St John Passion - Popular Sections

Popular Sections

• opening chorus: "Herr, unser Herrscher ..." ("Lord, our master, whose glory fills the whole earth, show us by your Passion that you, the true eternal Son of God, triumph even in the deepest humiliation." Herr, unser Herrscher on YouTube). There is an orchestral intonation of 36 bars before the imploding entrance of the chorus. Each of these bars is a single stress of lower tones, weakening till the end of the bar. These bass beats are accompanied by the remaining instruments of higher tunes, by legato singing the prospective theme. The last six bars of the orchestral intro produce a robust crescendo, arriving to shouting forte initial three bars of the chorus, where the chorus joins to the long sequence of deep stresses by Herr, Herr, Herr. Soon, after the first portion of the theme, comes the triple Herr, Herr, Herr again, but this time, at the end of the bars, as a contra answer for the corresponding orchestral deep stresses at the beginning of the bars. Just before the composer's ideas could dry out, the full beginning is repeated. But this time our illusion is, as if we heard 36 Herrs.

  "Herr, unser Herrscher" and "O Mensch, bewein dein Sünde groß" are very different in character. The latter is full of torment in its text, but a serenely majestic piece of music. "Herr, unser Herrscher" sounds as if it has chains of dissonance between the two oboes and the turmoil of the roiling sixteenth notes in the strings. Especially when they invade the bass it is full of anguish and therefore it characterizes the St John Passion more so.

• commenting arias: The first part of the St John Passion includes three commenting arias. There is an alto aria called "Von den Stricken meiner Sünden" (From the tangle of my transgressions). This includes an intertwined oboe line that brings back many characteristics of the opening chorus. Another aria is an enchanting flute and soprano duet, "Ich folge dir gleichfalls". In this piece the verbs "ziehen" (to pull) and "schieben" (to push) stimulate Bach's delight in musical illustration. The third aria is a passionate tenor solo that is accompanied by all the instruments. This piece is called "Ach, mein Sinn" (O my soul)
• the death of Jesus: "Es ist vollbracht! ..." ("It is accomplished; what comfort for suffering human souls! I can see the end of the night of sorrow. The hero from Judah ends his victorious fight. It is accomplished!" Es ist vollbracht! on YouTube). The central part is essentially a viola da gamba solo and an alto aria. The theme is introduced by a single viola da gamba gently accompanied in a usual basso continuo setting. Then comes the solo vocal interpretation. There is a habit — at least in Hungary —, that if the performance is in a church with living congregational live, then the performance is suspended just after this section, in order to pray the Pater Noster together.
• closing chorale: Ach Herr, lass dein lieb Engelein ... (O Lord, send your cherub in my last hour to bear my soul away to Abraham's bosom; ... Listen: ). This chorale — with alternative lyrics — is still in regular use in the congregations, see the score of the Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Hungary. The beginning of the theme is a descending sequence, but in overall the theme is full of emotion as well. Singing this chorale standalone does not sound a closing chorale, except if it is sung at the end of a real ceremony.