Gottfried August Homilius was one of the last composers of the 18th century who, in addition to the then more popular Passion oratorio on fully composed texts, continued to compose passions using the biblical text; a passion for each of the four Gospels has survived from the pen of the Kreuzkantor. With sensitive arias, unusual orchestral sounds and expressive turba choirs, Homilius translated the traditional Passion into his own time. It was certainly no coincidence that Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach drew on Homilius' Passions in Hamburg, above all the St. Mark Passion, which he performed for the first time in 1770 and whose music he used in 14 of his 21 Passion Pastorals.
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