Come join us in performing Bach's St. Matthew Passion!
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 Cultivating Westchester since 1951  |
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The St. John Passion Was A Radical
Departure for 1724
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Johann Sebastian Bach raised the audience's eyebrows
and their spirits
with the St. John Passion
Bach
made a fairly radical departure in the exciting and popular genre of Passions
in his day. Most importantly, he raised the form to unsurpassed heights
in scope, musical complexity and inner structure.
Bach
shows his musical genius and versatility by creating a work that is very
different from even his own St. Matthew's Passion, which would not be
performed until 1727. His inspiration was grounded in a sophisticated
theological understanding of the differences between the spirit of the
two biblical accounts.
St.
Matthew's Passion is well known for its brooding quality, expressing the
weight of darkness in our world and lives.
Listening
to St. John's Passion is a more uplifting experience. Here the creative
tension does not come from the weight of darkness itself. Instead it arises
from the contrast between light and darkness, hope and despair.
Without
denying the various forms in which darkness threatens to undo the light,
for St. John ~ and in the music of Bach ~ there is little doubt which
will ultimately overcome!
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