250 years ago: Bach's St. Matthew Passion premiered (March 30, 1736)

Last updated 11/20/2020.

St. Matthew Passion (Matthäuspassion), for soloists, double chorus, & double orchestra, BWV 244 (BC D3b) Johann Sebastian Bach (composer)

Composed: 1729-1736 First Performed: March 30, 1736 Peak: -- US, -- UK, -- CN, -- AU Sales (in millions): -- US, -- UK, -- world (includes US and UK) Genre: classical > choral

Parts/Movements: No. 1, "Kommt, ihr Tochter, helft mir klagen", Chorus "Da Jesus diese Rede vollendet hatte", Recitative for tenor "Herzliebster Jesu, was hast du verbrochen", Chorus a. "Da versammelten sich die Hohenpriester", Recitative for tenor b. "Ja nicht auf das Fest, auf dass nicht ein Aufruhr", Chorus c. "Da nun Jesus war zu Bethanien", Recitative for tenor d. "Wozu dienet dieser Unrat?", Chorus e. "Da das Jesus merkete, sprach er zu ihnen", Recitative for tenor & bass "Du lieber Heiland du", Recitative for alto "Buß und Reu' knirscht das Sundeerherz entzwei", Aria for alto "Da ging hin der Zwolfen einer, mit Namen Judas Ischarioth", Recitative for tenor & bass "Blute nur, du liebes Herz!", Aria for soprano a. "Aber am ersten Tage der süßen Brot'", Recitative for tenor b. "Wo willst du, daß wir dir bereiten", Chorus c. "Er sprach: Gehet hin in die Stadt zu Einem", Recitative for tenor & bass d. "Und die Junger taten", Recitative for tenor e. "Und sie wurden sehr betrubt", Recitative for tenor f. "Herr, bin ich's", Chorus "Ich bin's ich sollte büßen", Chorus "Er antwortet und sprach", Recitative for tenor & bass "Wiewohl mein Herz in Tranen schwimmt", Recitative for soprano "Ich will dir mein Herze schenken", Aria for soprano "Und da sie den Lobgesang gesprochen hatten", Recitative for tenor & bass "Erkenne mich, mein Hüter", Chorus "Petrus aber antwortete und sprach zu ihn", Recitative for tenor & bass "Ich will hier bei dir stehen", Chorus "Da kam Jesus mit ihnen zu einem Hofe", Recitative for tenor & bass "O Schmerz! hier zittert das gequalte Herz!", Recitative for tenor "Ich will bei meinem Jesu wachen", Aria for tenor "Und ging hin ein wenig, fiel nieder auf sein Angesicht", Recitative for tenor & bass "Der Heiland fällt vor seinem Vater nieder", Recitative for bass "Gerne will ich mich bequemen", Aria for bass "Und er kam zu seinen Jüngern und fand sie Schlafend", Recitative for tenor & bass "Was mein Gott will, das g'scheh' allzeit", Chorus "Und er kam und fand sie aber schlafend", Recitative for tenor a. "So ist mein Jesus nun gefangen", Duet for soprano & alto b. "Laßt ihn, haltet, bindet nicht", Chorus c. "Sind Blitze, sind Donner in Wolken verschwunden", Chorus "Und siehe, einer aus denen, die mit Jesu waren", Recitative for tenor & bass "O Mensch, bewein' dein' Sünde groß", Chorus "Ach, nun ist mein Jesus hin!", Aria for alto "Die aber Jesum gegriffen hatten", Recitative for tenor "Mir hat die Welt", Chorus a. "Und wiewohl viel falsche Zeugen herzutraten", Recitative for tenor & bass b. "Er hat gesagt: Ich kann den Tempel Gottes abbrechen", Recitative for alto & tenor "Mein Jesus schweigt", Recitative for tenor "Geduld, wenn mich falsche Zungen stechen", Aria for organ a. "Und der Hohepriester antwortet und sprach", Recitative for tenor b. "Er ist des Todes schuldig", Chorus c. "Da speiten sie aus in sein Angesicht", Recitative for tenor d. "Weissage uns", Chorus "Wer hat dich so geschlagen", Chorus a. "Petrus aber saß draußen im Palast", Recitative for 2 sopranos, tenor & bass b. "Wahrlich, du bist auch einer von denen", Chorus c. "Da hub er an, sich zu verfluchen und zu schworen sich verpflicht'", Recitative for tenor & bass "Erbarme dich, meine Gott", Aria for alto ["Have mercy, Lord"] "Bin ich gleich von dir gewichen", Chorus a. "Des Morgens aber hielten alle Hohenpriester Rat", Recitative for tenor & bass b. "Was gehet uns das an?", Chorus c. "Und er warfe die Silberlinge in den Tempel", Recitative for tenor "Gebt mir meinen Jesum wieder!", Aria for bass "Sie hielten aber einen Rat", Recitative for tenor & basses "Befiehl du deine Wege", Chorus a. "Auf das Fest aber hatte der Landpfleger", Recitative for tenor, soprano & bass b. "Lass ihn kreuzigen/Sie sprachen: Barrabam!", Chorus "Wie wunderbarlich ist doch diese Strafe!", Chorus "Der Landpfleger sagte: Was hat er denn Ubels getan?", Recitative for tenor & bass "Er hat uns Allen wohlgetan", Recitative for soprano "Aus Liebe will mein Heiland sterben", Aria for soprano a. "Sie schrieen aber noch mehr und sprachen", Recitative for tenor & bass b. "Lass ihn kreuzigen", Chorus c. "Da aber Pilatus sahe, dass er nichts schaffete", Recitative for tenor & bass d. "Sein Blut komme uber uns", Chorus e. "Da gab er ihnen Barrabbam los", Recitative for tenor "Erbarm' es Gott! Hier steht der Heiland angebunden", Recitative for alto "Können Tränen meiner Wangen", Aria for alto a. "Da nahmen die Kriegsknechte des Landpflegers Jesum zu sich", Recitative for tenor b. "Gegrüßet seist du, Jüdenkönig", Chorus c. "Und speieten hin an", Recitative for tenor "O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden", Chorus "Und da sie ihn verspottet hatten", Recitative for tenor "Ja! freilich will in uns das Fleisch und Blut", Recitative for bass "Komm, süßes Kreuz", Aria for bass a. "Und da sie an die Stätte kamen, mit Namen Golgatha", Recitative for tenor b. "Der du den Tempel Gottes zerbrichst", Chorus c. "Desgleichen auch die Hohenpriester spotteten sein", Recitative for tenor d. "Andern hat er geholfen", Chorus e. "Desgleichen schmahete ihn auch die Morder", Recitative for tenor "Ach, Golgatha, unsel'ges Golgatha", Recitative for alto "Sehet, Jesus hat die Hand uns zu fassen ausgespannt", Aria for alto & chorus a. "Und von der sechsten Stunde an ward eine Finsternis", Recitative for tenor & bass b. "Der rufet den Elias", Chorus c. "Und bald lief einer unter ihnen", Recitative for tenor d. "Halt laß sehen", Chorus e. "Aber Jesus schriee abermal laut", Recitative for tenor "Wenn ich einmal soll scheiden", Chorus a. "Und siehe da, der Vorhang im Tempel zerriß", Recitative for tenor b. "Wahrlich, dieser ist Gottes Sohn", Chorus c. "Und es waren viel Weiber da", Recitative for tenor "Am Abend, da es kuhle war", Recitative for bass "Mache dich, mein Herze", Aria for bass a. "Und Joseph nahm den Leib", Recitative for tenor b. "Herr, wir haben gedacht", Chorus c. "Pilatus sprach zu ihnen: Da habt ihr die Huter", Recitative for tenor & bass "Nun ist der Herr zur Ruh gebracht", Recitative for bass, tenor, alto & soprano "Wir setzen uns mit Tranen nieder und rufen", Chorus Average Length: 168:40

Rating: 4.065 out of 5.00 (average of 4 ratings) Awards:

About the Work: “It is unclear exactly how many Passion settings Bach wrote: perhaps but not likely five, possibly three or four. Only two survive today; the second of these, the St. Matthew Passion dates from 1729. The Passions, Biblical texts set as large-scale musical works, were performed on Good Friday and told the story of Christ's Crucifixion, according to the Gospels.” AC “The St. Matthew Passion is a work very different in character from its extant predecessor, the St. John Passion: the former is deeply devotional, introspective, and meditative in character, while the latter is more intensely dramatic, with more action in its narrative. The St. Matthew Passion is often compared with Bach’s monumental Mass in B minor in terms of both scope and piety. Performed at St. Thomas’ Church in Leipzig, the work sets a text by Christian Picander (who may have been the author of a hypothetical, now-lost 1725 Bach Passion). Another significant difference between the St. John and St. Matthew works lies in their respective texts: the St. John text is very short, beginning with Judas’ betrayal of Christ, and focusing on Christ’s trial before Pilate; the St. Matthew text, on the other hand, is very long, containing almost twice as many verses as the St. John text.” AC “The St. Matthew Passion is also much grander musically, with its two four-part choirs and large orchestra of strings, flutes, oboes, harpsichord, and organ. Bach makes particularly poignant and varied use of his two choirs in this piece; they are heard representing the voices of different communities of believers, and also of the clamorous, derisive crowds at the Crucifixion. One celebrated aspect of the work is the way Bach uses the instrument groups to achieve various text-painting effects; a halo around Christ is suggested, for example, by the soft, sustained chords of a string ensemble, and Bach depicts the weariness of Christ on the road to Calvary with a deep pedal point. Like the St. John Passion, the St. Matthew Passion contains both Gospel text and hymn text, and both employ recitatives, arias, and choruses.” AC “The similarities between Bach’s Passions and the Catholic oratorio genre are striking. The Passions are, like the oratorio, a kind of religious opera; as in that more overtly dramatic genre, arias serve as a vehicle for lyrical expression and recitatives to advance the textual narrative. The central figure, both musically and dramatically, in the St. Matthew Passion is the Evangelist (a tenor), who narrates the story. The nature of his purely narrative, non-participatory, role is made clear through his confinement to passages of recitative; he is never afforded the opportunity for more expansive lyricism. This mode of expression falls to the other vocal soloists, who adopt the personae of those involved in the drama and give them voice.” AC “The score is best appreciated as a whole, in which context the dramatic sweep and spiritual conviction of the work are abundantly clear. However, there are a number of notable highlights that are frequently excerpted. These include the soprano aria Blute nur, du liebes Herz, the alto aria Erbarme dich, which incorporates an obbligato violin, and the bass aria Mache dich, mein Herze, rein.” AC

Resources and Related Links: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Johann Sebastian Bach AC Alexander Carpenter, All Music Guide