The Passion is a large oratorio work, consisting of 68 choruses, chorales, recitatives, solo arias and duets, and is performed by a large number of musicians, as it was written for two orchestras and two choirs – which are joined in two numbers by another – a third choir.

Two soloists (tenor and bass) sing texts from the Bible – the words of the Evangelist Matthew and Jesus Christ, while four soloists (soprano, alto, tenor and bass) sing meditative arias, which are a kind of contemplation of the events described in the Gospel texts and their emotional experience.