J.S. BACH’S ST. MATTHEW PASSION: Among the qualities that set Bach’s music above that of other contemporaries is the emotive power of his harmony.

Hymn Book of Less-Than-Common Prayer

By BARRYMORE LAURENCE SCHERER

‘I have always liked to work toward one goal,” wrote Johann Sebastian Bach in 1708, “namely, to conduct a well-regulated church music to the glory of God.” Bach (1685-1750) composed an immense body of church music, but his supreme achievements in the field are his two surviving Passion oratorios, the St. John Passion (1724) and the St. Matthew Passion (1727). And within Bach’s family, the latter was regarded as “the great Passion.” At Saturday’s open rehearsal and on Tuesday and Wednesday, conductor Simon Rattle will lead the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and a choir and soloists in performances of the St. Matthew Passion ritualized by director Peter Sellars at the Park Avenue Armory in New York.

The Bible recounts the Passion, the story of the final sufferings of Jesus, in the four Gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. During the Middle Ages and Renaissance, hundreds of musical settings of the Passion were composed in plainchant and polyphony. The early 18th century saw the development of the Passion oratorio, as composers eschewed the biblical texts in favor of librettos paraphrasing them in rhyme.

The florid, often sentimental poetry substituted for the Gospels’ prose led composers to adopt an increasingly showy style related to Italian opera. Bach broke with this trend by restoring the actual Gospel narrative—delivered as recitative by the tenor Evangelist and by soloists representing Jesus, Peter and Pilate, with spirited choruses by the crowd (called the turba).

For the St. Matthew Passion, Bach interspersed the narrative (from Matthew, chapters 26 and 27) with contemplative and allegorical arias and choruses to verses by the Leipzig poet Christian Friedrich Henrici, called Picander. Picander divided the biblical passages into 15 episodes enriched with his commentaries and meditations. The stylistic unity of Picander’s complex libretto inspired Bach to produce a work not only longer than any previous Passion setting, but more elaborate. Bach’s 68 numbers include the full range of sacred and secular musical forms, especially operatic-style recitatives and arias. But no Italian or French Baroque opera boasts the wealth of rich counterpoint of Bach’s choruses and double choruses.

In addition are the chorales, representing the congregation. With melodies often by earlier composers, they would probably have been sung not only by the choir but by the congregants, who would have been familiar with them. Though some were written by Martin Luther, the soaring melody of the Passion Chorale (“O, Sacred Head Now Wounded”)—sung five times during the work, each time to different words and with slightly different harmonization—was originally a love song by the late-Renaissance composer Hans Leo Hassler.

The St. Matthew Passion immediately rivets audiences with its opening, in which two orchestras, each playing distinctive music, accompany two antiphonal choirs depicting the horrified populace of Jerusalem questioning one another as they witness Jesus bearing the cross past them. And above this somber, contrapuntal fabric, a choir of children sings the gentle chorale melody “O Lamb of God.” This musical tableau suggests the imagery of early Renaissance paintings of the Passion, in which successive events are depicted simultaneously on a single wall or panel.

Sometimes Bach’s subtlety is evident only when reading the score. For instance, when Jesus tells the disciples that one will betray him, the chorus representing them rapidly sings, “Lord, is it I?,” stating that complete phrase 11 times, to signify that the 12th disciple, Judas, remains silent.

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