section_path: Compositions/Passions and oratorios
section_name: Passions and oratorios
paragraph_text: Passions and oratorios
  
  Bach composed Passions for Good Friday services and oratorios such as the Christmas Oratorio, which is a set of six cantatas for use in the liturgical season of Christmas. Shorter oratorios include the Easter Oratorio and the Ascension Oratorio. With its double choir and orchestra, the St Matthew Passion is one of Bach's most extended works. The St John Passion was the first passion Bach composed during his tenure as Thomaskantor in Leipzig.