular church services for the five main churches in Hamburg for the Sundays of Lent (except for Oculi Sunday). In deference to Ulrich Leisinger, who states in the Passions Preface in the Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach Complete Works edition:

The Hamburg Passions of the late eighteenth century are relatively short, lasting little more than an hour in performance, because they were used in regular Sunday services in Lent, not in the context of a separate Passion service, as in the Good Friday Vespers in Leipzig. According to Johann Mattheson, the traditional two-part division of the Passion, framing the sermon, was abandoned in 1755.^[11]

and quotes (he states) pages 656–657 of the 4th Vorrath (Volume) of Johann Mattheson's Plus Ultra, ein Stückwerk von neuer und mancherley Art. Hamburg never really adapted the bipartite division of Passion settings (Part 1 being before the Sermon and Part 2 after it). What had changed was that after 1736, the narration of the Last Supper and the Entombment were eliminated (although in some cases, even before 1736 the Last Supper was not used, for example in the St Mark Passion attributed to Keiser). These Hamburg Passions were whole entities performed in succession. Unlike those in Leipzig, where the division before and after the Sermon was retained. The other issue with Leisinger's statement is that he quotes from a volume by Mattheson that is now lost.

Another element that is different between Telemann's and Sebastian Bach's works is viewpoint. Telemann was not a "preacher" like Bach was, although he did have a theological background and education. Telemann's viewpoint was that of the Enlightenment, which placed less emphasis on Christ's divinity and more on his humanity (to the extent that in many arias in both Telemann's and Emanuel Bach's works, Christ is referred to as "Menschenfreund" ("Friend of Man")). They emphasize less Christ as the revelation of God's will for the world and revelation of prophecy and divine grace, less Christ the Word incarnate, less Christ the Lamb of God, and more Christ the man, the healer, the sufferer. In opposition to this is Bach the Fifth Evangelist, Bach the Mystic, Bach the Orthodox Lutheran. One way that this difference is evidenced is the way Telemann and Sebastian Bach approach the word of Scripture. Bach does not alter one iota of the scriptural word, he writes the words of Scripture in red ink, and generally his whole attitude is that Scripture is supreme. In opposition to this is Telemann, who treats Scripture in his own manner. He does not hold it as sacred (as evidenced by two facts: in the St Matthew Passion of 1738, a whole Gospel verse is replaced by an aria,^[12] and in the 1744 St Luke Passion, he changes the order of Scripture verses (specifically Luke 22:43–44) in Movement 2).

Finally, Telemann employs a more lyric style than Bach does. While there are places in Bach's Passions where he does employ more flourishes in the recitatives, these are usually few and far between. Bach usually uses a word-and-music form where the music is made to fit the words. Telemann, however, fits the words to the music that he writes, to the extent that many parts of recitatives are either elongated or repeated verbatim.

Telemann wrote 6 Passion Oratorios (all of which were not used in the liturgy proper, but were still used in the church [either in the lesser churches or during the period between Judica Sunday and Good Friday, when it was traditional to have virtually non-stop Passion performances in the churches]).

His 1716 Passion oratorio Der für die Sünde der Welt gemarterte Jesus ("Jesus Who was martyred for the Sins of the World", TWV 5:1), used a poetic meditation on the passion story by Barthold Heinrich Brockes. Telemann himself wrote the text for his second Passion oratorio, Seliges Erwägen des bittern Leidens und Sterbens Jesu Christi ("Blessed Contemplation of the Bitter Suffering and Dying of Jesus Christ", TWV 5:2a, later reworked as TWV 5:2), which was one of the most beloved and frequently performed Passions in eighteenth-century Germany.^[13]

Note that this list may be incomplete

• The Order of Church Service forbade performance of Passion music on Oculi Sunday (3rd Sunday in Lent—reserved for the Installation Music (Juraten-Einführungsmusik) at the Michaeliskirche) and the dense succession of Passion performances had to be modified whenever the Feast of the Annunciation (25 March) fell on a Sunday during Lent or anytime during Holy Week.^[16][17] and ^[18]
• The "Normal Order" for Passion music in Hamburg (as found in the Hamburg "Schreib-Kalendar") was as follows:

In 1745, due to the mourning period following the death of Charles VII, Holy Roman Emperor on 20 January 1745 (the mourning period lasting from 14 February–14 March), the performance schedule was altered in the following way:

• Telemann: St. John Passion TWV 5:50 (Catherine Bott, Sarah Connolly, Reginaldo Pinheiro, Jan van der Crabben, Philip Defrancq; Collegium Instrumentale Brugense, Capella Brugensis; conductor: Patrick Peire). Eufoda EUF1224.
• Telemann: St. Matthew Passion TWV 5:31 (Barbara Schlick, Claudia Schubert, Wilfried Jochens, Stefan Dörr, Achim Rück, Hans-Georg Wimmer; Collegium Vocale des Bach-Chores Siegen; Barock-Orchester "La Stravaganza-Köln"; conductor: Ulrich Stötzel). Brilliant Classics 992277 (first issued by Hänssler).
• Telemann: Passions Oratorium – Das selige Erwägen des bittern Leiden und Sterbens Jesu Christi TWV 5:2 (Barbara Locher, Zeger Vandersteene, Stefan Dörr, Berthold Possemeyer, Rene Schmidt; Freiburger Vokalensemble; L'arpa festante München; conductor: Wolfgang Schäfer). Brilliant Classics 99521 (licensed from Bayer Records)--Version unknown.

• Passion music
• Passions (C. P. E. Bach), including several parodies from Telemann
• Passions (Bach) (Johann Sebastian Bach)