A Passion for Bach | Standpoint

June 2008

One particular moment in the Matthew struck me, for the first time, as a manifestation of the mundanity (in the best sense) of Bach’s genius. The aria for alto and oboes da caccia with choir, “Sehet”, speaks of Christ stretching out his arms to gather in the oppressed sinners, the “verlassnen Küchlein” or abandoned chicks. What makes that homely image of Christ as a sort of mother hen so tender and moving is the extraordinary sound that the oboes make together: a clucking, farmyard noise.

My St John Passion took place in London, with the brilliant choral director and conductor Stephen Layton, and a band of old instruments — dramatic, almost theatrical, but deeply felt. Mannerism is often used as a negative term in criticising classical singing or playing, but in fact mannerism and its inflections are at the heart of what we do. What we have regained by using old instruments is a whole series of 18th-century mannerisms which had been lost; ways of articulating and phrasing which modern instruments and styles of singing, with their emphasis on line, blend and consistency of palette, had almost obliterated.

Singing the Matthew with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the legendary Bernard Haitink should, I suppose, have been very different. It was, amazingly, Haitink’s first performance of a Bach Passion. In all his years at the Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam — which has a long and distinguished Bach tradition — he was never asked to conduct a Bach Passion, to his regret.

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Janet Kenny

May 31st, 2008
3:05 AM

I am surprised, and yet perhaps not surprised, to read such a misunderstanding of Handel and of Italian music, from Ian Bostridge, a great interpreter and singer. We all have our blind spots. Ian Bostridge has a genius for finding the human longing in the music of the great northern European composers, from Bach to Britten. I was once a professional singer and performed the alto solo part in Bach's Passion according to St. Matthew in Crawley, England. Another great "Ian" (Partridge) was the sublime Evangelist on that occasion. It was during that performance that I realised that the seeds of the tragedy of the 20th century were germinating in that work. To claim a greater purity for Bach over the sunny innocence of Handel shows,in my experience, a conditioned response that does not reflect reality. I must revere Bach but I also revere Handel. As for plagiarism in the music of Handel, Bach was not shy about appropriating the music of Vivaldi. It was a common practice and part of the musical conversation. Janet Kenny Janet Kenny

Savta Dotty

May 30th, 2008
9:05 AM

Having just listened to "Erbarme Dich" on my iPod while riding the bus, I can only applaud your return to my favorite work of music of all time, "The Saint Matthew Passion." As a secular Jew, I have always felt that Bach's music, like no one else's, transcends man-made religious categories and offers us Religion with a capital "R."

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