The Great Passion

By: James Runcie

Narrated by: Pip Torrens

Bloomsbury presents The Great Passion by James Runcie, read by Pip Torrens.

From acclaimed bestselling author James Runcie, a meditation on grief and music, told through the story of Bach’s writing of the St. Matthew Passion.

In 1727, Stefan Silbermann is a grief-stricken thirteen-year-old, struggling with the death of his mother and his removal to a school in distant Leipzig. Despite his father’s insistence that he try not to think of his mother too much, Stefan is haunted by her absence, and, to make matters worse, he’s bullied by his new classmates. But when the school’s cantor, Johann Sebastian Bach, takes notice of his new pupil’s beautiful singing voice and draws him from the choir to be a soloist, Stefan’s life is permanently changed.

Over the course of the next several months, and under Bach’s careful tutelage, Stefan’s musical skill progresses, and he is allowed to work as a copyist for Bach’s many musical works. But mainly, drawn into Bach’s family life and away from the cruelty in the dorms and the lonely hours of his mourning, Stefan begins to feel at home. When another tragedy strikes, this time in the Bach family, Stefan bears witness to the depths of grief, the horrors of death, the solace of religion, and the beauty that can spring from even the most profound losses.

Joyous, revelatory, and deeply moving, The Great Passion is an imaginative tour de force that tells the story of what it was like to sing, play, and hear Bach’s music for the very first time.©2022 James Runcie (P)2022 Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

Opened my understanding of how hard those times were.

Amazing to learn how dedicated and how much effort was required to accomplish what those musicians living then did.

Compelling tale

Great narration and insights into Bach’s music and life during the enlightenment. I’m ready to listen to sr Matthew’s passion now.

The Great Passion

This story puts a person in Leipzig during Bach time so well you feel like you are there and experiencing being with the great cantor.

Wonderful book, wonderful reading

Probably one of the best performances I’ve listened to. Thank you Pip Torrens. To James Runcie, I am looking forward to a movie version so I can hear the music.

Music continues to serve as a balm to our soul

Prior to this novel, I had no familiarity to St Matthew’s Passion by Bach. I now realize the performance serves as inspirational as Handel’s Messiah in reaching across cultures, ages, and seasons of life to touch the essence of humanity. This novel immerses the reader into the world of a mourning teen newly arrived to boarding school in 1729 Leipzig, Germany. The characterization and narration brought through this audiobook is easy to follows and offers a complimentary escape to Germany while riddled with hardships, grief and loss that still embattled the human experience. Mob mentality and transforming the disgust of mankind at its worst into a need for Bach to compose his Passion piece- so needed in today’s conflicted times. This novel offers new generation of confused people, muddling through life’s great challenges a balm to our bruised souls through the comfort of Bach’s timeless music.