For years my friend from Merton days Sally Mears has been trying to involve me in musical ventures she organises in the Oxford area, and finally I was able to join for a performance of Bach’s St. John Passion in St Helen’s Abingdon, a historic church boasting some very fine brass chandeliers, a huge window about biblical women, and representations of family trees both of Jesus and of a long-lived and prolific former member of the congregation.
So I’ve done both Bach’s great Passion settings in successive years. Perhaps now is a good time to run through my performance history with these works, with special attention to language and historical authenticity:
a) St Matthew, when I was an undergraduate. A Come & Sing (!) performance, with organ only I think, and I can’t remember where in Oxford it took place – maybe the University Church. We sang it any old how, apart from the Evangelist who was ill and whose part was spoken. In English.
b) St John, when I was a graduate student. In Cambridge’s West Road Concert Hall (to a small audience because we were competing with a candlelit Messiah, and put on by our organ scholar who was applying at the time for an opera conducting course. With modern instruments and sung Cambridge chapel choir style, because that’s what we were. In German (I think).
c) St Matthew, in Bath Abbey in 2006 with Gavin Carr and Chorus Angelorum. We had the ECO so modern pitch but ‘baroque’ phrasing with paired quavers phrased off etc. and fast speeds. In English.
d) St Matthew, in Colston Hall with Adrian Partington and Bristol Choral Society. A baroque band with the works – oboi da caccia and all – and at baroque pitch (I mean A=415) but no specifically baroque phrasing, presumably because we were a large choir. Fast speeds again – as with c), this may have been the conductor’s personal style rather than a striving for historically informed performance practice. In German.
Which brings me to:
e) St John, in St Helen’s Abingdon with Sally Mears and the Newman Singers. A mixture of instruments – mostly modern but we did have a bass viol, lute and theorbo – and at modern pitch but with baroque phrasing and fast speeds again. In English (mostly the old Novello version, but with quite a few changes).
This performance was semi-staged, with solo singers moving around (we in the chorus moved a bit too) and some instruments of the Passion, such as scourge, crown of thorns and robe. Christus was led off stage as his burial was described, but returned quietly for the final chorale.
I think I may be in the minority who prefer the St John Passion to the St Matthew. Not that I wish to criticise the latter, but the St John has an intensity that comes from its relative compression (for example, the arias mostly don’t come with preceding recitatives). And the chorale harmonisations are particularly inspired, especially the last one.