The oratorio Passions by Homilius were among the last compositions of their kind in the 18th century. In an oratorio Passion the chorus is restricted mainly to singing the chorales and the interjections of the crowd; only the conclusion of a Passion provides an opportunity for an extensive choral movement. In the St. John Passion the final chorus emphasizes the supreme importance of the Crucifixion as the climax of St. John's Gospel. The free elements of the composition take the forms customary ...