The 17th-century composer Johann Georg Künstel is one of the forgotten persons in music history. He lived at Franconia in South East Germany where he is mentioned as a schoolmaster and court organist. His inclusion in Johann Gottfried Walther’s Musicalisches Lexicon of 1732 provides clues about his significance.

The St Mark Passion can be considered to be his most significant work; records show that it was frequently performed in Coburg even after the composer’s death.

The work’s substantial length of nearly two-and-a-half-hours – outstanding for this time – is due to the fact that the complete performance was divided between several church services between Maundy Thursday and Good Friday.

The music is remarkably pleasant; the long recitatives of the Evangelist are formed with pleasing melodies and are continuously accompanied by strings. Most of the text is narrated by the vocal consort or parts of it, often interrupted by instrumental intermezzos.

On first glance, the St Mark Passion seems to be straightforward, everyday music ideally suited for choirs but a closer examination reveals that the work is actually a sophisticated, through-composed musical drama.

From the introductory sonata to the concluding chorale, Künstel creates an enthralling musical arc, immediately drawing the audience into the passion of Jesus.