IN HOLY TRINITY, We sing Bach’s Saint John Passion (Johannes-Passion) every other Good Friday, alternating it with Bach’s Saint Matthew Passion. Bach wrote the Saint John Passion over the winter of 1723-1724, and it was first performed in Leipzig’s Nikolaikirche on Good Friday 1724.
Until 1716, the Leipzig churches were still singing the chanted Passion composed by Johann Walther two hundred years before. But in 1717, Telemann’s new oratorio-style passion, Der für die Sünden der Welt gemarterte und sterbende Jesus, had been performed in the city. Bach’s Leipzig predecessor, Johann Kuhnau, had responded in 1721 with his own Passion oratorio. And when Kuhnau died, in 1722, the city council were keen to maintain the new tradition. So, when Bach was appointed Kapellmeister in Kuhnau’s place, the terms of his appointment stipulated that he should compose a modern Passion setting for Good Friday. And so it was that, in the winter of 1723 to 1724, Bach composed the Passio secundum Johannem or Saint John Passion. It was first performed in Leipzig’s Nikolaikirche at Good Friday Vespers in 1724.
The words of the Evangelist and the other character parts are taken directly from Luther’s translation of the Gospel of Saint John, with the addition of Saint Matthew’s earthquake, an operatic opportunity too good to pass by. The source of the other texts, the arias and aria-choruses, is not known, but they are believed to be by Bach himself.
Inevitably, the Saint John Passion is often compared to its greater sibling, the Saint Matthew Passion, written three years later. They have much in common. There is a large chorus at the beginning, the chanted Gospel is interspersed with arias and ariosi, and the chorus sing the parts of crowds, high-priests, and believers. But there are important differences too. The Saint John, with its smaller orchestra and single chorus, is more intimate. It is also more immediate and urgent. The Evangelist recitatives are more dramatic and the choruses are terser.
The Saint John Passion provides some interesting challenges in instrumentation. The parts from 1725 show that the arioso ‘Betrachte, meine Seele’ and its aria ‘Erwäge’ was to be played on two violas d’amore. But the viola d’amore was exotic, even in Bach’s time, and was going out of fashion. And so the parts from the 1740s show that it was played on two muted violins. Both options work very well, and we have performed it both ways. But tonight, for your pleasure, we are playing with the exotic violas d’amore.
Another challenge is the instrumentation of the successive sections ‘Es ist vollbracht’, ‘Und neiget das Haupt’, with the earthquake scene, and ‘Mein teurer Heiland’. ‘Es ist vollbracht’ calls for a viola da gamba, while the next two call for violoncello. Since there is hardly time for one player to change instruments, the conclusion must be that Bach had two players available, the gambist perhaps doubling in the chorus, as Bach allowed no-one to sit and do nothing. However, another solution that he adopted in some performances was to have the entire violoncello and viola da gamba line played by one instrument, the violoncello piccolo, which is able to reach comfortably the high notes of ‘Es it s vollbracht’ as well as the low violoncello notes required for the following sections.
Another important difference between the two Passions is that Bach did not leave a final fair copy of the Saint John Passion, as he did with the Saint Matthew. As a result, any version of the Saint John Passion must be assembled from surviving instrumental parts of the performances of 1724, 1725, and the 1740s. While the 1725 performance is known for its lute and violas d’amore in the aria ‘Erwäge’, we present tonight a consistent version of Bach’s last-known version of the work, when these parts were played by a harpsichord and a duet of muted violins, and the viola da gamba parts were played by a violoncello piccolo. The eighteenth-century German Passions were not concerts but liturgical acts of worship and meditation. They were sponsored by donors, open to the public without entrance charge, and a freewill offering was taken. In this same spirit we present our Saint John Passion this evening. In Bach’s time, applause was discouraged for the solemnity of the day. The Leipzigers’ accepted compromise was to tap or drum their feet in appreciation. We find this compromise quite acceptable too.
Read more about Holy Trinity’s Good Friday Bach Passion
Read about Bach’s Saint Mattthew Passion.