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The two Passions by JS Bach are quite simply epic works that describe the Passion of Christ from the point of view of the disciples John and Matthew. If you are religious (and speak German) they are highly charged emotional music that tell the story of Christ in an amazingly dramatic way.

However, if you are not religious (like me), the music and the story can still evoke powerful emotions that transcend the story itself. For me, I play these two works every Easter (sometimes many times), and yet I still feel moved and touched by them each time.

In this post, I hope to share some of the thoughts that run through my head in the performances, with YouTube recordings of some of the arias that always have me by the heart. I haven't been able to always find performances that were the "perfect" one, but I hope the text that I add about my experiences help someone also perhaps find the same beauty and tragedy in this epic work that I feel when I play it.

This first post will be about the shorter of the two Passions, the John Passion (which still weighs in at around 2 hours of music!).

The beginning of the journey

Coro: Lord, our Lord, whose glory is magnificent in all the earth!

This opening choir has the all the sense of foreboding , the sense that everything is not alright and that the start of an epic journey is about to begin. I always feel like I do at the beginning of a long travel, the bags are packed, and you are just about to leave the house. Who knows what is about to come?

A moment of rest

Aria (alto, oboes): From the bonds of my sins

Up to this point, the strings have had no break (aside from the recits). Bach always writes some fantastic music for two oboes. It is also a moment where the countertenor (a man singing at a woman's pitch) has an aria. It isn't always common for all audiences to have seen this, and the reactions are always amusing to see. The subject is serious, and the sound of the oboes suit the character. Even still, the interplay between two good oboes is always a pleasure to listen to.

Pure joy

Aria (soprano, flutes): I will follow you likewise with joyful steps

Another moment in our long break (for the strings) of about 10 minutes... The feeling of pure joy at something, but you can't find the words to express it? So happy you could cry?

Time to create magic

Arioso (bass, viole d'amore, lute): Look, my soul, with anxious pleasure

This is normally the moment for one of my soli on the viola dámore, an instrument (with 7 strings) that I pick up about 30 seconds before this aria, raise the stand, prepare the music and get up and play. Meanwhile, the aria is one of calm... before the storm.

The "storm"

Aria (tenor, viole d'amore): Consider how his blood-stained back

Immediately after is the "storm". Well, it isn't a storm but this piece is a bit tricky on the d'amore and you just have to make it sound effortless . You are also at the mercy of the instrument, it hasn't been tuned for about 20 minutes/30 minutes now, and for a gut stringed instrument that is an eternity. You rapidly find out if it's still in tune or if you are about to work hard for your soloist fee....

The moment

Aria (alto, viola da gamba): It is finished!

This is the moment of the entire Passion, the moment as Jesus dies. Needless to say, it is an incredibly moving and intense moment. The middle section however, breaks the mood temporarily, for me it is especially mood breaking as the opening bar of the fast section sounds a lot like the Australian national anthem... However, it is quickly back to the sombre mood and the huge silence and stillness that often follows.

The painful joy

Aria (bass) e coro: My precious Savior, let ask you

Something terrible has happened, yet there everything must continue. The emotion that I feel is the one that you where put on a "cheerful" mask when you are torn to pieces inside.

Don't cry

Aria (soprano, flute, oboe da caccia): Melt, my heart, in floods of tears

By this stage, between exhaustion from playing and the journey of the story, I am an easy emotional target. This aria nearly does it for me every time. With tears overflowing, it is such a beautiful soprano aria with oboe da caccia and flute that is even more poignant when the bass goes missing. It really reminds me of people who are no longer with us that we miss dearly.

The end

Coro: Rest well

For me this the end. I wish there waa not another short chorale after this. This should have been the end, nothing left.

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