March 17, 2014.Bach.Johann Sebastian Bach was born on March 21th, 1685 (but see the note below) in Eisenach, a small town in what is now the central German state of Thuringia, but back then – the ducal seat of the house of Saxe-Eisenach.After working in Weimar for nine years and then serving at the court of Prince Leopold of Anhalt-Köthen for the following six (1717 through 1723), Bach received several prestigious positions in Leipzig.He was appointed the cantor of the Tomasschule, the school of the St. Thomas church, where he was to serve as the choir director.He was also made the music director of two other important churches in the city, St. Nicholas church (Nikolaikirche) and Paulinerkirche, the University church.His responsibilities included teaching music to the students at the school (the choirs of the main churches in Leipzig were formed from the best students of Tomasschule) and composing music for the three main churches.His most important assignment was to provide music for Sunday services.Every Sunday he was supposed to conduct a cantata, and he composed most of them himself.Additional cantatas were composed for holidays.Fortunately, during the Advent and Lent music was not performed, which gave Bach a respite.Cantatas were collected in annual cycles; in Bach’s obituary five such cycles are mentioned, of these three still exist and two were lost.While in Leipzig, Bach wrote more than 300 cantatas, of which more than 200 survive.
Despite this astonishing workload, he found time early in 1724 to create one of his major masterpieces, a sacred oratorio The St. John Passion.The Passion was composed for the Good Friday evening service.The basis of the text comes from the two chapters, 18 and 19, of the Gospel According to St. John, in Martin Luther’s translation.It was set in two parts.Part I starts with the Betrayal and Capture of Jesus, following with Peter’s Denial.Part II continues with Interrogation and Flagellation, then Condemnation and Crucifixion, followed by The Death of Jesus, and, finally, The Burial.The Evangelist, sung by a tenor, directly follows the words of the Gospel, narrating the text in recitative.The texts of the chorals come from the 16th and 17th century German hymnals.The Passion is also interspersed with arias for an alto (sometimes sung by a countertenor), a tenor, a soprano, and a bass.These voices represent the characters of the Gospel, such as Jesus himself, Apostle Peter, Pilate, and minor characters.They also sing for the people of Israel and the congregation.
Bach intended the Passion to be performed in the Thomaskirche, but at the last moment it was moved to St. Nicolas church.The harpsichord had to be repaired and additional room created for the choir, but that was done in time.The council sent out the flyers announcing the change of venue.Bach’s original orchestration was intimate: strings, basso continuo, flutes, oboes, and probably lute, viola d’amore and viola da gamba.In the 20th century a “romantic” tradition developed, with a much larger orchestra and richer sound.Lately, though, the process has reversed to something more resembling Bach’s original intentions.We’ll hear one such interpretation: Part I of The St. John Passion is performed by Concentus Musicus Wien, one of the earlier period-instrument ensembles, with the Arnold Schoenberg Choir, Nikolaus Harnoncourt conducting.It runs about 35 minutes.
A note on the dates: in 1685, when Bach was born, all German principalities were still using the Julian calendar, even though Italy and some other Catholic countries had converted to the new calendar, following the bull of Pope Gregory, in 1582 (therefore called Gregorian). German states didn’t adopt the modern calendar till 1700. By the time Bach was born, the difference between the Julian and Gregorian calendars (old and new styles) amounted to 10 days. That’s why some sources put Bach’s birthday on March 31, 1685.
Johann Sebastian Bach 2014
March 17, 2014. Bach. Johann Sebastian Bach was born on March 21th, 1685 (but see the note below) in Eisenach, a small town in what is now the central German state of Thuringia, but back then – the ducal seat of
the house of Saxe-Eisenach. After working in Weimar for nine years and then serving at the court of Prince Leopold of Anhalt-Köthen for the following six (1717 through 1723), Bach received several prestigious positions in Leipzig. He was appointed the cantor of the Tomasschule, the school of the St. Thomas church, where he was to serve as the choir director. He was also made the music director of two other important churches in the city, St. Nicholas church (Nikolaikirche) and Paulinerkirche, the University church. His responsibilities included teaching music to the students at the school (the choirs of the main churches in Leipzig were formed from the best students of Tomasschule) and composing music for the three main churches. His most important assignment was to provide music for Sunday services. Every Sunday he was supposed to conduct a cantata, and he composed most of them himself. Additional cantatas were composed for holidays. Fortunately, during the Advent and Lent music was not performed, which gave Bach a respite. Cantatas were collected in annual cycles; in Bach’s obituary five such cycles are mentioned, of these three still exist and two were lost. While in Leipzig, Bach wrote more than 300 cantatas, of which more than 200 survive.
Despite this astonishing workload, he found time early in 1724 to create one of his major masterpieces, a sacred oratorio The St. John Passion. The Passion was composed for the Good Friday evening service. The basis of the text comes from the two chapters, 18 and 19, of the Gospel According to St. John, in Martin Luther’s translation. It was set in two parts. Part I starts with the Betrayal and Capture of Jesus, following with Peter’s Denial. Part II continues with Interrogation and Flagellation, then Condemnation and Crucifixion, followed by The Death of Jesus, and, finally, The Burial. The Evangelist, sung by a tenor, directly follows the words of the Gospel, narrating the text in recitative. The texts of the chorals come from the 16th and 17th century German hymnals. The Passion is also interspersed with arias for an alto (sometimes sung by a countertenor), a tenor, a soprano, and a bass. These voices represent the characters of the Gospel, such as Jesus himself, Apostle Peter, Pilate, and minor characters. They also sing for the people of Israel and the congregation.
Bach intended the Passion to be performed in the Thomaskirche, but at the last moment it was moved to St. Nicolas church. The harpsichord had to be repaired and additional room created for the choir, but that was done in time. The council sent out the flyers announcing the change of venue. Bach’s original orchestration was intimate: strings, basso continuo, flutes, oboes, and probably lute, viola d’amore and viola da gamba. In the 20th century a “romantic” tradition developed, with a much larger orchestra and richer sound. Lately, though, the process has reversed to something more resembling Bach’s original intentions. We’ll hear one such interpretation: Part I of The St. John Passion is performed by Concentus Musicus Wien, one of the earlier period-instrument ensembles, with the Arnold Schoenberg Choir, Nikolaus Harnoncourt conducting. It runs about 35 minutes.
A note on the dates: in 1685, when Bach was born, all German principalities were still using the Julian calendar, even though Italy and some other Catholic countries had converted to the new calendar, following the bull of Pope Gregory, in 1582 (therefore called Gregorian). German states didn’t adopt the modern calendar till 1700. By the time Bach was born, the difference between the Julian and Gregorian calendars (old and new styles) amounted to 10 days. That’s why some sources put Bach’s birthday on March 31, 1685.