Composer Johann Sebastian Bach reinvented his famous St. John Passion on three occasions, with each version adapted to reflect the spirit of the times. The story, which tells of the Passion of Jesus, is more timely than ever, judging by reworkings of the classic at the Leipzig Bach Festival.

In Christian theology, the Passion of Jesus refers to the suffering, crucifixion, and resurrection of Christ during his final week on Earth. It includes his arrest, trial, death, and burial, ending with his resurrection, which is a cornerstone to the Christian belief in salvation and redemption.

On the opening weekend, the "Queer Passion" — with a new libretto by Thomas Höft — was about the suffering of people from the LGBTQ scene. "Especially in Russia and the USA, queer people are once again being discriminated against and oppressed," author, dramaturge and director Thomas Höft told DW.

Bach in Arabic against Middle East conflicts

The "Arabian Passion," arranged by Bulgarian musician Vladimir Ivanoff, gives Bach's music an oriental flavor. Performed in the open air on Leipzig's market square, his message for peace between west and east reached a large audience.

Ivanoff had combined excerpts from Bach's St. John and St. Matthew Passion in 2006 as the US invasion of Iraq continued.

"I saw the suffering of the people there and drew a parallel to the Gospel," he told DW. "I would never have thought that after almost 20 years, this topic would still be so relevant in the Middle East."

The excerpts from the Passions are sung in Arabic by the Lebanese actress and singer Fadia Tomb el-Hage, who is currently living in Germany.

"I grew up in Lebanon and there was almost constant tension," she told DW. "For as long as I can remember, there have always been civil wars."

Following Israel's recent attacks on Iran, she has been very worried about her relatives and friends in Lebanon. She sang the aria "Erbarme dich" ("Have mercy on me") from the St. Matthew Passion in a particularly heart-wrenching way.

Transformation beyond the music

This year's Bach Festival motto is "transformation."

"It's a word we hear in abundance at the moment," Bach Festival director Michael Maul told DW, referring to transformations in the economy, the digital world and the climate. "We have applied this term to music and it fits very well with Bach's works," he added.

Johann Sebastian Bach often revised his own music, changing instruments or lyrics. An early version of his famous "Mass in B minor," written in 1733, opened the concert. Though rarely performed, this version was later used in the full "Mass," and is now part of UNESCO's Memory of the World Register.

When performing the latter work at the Bach Festival, the Gewandhaus Orchestra and the Leipzig St. Thomas Boys Choir — conducted by current Thomaskantor, Andreas Reize — received thunderous applause.

75 years of the Bach Archive

The Bach Festival is one of the most international classical music festivals in Germany, with visitors from over 50 countries attending this year — from Burundi to South Africa, the US to Latin America, according to ticket sales.

A large number of guests from across Asia arrive annually to hear Bach's music at the venues where Bach himself worked as Thomaskantor from 1723 until his death in 1750 — and from where he also conducted the illustrious St. Thomas Choir.

The Bach Festival is organized by the Leipzig Bach Archive, which is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year. To mark this, director Peter Wollny was delighted to receive the Kulukundis Collection from the US. It contains letters, writing and the autographs of Bach's sons.

The archive in Leipzig has the second-largest collection in the world of writing, books and objects relating to Bach and his extensive family. The new Bach Sons collection is estimated to be worth around €10 million ($11.5 million).

Festival director Michael Maul also contributed to the Bach-inspired entertainment with a special libretto.

"It's a kind of light-hearted musical comedy in which I thought about how Bach might have set Goethe's Faust to music," said Maul of the work created for the 500th anniversary of Leipzig's Auerbach's Cellar in 2025.

The former wine bar, where the poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was inspired to write his drama "Faust,” is now a tourist attraction. Bach's "Faust" is performed regularly at the venue during the Bach Festival.

The event has also brought Bach to life in the digital realm. Using augmented reality, the Baroque master will play a harpsichord concerto as an avatar — and comment on it in his famously gruff manner.

"For the most part, these are quotes from himself or from his immediate surroundings with funny elements," explained Maul.

The digital concert can be viewed with 3D glasses, and will also go on tour following the Bach Festival. There are already invitations from the US, Malaysia and Japan.

The Bach Festival in Leipzig continues through June 22.

This article was originally written in German.