Bach's predecessor at the Leipzig Thomasschule, and a prolific composer with a contemporary reputation throughout Germany, Johann Friedrich Fasch composed works for the Lutheran church service as well as secular instrumental works, including overtures (suites), symphonies, partitas and a large amount of varied chamber music. His Passio Jesu Christi is a setting of the so-called Brockes Passion, known for its overt sentimentality and theatricality, which was also set by Handel and by Telemann, among others.