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Proclaiming the Beauty of God’s Cosmos

Bach's Saint Matthew Passion helps us withstand Enlightenment secularism and materialism

Music conveys meaning and truth in multi-dimensional ways—this is especially true when it includes lyrics. By any definition, Saint Matthew Passion by J.S. Bach is a classic work. It engages universal truth that transcends the time of its creation with direct and applicable wisdom for the listener, and although the vocabulary is different, one can “read” a musical work as a text.

Arguably the greatest composer who ever lived, Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) and his works inhabit the realm of the best artists, thinkers, philosophers, poets, and authors in any discipline at any time. Bach stood against Enlightenment secularism, materialism, and self-orientation by proclaiming the beauty of God’s created cosmos, the order of that world, and the discipline of taking dominion over sound and time through music.

Written in 1727 for a Good Friday service in Leipzig, Germany, Saint Matthew Passion continues a tradition of singing the text of the crucifixion narrative during Holy Week, dividing the biblical text into roles such as narrator, Peter, Pilate, the High Priests, the crowd, and others.

The entire work lasts about three hours and is separated into two main parts which are sung before and after the sermon. These parts consist of fifteen sections that follow the narrative from Matthew 26-27. As part of Good Friday, the work ends with the burial of Christ awaiting the promise of the resurrection celebrated on Easter Sunday morning.

Bach stood against Enlightenment secularism, materialism, and self-orientation by proclaiming the beauty of God’s created cosmos, the order of that world, and the discipline of taking dominion over sound and time through music. Click To TweetThe Passion contains three types of texts. The quoted Scripture moves the drama forward, the added lyrics provide commentary, responses, and meditations on the narrative, and familiar hymns provide an opportunity for the congregation to respond. Part of Bach’s skill consists in his ability to weave together musical and theological ideas that tell the Passion story and draw the listener into the immediacy of the truth of the narrative, the power Christ’s work on the cross, and the application of the Gospel to the lives of any who will listen.

For example, when Pilate sings, “Why, what evil hath He done?” (Matthew 27:23a), the response comes in the form of a soprano aria singing “To us He hath done all things well” which includes a list of Christ’s blessings and miracles. After the section of Judas’s remorse about his betrayal, the following bass aria expands the idea of Judas’s guilt to include all those who sin against God.

In another example, after Judas arranges to betray Christ, a soprano sings:

Break in grief, thou loving heart;

   For a son whom thou hast nourished,

Yea, a friend whom thou hast cherished,

   Gathers cruel foes around thee

And will like a serpent wound thee.

Succinctly, the lyricist comments on the actions of Judas, reflects on betrayal, makes reference to Psalm 55, and alludes to the serpent from Genesis 3. From the curse of the Fall to promised redemption, the lyrics present the Gospel.

The select verses of the congregational chorales embellish the unfolding narrative, such as:

Tis I, Whose Sins Have Bound Thee

   With anguish now surround Thee,

And nail Thee to a tree;

The torture Thou art feeling,

   Thy patient love revealing,

‘Tis I should bear it, I alone.

As such, the people are able to participate in the drama, thus addressing their own hearts and place in the crucifixion story.

The Passion contains three forms of music: choral pieces, solos, and congregational hymns. Musically, Bach chose instruments such as strings, oboes, and woodwinds that create a dark, rich tone. To reflect the meaning of the words, he selected certain instruments or combinations and chose specific musical keys or changing harmonies to align with the theological significance of the words. In the later sections that move towards the crucifixion, the harmonies and keys get darker in sound.

Bach scholar Malcolm Boyd wrote, “The action is historical, but the reactions are contemporary, and it is this interaction of past and present that lends the Passions their powerful irony and layers of reference.[i]” This is present in the music from the very opening in a musical dialogue. Conductor and composer Leonard Bernstein describes how the beginning of the piece achieves this effect:

[T]he orchestral introduction…sets the mood of suffering and pain, preparing for the entrance of the chorus which will sing the agonized sorrow of the faithful at the moment of crucifixion.  And all this is done in imitation, in canon.  “Come, ye Daughters, share my anguish,” sing the basses, and they are [imitated] by the tenors [while] the female voices are singing a counter-canon of their own.  The resulting richness of all the parts, with the orchestra throbbing beneath, is incomparable.

Then suddenly the chorus breaks into two antiphonal choruses.  “See Him!” cries the first one.  “Whom?” asks the second.  And the first answers: “The Bridegroom see. See Him!” “How?” “So like a Lamb.”  And then over against all this questioning and answering and throbbing, the voice of a boys’ choir sing out the chorale tune, “O Lamb of God Most Holy,” piercing through the worldly pain with the icy-clear truth of redemption.[ii]

Bach creates an immersive classic that presents the truth of the Gospel with commentary, but in a manner that brings it to bear to the hearts of those listening. Click To TweetRather, Bach creates an immersive classic that presents the truth of the Gospel with commentary, but in a manner that brings it to bear to the hearts of those listening. While the choirs sing in the key of E-minor associated with grief and sorrow, the melody of “O Lamb of God” soars above in the brighter key of G. Rhythmically, the meter is 12/8 like a siciliano—a Baroque pastoral dance supporting the idea of Christ as the Lamb of God.

Other musical cues include:

When Jesus tells the disciples that one of them will betray him, they respond with the question, “Lord, is’t I?” eleven times.

With the text “The Savior, Low, Before His Father Bending,” the repeated descending notes depict the willingness of Christ to obey His Father even unto death.

In the aria “Gladly Would I Take Upon Me,” the soloist sings of the believer’s willingness to follow in the path of Christ, and Bach inserts a melodic series of notes that spell out his name backwards—an action similar to Rembrandt including his own face in a painting of the crucifixion.

In a long section pertaining specifically to the cross, Bach uses more sharps in the music. In German, the word for sharps (#) is Kreuz which is the same word for “cross.”

Again and again, Bach uses similar techniques and devices to emphasize a musical narrative that enhances the dramatic narrative, thereby adding layers of theological depth and commentary. The overall intent transcends simply setting the text of Scripture to music. The work is epic in scale but also personal and individual. This is the greatness of Saint Matthew Passion and of all true classics.

 


Notes:

[i] Malcolm Boyd, Bach, Third Edition (New York: Oxford University Press, 2000), 159.

[ii] Ibid., 136.

Photo Credit: Nick Thompson

Gregory Wilbur

Gregory Wilbur is the Founder, permanent Trustee, Dean of Students, and Senior Fellow at New College Franklin. In addition to his role at New College Franklin, Mr. Wilbur is the Chief Musician of Cornerstone Presbyterian Church (PCA) and is the author and contributor to several books, numerous articles and speaks regularly on the arts, worship, and education at various conferences and schools. Mr. Wilbur has composed award-winning works for choir, orchestra, film, and corporate worship as well as various commissions. He recently released his fifth CD of congregational hymns called Praise Your Maker.

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