The Great Passion: A Delightful Read

The Great Passion by James Runcie is a page-turner that is an especially fun read for Lutherans. This is not so much a review as it is a recommendation. You can read reviews here (averaging 4.3 on Amazon).

This is a work of historical fiction about a choirboy serving in Leipzig under the tutelage of Johann Sebastian Bach. It is a delightful look at Bach and his family, his church, and the life of church musicians of the 18th century - and there is plenty of Lutheran theology in the book. Several critical reviewers condemned the book as “preachy.” What’s not to love?

The author is the son of a liberal former archbishop of Canterbury. So there are a couple of minor slips that reveal that this was not written by a Lutheran. That said, it well captures the Evangelical theology that Bach poured into his music, and into his musicians and church.

I’m not a musician, so I can’t vouch for the accuracy of the technical musical terms - but I have shared the book with musicians, whose response has been positive. It might be an interesting read for youth, though maybe not for very young ones - as there is a description of an execution that might be disturbing for some.

The story reaches its climax with the composition and performance of St. Matthew’s Passion.

If you enjoy an engaging story, music, history, and/or Lutheran theology, you might want to give this book a shot! It was published in 2022, contains 272 pages, and sells (on Amazon) for $15.76 for hard cover, $10.77 paperback, or $9.99 for Kindle.