We must address the matter of translation now.  Bach's Passions were written in German, of course.  They should be sung in German.  However, unlike the Latin Masses, Requiems, and Stabat Maters, et.al., which are almost always sung in Latin, Protestant religious works are usually translated into the language of the performance locale.  The Passions are as much religious works as they are concerts.  The word-for-word translations work quite well for the verbatim Bible passages (i.e. the Evangelist, Jesus, Pilate, and the choir parts portraying the Posse, the Mob, the Soldiers, etc.)  Thus, translations work for most parts of the Passions.  The large opening chorus and final "lullaby" also pose few problems.  An awkward word here and there; phrases that we generally don't use pop up occasionally; so do words that haven't been used for a century or longer.  But the arias are trickier.  I'll point out some clunkers as we go along.  But the real problems occur with the Chorales.  The translations we sing are approximations at best.  It would be nice to have another translation printed in the program as to the true meaning of what the Community sings.  The problem is this:  a rhyming poem has to fit into a strict melody.  Extra, or fewer, words or notes are rarely an option.  Since German and English sentence structures are quite different, it is virtually impossible to convey the real meaning of this strict, short poem into the hymn tune.  Furthermore, there are idioms in every language that are simply untranslatable.  The result is usually a bunch of words that nobody really pays attention to, because we can't fathom the meaning.  And the Chorales arguably are the centerpiece of the Passions, because everyone is supposed to sing them, and feel the sorrow, or anger, or compassion that they evoke.  Thus, I shall really work hard to discuss the Chorales.

    #8.  John (the Evangelist) recounts how the impetuous Peter cuts off the ear of Malchus, a servant of Caiaphas, the High Priest:  a violent, if human, reaction to the arrest of the greatest man he's ever known.  Jesus, however, reprimands him for his rash act.  Hadn't He spent many hours telling his disciples that He was going to die, according to God's plan, and that thus Malchus and the other members of the posse were actually the instruments of God's will?  Now, this is fascinating:  Jesus asks, "Shall I not drink the cup my Father has given me?"  We read in the Synoptic Gospels - Matthew, Mark, and Luke - that, in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus pleads with God "to let this cup pass.”  He thus showed his very human side of fear.  For a moment, thus, he doesn't want to go through with it.  Yet, in the next breath, the three Gospel writers all state that Jesus said, "Not my will, but Thine be done."  St. John does not mention the prayer in Gethsemane, yet he quotes Jesus using "the cup" as a metaphor for the agony to come. 

    #9.  This Chorale reflects on the need for God's will to be done.  The tortured translation doesn't do it justice.  The very first line is actually directly from The Lord's Prayer:  "Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven".  The second:  Give us the patience in times of suffering to be obedient in both love and woe (or in good times and bad).   Third:  "Stay Thou the hand...."  Now that's really archaic!  What I think it means is:  no one grabbed Peter's arm to prevent him from slashing Malchus's ear and thereby “spoiling the skill (the aim)".  Peter, while appearing to be Jesus's protector, and thinking it was a brave and honorable act, was in fact working against God's will.  So the final line is a prayer to God, asking Him to thwart any of us from working against His will. 

    #10.  The Evangelist tells us that Jesus is bound and taken to Annas, a subordinate to Caiaphas, the High Priest. 

    #11. This is the first of the solo arias. These arias are Bach's personal response to the preceding action, and are intented to be the response of every individual Christian - in a sense, a silent prayer or meditation. In the typical German manner, the main verb appears at the very end of the sentence in the aria, thereby obscuring the meaning of the whole sentence until the final word.  (There are jokes about this!)  We Anglophones would turn the whole thing around, but it's not easy to do, musically.  So the alto sings an almost impossible-to-understand line.  Basically, it should go like this:  "My dearest Saviour has been bound in order to unbind (or release) me from the tangled web of my transgressions"  (Got it?)  There is a second line, which should read:  "He Himself was wounded in order to fully heal me from my aching wounds."  (Sounds somewhat familiar, doesn't it?  Handel's "Messiah": "He was wounded for our transgressions.  He was bruised for our iniquities." )

    #12.  A very short line by the Evangelist, but telling.  Simon Peter follows Jesus to Annas, and so does "another disciple".  Almost certainly that "other" disciple is John himself.  He also calls himself "the disciple whom Jesus loved."

    #13. Now follows a soprano aria (and Bach meditation):  "I would follow You anywhere, joyfully, and never leave You, no matter what" is the general theme.  The translation here is not bad at all.  It's very easy to follow, and with such a beautiful melody!  Lots of repeated phrases, but that was the Baroque style.

    The next Pondering will look at # 14 through #20, which ends Part 1 of the Passion.

 

Index

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Part 7

Part 8

Part 9

Part 10