Bach's Masterpiece for Good Friday: the Matthäuspassion

One of the great masterpieces of Western music is the Passion according to Matthew of Johann Sebastian Bach. These passions, a tradition that goes back to Middle Ages, are representations of the last days of Jesus in song and verse. By the time J. S. Bach was writing passions for performance in church on Good Friday, the tradition had become established in Germany that, in addition to the words of the gospel (of Matthew, in this case) there were specially composed arias reflecting on the action immediately preceding. The St Matthew Passion (known affectionately as the SMP by Bach-ians) is a more elaborate passion than Bach would have been expected to write for an ordinary Good Friday service. It is written for two entire orchestras and choruses, each with its own soloists and organ. (The choirs are now thought to have been modestly sized, and the two orchestras were almost certainly one instrument per line, though we don't really know. For a big festival, Bach may have hoped for larger forces.) There is some belief that this passion was partly put together for the sheer pleasure of the music and the joy of creation. (The manuscript is hand-lettered in Bach's own exquisite calligraphy, with the words of Jesus inked in red. Here is a note on it by Joshua Rifkin.) The stunning opening chorus is written in antiphonal style; that is, both choirs and orchestras play it, and the two choirs have occasional alternating lines, which are very dramatic. It is addressed to the Daughter of Zion, a symbolic person who represents the people. One antiphonal section goes (translated):

Choir A: “Behold!” Choir B: “Behold whom?” Choir A: “Behold the bridegroom!” Though the words must have had greater significance to German-speakers, especially of Bach’s time, even today the cries coming from opposite directions create a very dramatic effect. The overall atmosphere is one of highly-charged anxiety, probably a very accurate representation of the feelings of the disciples on that evening long ago; certainly an accurate echo of what they must have felt, about a year later, looking back on that terrible night. This chorus brilliantly manages to set the stage for the tragedy that follows. The chorus is followed by a verse from a passion hymn, usually sung to the English words Ah, holy Jesu, how hast thou offended? Verses from this hymn occur every so often, re-asserting the characteristic mood of tragedy and pathos that attends passions generally. The Passion, as with most of Bach’s extended choral works such as passions and oratorios, are narrated by the Evangelist, usually a tenor, in extended recitatives. When the narrative comes to the words of Jesus himself (a Bass,) instead of the organ or harpsichord, it is accompanied by strings, a device that has now come to be called the “halo”. The story unfolds as usual, with planning for the last supper, and so forth, with every little remark being ascribed great significance. Though this is, generally speaking, the precise body of facts and (especially) interpretation that a secular (i.e. non-religious) listener finds hardest to accept, it is not difficult to put oneself in the mindset of the disciples and first generation Christians dealing with the immediate crisis of Jesus’s apprehension and ultimate execution. One thing most of us might agree on is that for many of us the execution of Jesus is a symbol of the cruelty, the atrocity, of political execution. Though it is hardly the only political execution of an innocent of that decade, let alone of Roman times, it certainly serves as a symbol. The sustained, spiraling feeling of loss of control is almost physically exhausting. The relentless narrative is all too rarely relieved by arias expressing pious contrition, all of them very lovely, and just perfect for the sentiment expressed. The first aria is one of soft remorse: “Buß und Reu, knirscht das Sündenherz entzwei.” The English translation goes something like: "Grief and remorse tears the sinful heart in two." Despite the agonized words, it is surprisingly easy to identify with the mood expressed by the tearful music. (Note that this recording features silver flutes, now considered an anachronism for this music. However, silver flutes have their own charm, and can be appreciated despite this fact. Here is another clip which features (1) the Evangelist's recitative, leading to (2) the words of Jesus, featuring the Halo, (3) more recitative, followed by (4) a turba --a choral portion that represents the words of a crowd. After a couple more alternations of recitatives and turbae, there is (5) an alto recitative, followed by the aria Buß und Reu, sung here by a countertenor. This is only the first of more than a dozen arias, some of the most beautiful ever written. In a central position in the Passion is the great central chorale-fantasy “O Mensch, bewein dein' Sundre gross,” (listen for the Children's Chorus) shortly followed by "Erbarme dich", accompanied by a celebrated violin solo. To give an item-by-item description of the passion is beyond the scope of this post. There may be some who will be unpleasantly overwhelmed by the Matthew-passion of Bach, but the musical magic of the work is worth experiencing, even if undertaken in small doses over several days. One of the most touching moments of the passion is the last chorus, in which the choir takes leave of the buried Jesus: "Wir setzen uns mit Tränen nieder", performed here by Bach Collegium Japan (Suzuki). Archimedes