Monday, December 14, 2009

Baroque Journal Response to Brett's St. Matthew's Passion


Listening Response to Brett’s St. Matthew's Passion by Johann Sebastian Bach

When thinking back to the Baroque period, the first name that many people associate with is Johann Sebastian Bach. He has been an influence to many of the composers we know today. St. Matthew’s Passions is one of Bach’s most famous compositions, and this inspiring piece continues to be known as one of the greatest sacred works of its time. After reading Brett Terry’s paper on the St. Matthew’s Passion, I wanted to continue to understand this monumental piece. Brett’s fluid writing and attention-grabbing facts that describes the works allow the listener a vivid picture of the composition.

Brett opens his paper by telling us the story behind the piece of how St. Matthew described the “gruesome story of the last days of the life of Christ.” Bach helps his listeners visualize the story of Christ told in the eyes of St. Matthew. Bach scored the composition for two orchestras, two organs, two choirs, and a few soloists. It would be a monumental feat to perform this work as it was originally scored. and because of this I would love to see a live performance of this. According to Brett, after Bach’s death, this piece was not performed “until Felix Mendelssohn mounted a well-received performance in Berlin.” Not knowing a lot about when Bach was rediscovered, I questioned if the Felix Mendelssohn performance was the sole reason Bach was founded as one of the greatest composers of the Baroque period. If this is true, I would love to read more about how Felix Mendelssohn brought the attention of many to that of the great Johann Sebastian Bach.

Further into Brett’s paper, he goes on to talk about the soloists and their individuality behind the arias they sang within the St. Matthew's Passion. Each soloist is portrayed throughout the piece according to what each soloist sings. Brett continues to discuss the interplay between the soloist and the instruments of the orchestra. Personally I would talk more about the harmonies used between the instruments and the voice parts that create the dramatic effects of the passion. Brett mentions how “Bach uses some dissonant chords at times to paint the text musically.” He makes a good transfer into his next paragraph to further discuss how Bach uses text painting to portray the words to his audience.

Great details continue to fill the paper, as Brett elaborates the text behind the St. Matthew's Passion. I enjoyed how Brett did not just focus his attention on the text of St. Matthew's Passion, but the chorus as well. Every section plays a significant role in the importance of this piece. Although Brett discusses how the chorus fits into the piece extremely well, it is important to discuss all sides of the piece. As an instrumentalist, I am always interested in the interaction of the orchestra with other sections of the piece.

St. Matthew's Passion is an enormous work of over two hours in length. Brett does an amazing job of capturing a brief overview of this entire work. Although, a two-page overview does not do this incredible work justice, I was very impressed with Brett’s words to describe this fabulous piece. He continues to spark my interest in Bach’s St. Matthew's Passion. Before reading Brett’s review I thought this piece was incredible. After reading Brett’s words, I wanted to learn more about the piece and its interaction of text and music. This phenomenal piece will continue to inspire the composers of the future, and with the help of people like Brett Terry, many others will understand the importance of Bach’s St. Matthew's Passion.

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