DCCVI. BACH, J.S. ??? (1685-1750)
A surviving manuscript from 1730 is certainly the hand of J.S. and C.P.E. -- but it also in nearly unanimous opinion, not the work of J.S. It was common practice in Bach's day to copy other composers' works and to perform them without attribution.
The musicologist Klaus Häfner believes that Johann Melchior Molter (1696-1765) might make a good candidate for being the work's author, but there is simply insufficient evidence to make a definitive judgment.
In any case, the argument was pretty much settled by the first great Bach scholar, Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847). In a letter to Franz Hauser who had just paid a huge sum of money to purchase the Lukaspassion, he wrote:
"No doubt, as an authentic autograph, it would be worth the price. But it is not by Bach. You ask, 'on what grounds do you maintain your opinion?' I answer, on intrinsic evidence, though it is unpleasant to say so, since it is your property. But just look at the chorale, 'Weide mich und mach satt'! If that is by Sebastian, may I be hanged! It certainly is in his handwriting, but it is too clean. Evidently he copied it. 'Whose is it?' you ask; 'Telemann, or M. Bach, or Altnichol?' Jung Nichol or plain Nichol, how can I tell? It's not by Bach. Probably it is of North German origin."
Although the work was catalogued with a BWV number, it is now listed as "apocryphal." It is nevertheless a fine example of the early 18th century Passion.
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