Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered,
so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.
so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.
—Revelation 5:5
“There is one thing to preach, the wisdom of the cross.” These oft-quoted words of Luther come from a sermon fragment from 1515, wherein Luther was answering the question, “What shall I preach?” Hermann Sasse (1895–1976) summarizes what this means for the church, especially as she prepares yet again to ponder on Jesus’ Holy Passion: “The wisdom of the cross, the word of the cross, a great stumbling block to the world, is the proper content of Christian preaching, is the Gospel itself. So thinks Luther and the Lutheran Church with him.” To be sure, the centrality of the cross does “does not mean that for the theologian the whole church year shrinks to Good Friday.” Rather, Sasse says, it means that “one cannot understand Christmas, Easter, or Pentecost without Good Friday” (Letters to Lutheran Pastors, 1:387).
The centrality of the cross (used here as shorthand for the entire narrative of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection) is evident in sacred music the Lutheran way, especially in the musical presentation of Jesus’ Passion through the centuries. Briefly summarized, the early church often devoted one day a week to reading the entire Passion during Holy Week: St. Matthew on Monday, St. Mark on Tuesday, St. Luke on Wednesday, and St. John on Friday, saving Maundy Thursday for Communion Propers and foot washings. Musical settings inevitably developed, with soloists singing individual roles (Jesus, Peter, Pilate, etc.) and choirs singing the turba or “crowd” choruses (“Let him be crucified,” “His blood be on us and on our children,” etc.). In Bach’s Leipzig, poetic texts (including chorales) served as a running “sermon” on the Passion. During Bach’s tenure in Leipzig (1723–1750), a “Passion set to music” was expected at Vespers every Good Friday at 3:00 p.m. Whether the music was by Bach or by another composer, the musical presentation of Jesus’ Passion was “without question the musical high spot of the [church] year” (Christoph Wolff, Liner notes, Archiv CD 427 648, p. 25).
John Butt describes the precedent for Bach’s first Passion setting, the 1724 version of his St. John Passion:
John Butt describes the precedent for Bach’s first Passion setting, the 1724 version of his St. John Passion:
The oratorio passion—a genre in which the standard Passion narrative was embellished with freely composed verse and chorales, and employed Italian operatic genres—had been familiar in several north German cities since the middle of the 17th century. However, it was a novelty in conservative Leipzig, the first performance being in the Neukirche [New Church] in 1717. The innovation evidently met with sufficient approval for it to be adopted at the Thomaskirche in 1721, two years before Bach’s arrival. (Oxford Composers Companions, J. S. Bach, p. 425)
The aria that I have chosen is a marvelous alto aria, inserted within St. John 19:30, “When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, ‘It is finished,’ [the librettist inserts the aria here] and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.” As you survey the text of the aria beneath the video link, you will see that first section (labeled “A” below) preaches the good news that salvation is accomplished. All is fulfilled! The hour came for the Son of God to manifest God’s true glory, the glory of the cross, resulting in the end of the night of sorrow and the dawning of the new creation. But the B section takes a dramatic musical and textual turn to highlight the good news that, far from being a helpless victim of surprising circumstances, the Lion of the tribe of Judah was victorious even in the moment of His death, for by His death “the night of mourning now counts [its] final hour.” Again, it is accomplished! The Son of God is victorious! The B section ends with a recapitulation of the words, “It is finished,” so that the congregation in Leipzig heard these words of richest and purest gospel multiple times, leaving no doubt that salvation is indeed accomplished. A portion of the A section is then repeated, so that the words "It is finished" function as an antiphon for the aria. How many elements of musical contrast can you list between sections A and B?
| A Es ist Vollbracht! O Trost vor die gekränkten Seelen! Die Trauernacht Läßt nun die letzte Stunde zahlen. B Der Held aus Juda siegt mit Macht Und schließt den Kampf Es ist Vollbracht! | It is finished! O comfort for suffering human souls! The night of mourning now counts the final hour. The hero from Judah triumphs with power and closes the battle. It is finished! |
Alfred Dürr notes several contrasts between the two contrasting parts of this aria. “It is finished” utilizes the pathos of the viola da gamba, 4/4 meter, the minor mode, complex harmonies, dotted rhythms, and a declamatory (i.e., text-based) melodic style. “The hero from Judah,” by contrast, employs tutti strings, 3/4 meter, the major mode, simple harmonies, predictable rhythmic patterns, and large vocal range with large, fanfare-like leaps (Johann Sebastian Bach’s St. John Passion: Genesis, Transmission and Meaning, p. 88). Hence, the A section preaches the theology of the cross; the B section uses fanfare motifs to proclaim that the death of Jesus is good news, for His death is your life.
John Eliot Gardiner says of Bach’s Passions, “When speaking of Rembrandt’s religious paintings, Goethe implied that the painter not so much ‘illustrated’ biblical events as took them ‘beyond their scriptural basis’. That is exactly what Bach does [in his Passions]: but rather than pigment it is the musical substance that is ‘shone through’” (BACH: Music in the Castle of Heaven, p. 395). This is most certainly true! This aria, along with the rich repository of texts in all of Bach’s Passions, does not merely restate the events of Jesus’ Passion. Even more so, they preach, present, and proclaim in a rich palette of musical vocabulary the good news of the Passion of Christ to save you.
John Eliot Gardiner says of Bach’s Passions, “When speaking of Rembrandt’s religious paintings, Goethe implied that the painter not so much ‘illustrated’ biblical events as took them ‘beyond their scriptural basis’. That is exactly what Bach does [in his Passions]: but rather than pigment it is the musical substance that is ‘shone through’” (BACH: Music in the Castle of Heaven, p. 395). This is most certainly true! This aria, along with the rich repository of texts in all of Bach’s Passions, does not merely restate the events of Jesus’ Passion. Even more so, they preach, present, and proclaim in a rich palette of musical vocabulary the good news of the Passion of Christ to save you.
O perfect life of love!
All, all is finished now,
All that He left His throne above
To do for us below.
No work is left undone
Of all the Father willed;
His toil, His sorrows, one by one,
The Scriptures have fulfilled. (The Lutheran Hymnal 170.1–2)
You who have suffered for us, have mercy upon us!
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Extra Choral Credit: Hearing Bach’s St. John Passion in its Entirety
We will return to various Passion settings in this occasional “Singing the Praise of Him Who Died” series, highlighting them thematically through the church year. Indeed, the treasury of Passion settings is vast and deep, but hearing them in their entirety is a challenge due to length alone, not to mention the potential language barrier. (There is also much to be said about the attractions of a live performance over a recording.) As a Good Friday musical meditation for 2022, may I recommend the following recording of Bach’s St. John Passion by the very capable (some would say virtuosic) Bach Collegium Japan? The English subtitles allow the hearer to easily follow the drama of the narrative and to meditate on the good news that it all happened for you and for your salvation. The aria discussed in Part 1 above begins at 1:15:12 in the video linked here: youtu.be/SiKgrevzT-g
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