The most famous chorale, often called the Passion Chorale, is “O Haupt Voll Blut und Wunden”. Bach uses it no less than 5 times throughout the St. Matthew Passion, each time presenting it in a new way, with different text, in different keys and harmonies. The melody was written by Hans Leo Hasler.

The chorales were an addition to the biblical story and Picander’s texts for recitatives, arias and other parts, Bach interwoven the work with his own harmonizations of these old choral melodies and texts. They were known to the people in the St. Thomas Church in Leipzig, and the oldest dates back to the 16th century.
Bach also uses this same choral in the Christmas Oratorio and in several cantatas.