Bach's Passions have many similarities, but also important differences.  Let's take a look.

    One of the reasons the "St. Matthew" is so much longer than the "St. John"  is that Matthew's account starts with Christ's prediction of His death, then the anointment of Jesus by the woman, Judas' bargain with the priests, the preparation of the seder; then, the Last Supper, and, finally, the Agony in the Garden of Gethsemane and Christ's arrest.

    John's account "cuts to the chase," and starts with Christ's arrest.  Crassly put, John/Bach saves about 45 minutes here.  (This is not to say, however, that John skips the Last Supper in his narrative.  But it appears in the 13th chapter, after which there are four chapters with a long discourse between Christ and the disciples, minus the departed Judas, containing some of the greatest passages in the Bible.  So, in a sense, John's version is, by far, the longest of them all.)

    Each of Bach's Passions opens with a lengthy chorus, but whereas the "Matthew" is a lament, anticipating the tragedy, the "John" is a song of triumph, looking at the events of Easter, then returning to the events leading up to it.

    Also, both Passions end with a grand "lullaby," comforting the dead Jesus and wishing Him a sweet repose, to melodies that linger on, long after the performance.  The St. John Passion adds one more glorious Chorale after its lullaby.

    Between these book-end choruses, there are the accounts, word for word, from the Gospels.  Read the Bible and the musical score, and you'll see that nothing is left out. 

    The Biblical passages are interrupted by solos by the four soloists (who are NOT part of the narrative).  They express Bach's personal reaction to these events, and should reflect each of ours, individually.  Then, there are the Chorales, which represent the Christian community's reaction to the events as a communion of believers. Both Passions include about a dozen of each.

    Sometimes, a special chamber choir sings the Chorales.  More often, the regular choir does.  Ideally, choir AND audience sing them.  That way, everyone participates in the drama.  And that was the intent.  The Chorale melodies were well-known to everybody, so it was easy for them to sing them to new words.  It has been said that the tunes were like the Top 10 hits of their time.  My guess is that the tunes were like certain hymns we know well, such as "My Country, 'tis of Thee," or "Amazing Grace," or "Abide with Me."  Pay very close attention to the words and see how they fit into each event that precedes the Chorale.

    Now, these Chorales occur in both of Bach's Passions.  Also, a Narrator (the Evangelist) tells the story.  The Evangelist's parts are extremely difficult, due to their high tessitura.  Both Passions feature the characters of Peter, Pontius Pilate, and, of course, Jesus.  The St. John has fewer "bit" parts.  No Judas or High Priest, for instance.

    Finally, there are the chorus parts that take the roles of groups of people throughout the Gospel accounts.  They might be Jewish priests, or Roman soldiers, or part of the mob that calls for Christ's death.  Much more about that  will be said in future Ponderings. 

    Two major differences must be mentioned now.  There are frequent double choruses in the St. Matthew, accompanied by a double orchestra.  This does not occur in the St. John.  One chorus, one orchestra.  The other major difference is the accompaniment to the passages sung by Jesus.  In the St. Matthew, He is always enveloped in a "halo" of string instruments in contrast to the Evangelist, who is accompanied by continuo.  This does not happen in the St. John, where the continuo (small organ or harpsichord and cello) accompanies all the recitatives. 

    Finally, the way each Gospel writer wrote influenced Bach's composition.  Matthew tells his story in segments.  That gave Bach opportunities to write many reflective solos, voicing his own commentaries on the events.  John rarely takes a break.  There is much greater non-stop action, and only rare moments of individual reflection, and there are many fewer solo arias in the St. John.  The choir has very little time to rest!!

    In the coming weeks, I shall take us through the St. John Passion, from the first chorus through the last, and all the numbers in between.  I would strongly suggest that each choir member read the Passion chapters of all four Gospel writers, and notice similarities and also differences in the way they relate the story.  As a example, how does each Gospel writer characterize Pontius Pilate?  And what was Barabbas's crime?  And what words did Jesus speak from the Cross?

 

    I know I'm beginning to sound like a teacher by giving you reading assignments, but, in your copy of the Schirmer Edition of the score, be sure to read pages iv to vi ("History and Structure" and "Performing Forces").  This will save me from plagiarizing, and it is really important to know what is written there.  The voluminous notes the rest of the way will likely interest only music majors working on dissertations, but iv to vi are accessible and very interesting.

Index

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Part 7

Part 8

Part 9

Part 10