As written by Bruce Pullan
On Good Friday 1724, almost exactly one year after his appointment as Cantor of St. Thomas' Church, Leipzig, Bach's St. John Passion was given its first performance. Originally intended for performance in St. Thomas, the town council voted to move it to the St. Nicholas Church, a move sanctioned by the Cantor on condition that the harpsichord there was repaired. As Music Director in Leipzig, Bach was in charge of the school where choristers were trained to sing in the four churches, headed by St. Thomas. When the council appointed him in 1723 he was not in the top five candidates; the only one without a doctorate and not much favoured. One town councilor famously remarked: 'since the best man could not be obtained, mediocre ones would have to be accepted'.
The St. John Passion, one of his first major works for Leipzig certainly gives the lie to this curious judgment, surpassed perhaps only by an aged widow in the congregation, whose review of the St. Matthew Passion was the only recorded opinion of the time: 'God help us! It's an opera comedy!'
The Passion settings were part of the Holy Week services; indeed the John was written in two parts so that there could be a sermon in between. It is very different from the more familiar St. Matthew, reflecting the mood, form and content of the two accounts. The St. John, comprising largely Chapters 18 and 19 of the Gospel focuses on the power and majesty of Christ. He turns questioners back on their questions; his utterances are not surrounded by an ethereal 'halo' of string parts; he is direct and authoritative. He is clearly portrayed as the Saviour coming down to earth before returning to the Father in Glory. There is no betrayal kiss; Christ says, when confronted by the mob raised by Judas; 'I am He; let these men go their way'.
The narrative is told in fast moving, dramatic recitative with the 'characters' being the Evangelist; Christ; Pilate; Peter and servants. The Chorus represents the crowd, and particularly in Part Two deliver urgent angry calls for blood in fast and often chromatic discords. The Chorus also interpolates Lutheran hymns (Chorales) helping the audience to understand the implications of the drama as it unfolds. The work begins with a monumental opening chorus, a hymn of praise which is a paraphrase of Psalm 8 and also contains the grating discords, featured throughout the drama. The end of the work is a final chorus hoping for peace in the death of the mortal body, followed surprisingly by a final triumphant Chorale with some of Bach's most transcendent harmony.
The Arias are sung by four solo singers who in a subjective and deeply emotional way represent for the listener the effect of the events that all are witnessing. The Alto repeats in horror Christ's final words: 'Es ist vollbracht' and creates a devastatingly moving tableau of the crucifixion scene. After Peter's third denial (in a passage imported by Bach from Matthew's Gospel), the Tenor sings an almost hysterical aria of self-reproach. When Pilate has Christ scourged, the Bass soloist sings a sublime, sweet meditation, where thorns are turned to primroses. After the rending of the veil of the temple (the other dramatic import from Matthew), the Soprano breaks down in very human tears.
On a personal note, this work has always been very important to me. I feel that it contrasts and complements the rhapsodic and almost symphonic St. Matthew Passion. It is uncompromising, rugged, immediate and in a very human sense somehow vulnerable. It is certainly not an 'Opera-Comedy', but it does carry with it all the ability of a great opera to move the listener to compassion and understanding of the human condition and religious experience.
