Thus, the whole work is structured as a repeated pattern of Biblical narrative, comment, and prayer. Bach uses it no less than five times in the course of the St Matthew Passion, each time presenting it in a new way, with different words, keys and harmonisations (he also used it – twice – in the Christmas Oratorio and in several cantatas). It’s a melody originally written by one Hans Leo Hassler (1562-1612). The best known of these, often referred to as the Passion Chorale, is ‘O Haupt Voll Blut Und Wunden’, usually sung in English to the words ‘O Sacred Head Sore Wounded’. These would have been well-known to the congregation of St Thomas’s, the oldest dating back to the early 16th century. In addition to the Bible story and Picander’s texts for the recitatives, arias and other sections, Bach interspersed the work with his own harmonisations of old chorale melodies and texts.
The speeches of various characters – Commentator (soprano), Evangelist (tenor), Christ (bass), Peter (bass), Judas (bass) and so forth – are represented by various solo singers.
A local Lutheran preacher, Salomon Deyling, supervised the writing of the text, using the 26th and 27th chapters of St Matthew’s Gospel (in his manuscript, Bach underlined the words of the Scripture with red ink). The story was arranged by Christian Friedrich Henrici, a postal official in the city who wrote verses using the pseudonym of Picander. Thus, the score is laid out for Chorus 1 and Orchestra 1, Chorus 2 and Orchestra 2.īach did not act as his own librettist for the St Matthew Passion. Bach wrote his Passion to use both these performance spaces. In Bach’s time, St Thomas’s had two organ lofts – the larger of the two accommodating the musicians for Sunday services throughout the year, the smaller loft used for the additional numbers needed for the music at Christmas and Easter. For instance, whereas the St John Passion had a mere continuo accompaniment (harpsichord or organ), its successor had an orchestra with Christ’s words accompanied by strings (an effect that has been compared to a halo round the Saviour’s head). What followed two years later was an altogether grander, more magnificent setting. Thomas’s, he wrote the Passion According To St. In 1725, two years after he took up his appointment of cantor at St. Once he had heard the concert, he turned round and walked the same distance home again.We know Bach wrote an earlier setting when he was the ducal concertmeister in Weimar (1714-1717) though this has not survived. It is still disputed whether it was a botched eye operation or a stroke caused by pneumonia were to blame for his death.īach's popularity was decaying until 1829, when Mendelssohn performed the St Matthew Passion and rescued Bach from oblivion.īach once walked two hundred and thirteen miles to hear a performance by an organist whom he admired. With the notable exception of opera, Bach composed towering masterpieces in every major Baroque genre: sonatas, concertos, suites and cantatas, as well as innumerable keyboard, organ and choral works.īach died on July 28th 1750 in Leipzig. The Well Tempered Clavier, a quintessential student text, was finished in 1744 and comprised two volumes of piano music in every musical key. During the 1720s and 1730s when he was composing his most important works - the Passions and the Goldberg Variations among them - a new Italian style invaded Germany, making his work appear outdated. In his later years Bach faced harsh criticism. The Brandenburg Concertos were composed in 1721 as a sort-of musical job application for the Margrave Ludwig of Brandenburg - it was unsuccessful. The young Bach was offered a choral scholarship to the prestigious St Michael's School in 1699.ġ703 saw Bach become the organist at St Boniface's Church in Arnstadt - a role that saw him on a regular salary and expanding his skills at the keyboard.īach composed the cantata Gott ist mein König in 1708 - he was paid handsomely, and it helped him cement his early career. Johann Sebastian Bach was born on March 21st 1685 in Eisenach, Germany. Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist of the Baroque Era. Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) was music's most sublime creative genius.