Johann Sebastian Bach's St John Passion (BWV 245): A

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Johann Sebastian Bach’s St John Passion (BWV 245): A Theological Commentary Studies in the History of Christian Traditions

Editor in Chief

Robert J. Bast (Knoxville, Tennessee)

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Paul C.H. Lim (Nashville, Tennessee) Eric Saak (Liverpool) Christine Shepardson (Knoxville,Tennessee) Brian Tierney (Ithaca, New York) Arjo Vanderjagt (Groningen) John Van Engen (Notre Dame, Indiana)

Founding Editor

Heiko A. Oberman †

volume 168

The titles published in this series are listed at brill.com/shct Johann Sebastian Bach’s St John Passion (BWV 245): A Theological Commentary

With a New Study Translation by Katherine Firth and a Foreword by N.T. Wright

By Andreas Loewe

leiden | boston Cover illustration: High Altar Reredos of St Paul’s Cathedral in Melbourne, Australia. Photo by Dr Carsten Murawski. Courtesy of St Paul’s Cathedral.

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This book is printed on acid-free paper. For Katherine

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Contents

List of Tables and Figures ix List of Abbreviations xi Foreword xiii N.T. Wright Acknowledgements xix

Introduction 1 1 From the ‘Fifth Evangelist’ to the Birth of the Neue Bachausgabe 3 2 Theological Bach Research: Back to the Sources 6 3 Considering Anti-Judaism in Bach’s Music 9 4 Bach and Theology Re-assessed 10 5 Purpose and Scope of This Study 12

part 1 Composer and Work

1 Learning the Craft of a Church Musician 21 1 Bach’s Schooling 21 2 Singer, Instrumentalist, Church Musician 24 3 ‘Singing preaching and praising of God’ 29

2 ‘It pleased God that I should be called’—Bach’s Office and Craft 32 1 The Purpose of Church Music 36 2 ‘Gnaden-Gegenwart’: God’s Presence in Sacred Music 39 3 Music for the Glory of God 41

3 Proclaiming Scripture through Music—The Development of Bach’s Cantatas 44 1 Musical and Textual Models for Bach’s Early Cantatas 45 2 The ‘Modern Cantata’ 49 3 From Köthen to Leipzig: from Capellmeister to Lutheran Cantor 54 4 The Leipzig Cantatas: Words and Music that Amplify Scripture 60 5 Composing, Rehearsing and Performing the Cantata 66

4 Bach’s St John Passion 68 1 The Development of the Lutheran Responsorial Passion 70 viii contents

2 The Liturgical and Homiletic Context of Bach’s St John Passion 74 3 The Libretto of Bach’s St John Passion 78 3.1 Textual Elements of the St John Passion: Biblical Text 80 3.2 Textual Elements: Madrigalic Texts 84 3.3 Textual Elements: Chorales 86 4 The Purpose and Message of Bach’s St John Passion 91

part 2 Commentary

5 Introduction to the Commentary 99

6 Study Translation 100 Katherine Firth

7 Commentaries and Sermon Collections 135 1 Abraham Calov’s ‘Great German Bible’ (1682) 136 2 Johannes Olearius’Haupt Schlüßel (1681) 136 3 Sermon Collections: Martin Luther (1528–1529) 138

8 Commentary 141 1 Prima Parte—First Part of the Passion 141 Exordium—Prologue 141 Hortus—Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane 147 Pontifices—Jesus Before the Chief Priests 160 2 Parte Secunda: Nach der Predigt 184 Pilatus—Jesus Before Pilate 184 Crux—Jesus Dies on the Cross 259 Sepulchrum—Jesus is Laid in the Tomb 290

Bibliography 299 Index of Names 322 Index of Places 325 Index of Bach’s Works by BWV Number 326 Index of Themes 328 List of Tables and Figures

Tables

1 Libretti published in Salomo Franck’s Evangelisches Andachts-Opffer, Geist und Weltlicher Poesien Zweyter Teil and Evangelische Sonn- und Festtages-Andachten (1716) 53 2 Libretti published in Ziegler’s Versuch in gebundener Schreib-Art (1728) 62 3 Libretti published in Picander’s Ernst-Schertzhaffte und Satyrische Gedichte 63 4 Libretto of Bach’s St John Passion as first performed in 1724 (I) 82 5 Libretto of Bach’s St John Passion as performed in 1725 (II) 83 6 Known and Unknown sources of Free Poetry in Bach’s St John Passion 86 7 Consolation and Commitment in Arias and Ariosos of Bach’s St John Passion 87 8 Interior Questions and Answers in the Chorus Arias of Bach’s St John Passion 88 9 Actus Chorales in Bach’s St John Passion 89 10 Petitions from Stockmann’s Passion Chorale in Bach’s St John Passion 90

Figures

1 Dedication of Solomon’s Temple: Frontispiece of the 1673 Eisenachisches Gesangbuch, Herzog August Bibliothek Wolfenbüttel, TL 45 37 2 Exterior and Interior of St Thomas’ Church Leipzig: Frontispiece of the 1710 Leipziger Kirchen-Staat, Niedersächsische Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek Göttingen, 8 H E RIT I, 11920 57 3 Picander’s Texts for the Passion-Music according to the Evangelist Matthew set to music by Bach in the St Matthew Passion, 1727, from the 1748 Ernst-Scherzhafte und Satyrische Gedichte, p. 471, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek München, P.O. germ. 600 e/2 65 4 Frontispiece of Bach’s copy of Calov’s annotated New Testament from the Great German Bible, Concordia Theological Seminary, St Louis, Missouri 137 5 Mors: Olearius’ commentary on John’s account of the death of Jesus, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek München, 2 Exeg. 650 e-5 139 x list of tables and figures

6 Autograph Score, p. 11: Different Cross-motifs (1–3, 2–4 and 1–4, 2–3) on ‘Jesum von Nazareth’, Bach Digital Project 151 7 Autograph Score, p. 12: Cross-motifs (1–4, 2–3) on ‘Jesum von Nazareth’, Bach Digital Project 155 8 Autograph Score, p. 17: Cross-motif (1–4, 2–3) on ‘Jesu nach und’, Bach Digital Project 165 9 Intrade Herrn Sebastian Knüpfers, Kritischer Bericht 179 10 Autograph Score, p. 34: Answers to Questions, though not in Bach’s hand, Bach Digital Project 203 11 Johann Saubert, DYODEKAS emblematum sacrorum (1625): The alto voice as an expression of the Holy Spirit, Bibliothèque Municipale de Lyon, SJ CS 320/5 272 List of Abbreviations

ADB Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (Leipzig: Duncker & Humblot, 1890) Ant. Flavius Josephus, Jewish Antiquities, with an English Translation by Louis H. Feldman, Loeb Classical Library 411 (Cambridge, Mass.: Har- vard University Press, 1969) BB Robin A. Leaver, Bachs theologische Bibliothek: Eine kritische Bibliogra- phie (Neuhausen-Stuttgart: Hännsler, 1985) BBKL Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (Herzberg: Traugott Bautz, 1993) BD Werner Neumann and Hans Joachim Schulze, eds., Bach-Dokumente, 3 vols (Kassel: Bärenreiter, 1963–1972) BWV Wolfgang Schmieder, ed., Thematisch-systematisches Verzeichnis der musikalischen Werke von Johann Sebastian Bach: Bach-Werke-Verzeich- nis [Bach Works Catalogue] (Wiesbaden: Breitkopf und Härtel, 1980) CB Abraham Calov, ed., I. N. J./ Die Heilige/ Bibel/ nach S. Herrn D. Martini Lutheri. Deutscher Dolmetschung und Erklärung/ … mit großem Fleiß/ und Kosten ausgearbeitet/ und verfasset/ von/ D. Abraham Calovio (Wit- tenberg: Christian Schröter, 1681–1682) ES Reinhold Vormbaum, ed., Evangelische Schulordnungen, I: Die evangelischen Schulordnungen des Sechzehnten Jahrhunderts (Gütersloh: Ber- telsmann, 1860) HS Johannes Olearius, Haupt Schlüßel der gantzen Heiligen Schrifft, 3 volumes in 5 parts (Leipzig: Tarnoven, 1678–1680) Kritischer Bericht Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes-Passion BWV 245, Arthur Mendel, ed., Neue Bach-Ausgabe Serie II: Messen, Passionen, oratorische Werke, 5 vols (Kassel: Bärenreiter, 1974), IV: Kritischer Bericht von Arthur Mendel KS Giorgio Colli and Mazzino Montarini, eds., Friedrich Nietzsche Werke. Kritische Gesamtausgabe (Berlin: de Gruyter, 1969–1978) Livy, History of Rome Titus Livius [Livy], Ab Urbe condita libri, W. Weissen- born, H.J. Müller eds. (Leipzig: Teubner, 1898) NBR Hans David and Arthur Mendel, eds. et al., revised and enlarged by Christoph Wolff, The New Bach Reader: A Life of Johann Sebastian Bach in Letters and Documents (London: W.W. Norton, 1998) WA Martin Luther, D. Martin Luthers Werke: Kritische Gesamtausgabe, Joachim Karl Friedrich Knaake, ed. et al. (Weimar: Hermann Böhlau, 1883–1985) WA Br Briefwechsel, Luther’s Letters xii list of abbreviations

WA Tr Tischreden, Luther’s Table Talk War Flavius Josephus, The Jewish War, with an English Translation by H. St. J. Thackeray, Loeb Classical Library 203 (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1967) Foreword

N.T. Wright*

St John’s account of the trial and death of Jesus contains some of the densest, as well as the most vivid, writing in his already astonishing Gospel. Roman historians have long agreed that the detailed presentation of the to-and-fro between Jesus, Pontius Pilate and the Judaean leaders and crowds carries strong historical verisimilitude: this is, more or less, how such Roman trials would have been. But the dramatic arguments between the representatives of God’s kingdom and the Emperor’s kingdom are not simply a striking account of totalitarian sneering on the one hand and theological courage on the other, though they are that. They are the place where John draws together, at last, all the rich, complex strands that have made his Gospel what it is. The hour has come: this is where it was all leading. Bach’s music, of course, matches John stride for stride in its dense complexity as well as its beauty and power. This is where it was all leading, going back to the very beginning; which is, of course, where John echoes the book of Genesis: ‘in the beginning was the Word … and the Word became flesh’ (John 1.1, 14). John’s book is about the one God who made a good world and who loves it still, even though when he comes in person, as light into the darkness, the darkness did not understand him, just as the world itself, his own creation, did not know him. All that, woven into passage after passage in the Gospel, comes to full expression, as Pilate cannot be bothered to work out what Jesus is talking about. He came, says John, to his own, and his own did not receive him: all of that, too, is set before us throughout the Gospel, as Jesus’ own people refuse his message, and it now comes to full expression as the angry chief priests insist that they have a law according to which Jesus should die, that if Pilate lets him go he is not the friend of the Emperor, and, chillingly, that they themselves have ‘no king but the Emperor’ (John 19.15d, movement 23f). But the Gospel which opens with that prologue, so exactly anticipating the climax at the heart of Bach’s St John Passion, continues as the exposition of how, precisely within this framework of misunderstanding and rejection, ‘the Word has become flesh and dwelt among us, so that we beheld his glory, glory as of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth’ (John 1.14). To understand John’s

* The Rt Revd N.T. Wright is Professor of New Testament and Early Christianity, The School of Divinity, University of St Andrew’s. xiv foreword

Passion narrative, we have to understand that climactic verse in the Prologue. John is writing, as it were, a new first chapter of Genesis; and, just as the climax of the first chapter of Genesis is the creation of humankind in the image of God, so the climax of the Prologue of John is the coming into the world of the ‘True Image’, the ‘Proper Man’ in Luther’s phrase (Martin Luther, The Freedom of a Christian, 1520). So when, in the Passion narrative, Pilate brings Jesus out to the crowds on the sixth day of the week, the day when humans were created as the climax of God’s creation, and declares ‘Sehet, welch ein Mensch’ (Behold, what a person, John 19.15b, movement 21c), we ought to hear both the shocking irony of the callous Roman governor sneering at Jesus and the massive theological affirmation: here is the true Man, completing God’s loving work of rescuing his creation. The Word became flesh, says John in the Prologue, and he ‘pitched his tent’ among us, ‘tabernacled’ in our midst (John 1.14). With that, we are introduced to another major theme of the whole Gospel. The glory of Israel’s God had abandoned the Temple at the time of the exile, and nowhere in the post-exilic writings does it say that the divine glory has returned to take up residence among his people. Now at last, declares John, it has happened—but not in the Temple made with hands, Herod’s rebuilt Temple in Jerusalem, but in and as a human being, the human being, the perfect image, Jesus himself. The older I get, the more it seems to me that this theme, the glory of Israel’s God returning at last in the form of Jesus, is the central theme of the whole New Testament, and the stranger it seems to me that for so long the church and the world of scholarship have simply not seen it. The glory shines forth as Jesus changes water into wine, ‘revealing his glory’ and, in the next breath, declaring that the present Temple will be destroyed and a new one, not made with hands, built in its place—referring, says John, to the temple of his body. And now, though the word ‘glory’ is not found in the Passion narrative, John has structured his Gospel in such a way that we ought to be, in heart and mind, in the Temple, beholding the glory: when Jesus arrives in Jerusalem in chapter 12, the narrative breaks off, and we have no fewer than five chapters of meditation, the so-called ‘Farewell Discourses’,where we find ourselves in the presence of the living God, promised that we, too, shall be filled with his Spirit, and commissioned for our own tasks to shine as lights into the dark world. The glory of the Lord is revealed, and all flesh shall see it together. All of that, if we know what we are about, we should have in our heads and our hearts as we come to the Passion narrative. Bach, of course, knew exactly what he was about. When he finally decided on the opening chorus of his St John Passion as we know it today, he picked out that very theme, with wordplay which works in German though not easily foreword xv in English: Herr, unser Herrscher, dessen Ruhm in allen Landen herrlich ist! Zeig uns … daß du, auch in der größten Niedrigkeit, verherrlicht worden bist!—Herr, Herrscher, herrlich, verherrlicht worden bist: Glorious Lord, our glorious master, your glory is honoured in all the world, you are glorified even in the darkness. This is spot on as an introduction to what John is trying to say. Within and among these themes of the true Man, the true Temple, the true Glory, John has woven the sharp discussion of Jesus as the King. ‘Are you the king of the Jews?’ (John 18.33b) ‘My kingdom is not from this world’ (18.35); ‘You say it, I am a king’ (18.37b); ‘Do you want me now to let go for you the king of the Jews?’ (18.39); ‘Everyone who makes himself a king is against the Emperor’ (19.12c); ‘That is your king!’ (19.13); ‘Shall I crucify your king?’ (19.15c) ‘We have no king but the Emperor’ (19.15d). ‘Jesus of Nazareth, king of the Jews’ (19.19); ‘Do not write: the king of the Jews, but rather that he said: I am the king of the Jews’ (19.21b). And when we pause and ponder the ancient Biblical vision that the true King of Israel, when he arrived, would be the king of the world, with a dominion from sea to sea, we realise what is at stake: two visions of all of reality, the Emperor-vision, in which truth is a function of power, creating kingdom by violence, and the Jesus-vision, in which truth is a function of redemption, and redemption generates kingdom by love. Jesus, having loved his own who were in the world, loved them to the uttermost, eis telos, to the end (John 13.1). This is the victory that overcomes the world and launches, at last, the project of new creation, a new creation that takes us not away from the world but out into the world with the news of resurrection and, once more, love. All this is drawn to its head as Jesus dies on the cross, with the single Greek word tetelestai, ‘It is finished’ (John 19.30a). For us, ‘finished’ can mean, simply, ‘stopped’, ‘it’s over’; ‘that’s enough of that’. But tetelestai means much more, ‘It is completed’; the work is done, is accomplished. And, tellingly, it echoes the word spoken at the end of the sixth day in Genesis 1: God finished all his work which he had made. Not, God stopped, as though he was bored; rather, God completed the full task. Now, on the sixth day, God completes his work. Again, Luther’s German gets it exactly right: Es ist vollbracht, from the verb vollbringen: it is ‘brought to the full’. And the result, for the moment at least, is the same as in Genesis: on the seventh day God rested from all his work. Thus Bach’s setting closes with the great chorus Ruht wohl, ‘Rest well’ (movement 39). This is not the final end; as the short closing chorale will tell us, this ‘rest’ is but the prelude to the first day of the new week, the day of resurrection. But, for now, we watch the Lord of Glory laid to rest in the tomb with his work complete. And, as in all the Gospel Passion stories, the scene is filled out with the smaller characters with whom we are quietly invited to identify: Judas and Peter, of course, most worryingly, and perhaps also the angry and incomprehending crowds, but also xvi foreword the bystanders, the three Marys at the foot of the cross, the beloved disciple, and then the faithful and brave Joseph of Arimathea. What has Johann Sebastian Bach done with this huge, towering narrative? He has turned it into a world and invited us to come into that world and make it our own. That is what art, at its best, always does. Working in the early eighteenth century, before the split-level world of the Enlightenment had separated out aesthetics from faith (as it also did with justice), Bach produced one of the greatest-ever syntheses of art and faith, art as expression of faith and art as invitation to faith, a faith which could never remain a bare belief but must turn itself into story and song, into life and love. As you will discover in this commentary and when listening intently to Bach’s music, Bach loved to paint words and themes into the music; in the first half of the St John Passion, the cheerful little song which says we are going to follow Jesus joyfully with happy steps (movement 9) comes crashing to the ground as Peter denies Jesus and weeps bitterly (a bit of text Bach borrowed from Matthew; John leaves Peter’s tears unstated but strongly implied, movement 12b). And in the powerful and extraordinary tenor aria Erwäge, in the middle of the second half of the Passion (movement 20), reflecting on the brutal scourging of Jesus, Bach takes words which, we might have thought, belong more in a high late-mediaeval spirituality than in an austere Lutheran atmosphere, words which speak of the bloodstained back of Jesus as appearing like a rainbow in the sky after the heavy, drenching rain, the rainbow which speaks of forgiveness after our sins have been washed away. Bach creates not only the musical effect of the waterfloods but also, breathtakingly (literally if you are the soloist) the effect of the rainbow, overarching the horizon with the message of healing and new creation. But all this is simply the tip of the iceberg. As many commentators have pointed out, no detail is left to chance; like Shakespeare, Bach did nothing by accident. The choice of key, the orchestration, the dense harmonies, so much harder to sing than those in the later St Matthew Passion (perhaps, we speculate, Bach had had some sharp comments from weary singers?)—all of these contribute both to the overall effect and the unfathomable detail. Wherever you look, or, better, listen, you will find the music telling us in our hearts and souls as well as our minds what this story is about, and inviting us to come into the world of the story and make it our own, have our own lives turned inside out and upside down by the glory of God’s love made flesh. In particular—and this is, as it were, the secret heart of the second half of the Passion in particular—Bach creates a musical arch, as several movements come together, matching one another on either side of a central point. ‘Hail, beloved king of the Jews’ (John 19.3, movement 21b) is matched musically foreword xvii by ‘Do not write: the king of the Jews’ (John 19.21b, movement 25b). ‘Crucify, crucify’ (John 19.6b, movement 21d) is echoed by ‘Away, away, crucify him’ (John 19.15b, movement 23d). ‘We have a Law, and according to that Law he shall die’ (John 19.7c, movement 21f) is matched by ‘If you let this one go, you are no friend of the Emperor’s’ (John 19.12c, movement 23b). (Bach employs the same technique elsewhere, for instance in the motet Jesu Meine Freude, BWV 227, a meditation on Romans 8.) And in the centre of this musical arch, surrounded by the shouting of the crowds and the cynical vacillation of Pilate, is the simple but utterly profound chorale Durch dein Gefängnis, Gottes Sohn, ‘Through your prison, Son of God’ (movement 22), which itself makes something of an arch as the stately tune rises and then falls, and declares that all this is happening so that through the unjust fate of Jesus our own freedom is accomplished. And at this point Bach has brought the preceding music around so that it ends in the key of E major, the only time in the work it is used. E major has four sharps in its key signature, and a sharp is of course two crosses superimposed, so that the conductor, turning the page of the full score to this chorale, is faced with literally dozens of crosses declaring that here, at the centre of the world’s rage and blindness, stands the symbol which makes sense of it all, in which we can find our life and our hope. And the chorus which follows, ‘If you let this one go’ (movement 23b), continues in E major, forcing the crowd to declare musically where their rage is all going. And so to Bach’s meditation on that final word, Es ist vollbracht (John 19.30a). For John this is not a shrug of the shoulders, ‘Well, that’s over at last’, but a powerful statement of the completion of the work of redemption, the sixth-day achievement of the Proper Man. Here Bach, in the great Alto aria (movement 30) accompanied by the already archaic viola da gamba, looks back on this past event, this supreme accomplishment, and makes it quite clear what vollbracht means with the striking, almost shocking, bursting in of the military theme: Der Held aus Juda siegt mit Macht und schließt den Kampf, ‘the Hero of Judah triumphs with power and concludes the battle’. You only understand vollbracht when you know that this is the victory of all victories, the overcoming of the world that Jesus had spoken about in the Farewell Discourses. But, equally, and Bach achieves this unforgettably, you only understand the nature of that victory when you stand at the foot of the cross, as the martial music suddenly stops, and the weight and depth of the accomplishment are once again affirmed with full solemnity. Which points us to the question, what does all this say to us today? Art tells us what it tells us, but this note of victory through the completed work of the cross speaks right into today’s world. My kingdom, said Jesus, is not from this world, because if it were my servants would be fighting (John 18.36, movement xviii foreword

16e). But this does not mean that Jesus’ kingdom is an otherworldly one, with no visible connection to the real world, the world where Emperors still sneer and the crowds still bay for blood. On the contrary, Jesus’ kingdom is for this world; that is its point, that is why the world will still hate Jesus’ followers. The church today stands between the Pilates of the secular state and the Chief Priests of the shrieking fundamentalisms. Our task is not to fight back, or to shriek back, but to bear witness with our lives, with our communities, with our faith and hope and above all our love, to the different sort of kingdom, the kingdom through which is revealed the strange glory of Israel’s God, the glory of the healing and rebirth of creation itself, the glory of the love which has loved us to the uttermost. John’s Gospel has often, quite rightly, been seen as the very heart of an authentic Christian spirituality. But that spirituality can never be an escape from the world, but rather a commission to go into the world. The risen Jesus breathes his spirit on his followers and says, ‘As the Father sent me, so I send you’ (John 20.21). And with that ‘As … so’ we find ourselves thinking and praying back through the entire story, and particularly the entire story of the Passion, and asking ourselves, What might it look like for the church to bear that same witness to the Pilates and the Chief Priests of our day? And, though this does not provide the answer, the question is framed again in John 21, as the risen Jesus asks Peter, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love me?’ (John 21.17), then commissioning Peter, forgiven and restored, to tend and feed his lambs and sheep. Bach brings us, in all our multi-dimensional human reality, into the very heart of John’s Passion narrative. As you ponder Bach’s St John Passion, you might pray that the Holy Spirit would awaken in us the answer which Peter gave to Jesus’ question: ‘Yes, Lord, you know that I love you’ (John 21.17); and that, with that grateful love welling up afresh, we might discern, and then undertake, the tasks which will again turn the living Word into loving flesh. Acknowledgements

This work was first conceived in Holy Week 2002 as part of a week-long music project under the patronage of Ton Koopman, Holy Week with JSB. Held at St Mary’s Parish Church Slough, Berkshire, the project led to a liturgical performance of Bach’s St John Passion by young performers from Arts at St Mary’s Slough on the afternoon of Good Friday 2002. I am grateful to the Rector and Parish Wardens of Upton-cum-Chalvey and members of the Arts at St Mary’s Slough team for their ready support of the initiative, Katie Hawks for selecting and rehearsing the musicians, and all participants of Holy Week with JSB who requested theological reflections on the St John Passion. Without their interest in the theological meaning of Bach’s work, this project would not have started. Without the uncountable contributions of my partner, Dr Katherine Firth, this book would not have been completed: Katherine helped establish the methodology of joint close textual and musical analysis. She provided advice as a musicologist, librettist, and literary scholar. She worked on the project as translator, grant writer, research associate, writing consultant and editor, both paid and unpaid, over the decade this project has taken to come to fruition. This book was written in three different settings, on two continents. Initial research took place in the two years immediately following Holy Week with JSB, and further work was undertaken during four years at Cambridge’s University Church, Great St Mary’s. Most of the work was written in earnest during my time as Gavan Lecturer in Theology and College Chaplain at Trinity College, the University of Melbourne. Many colleagues on the way have helped make this project possible: at the end of Holy Week with JSB, the parish’s Rector Dr David Miell presented me with a Neue Bachausgabe full score of the work for my musical analysis. In Cambridge, my colleague Canon Dr John Binns and Selwyn Image proved to be thoughtful interlocutors. Great St Mary’s Director of Music Sam Hayes, the Cambridge University Baroque Ensemble and Michaelhouse Singers readily put on liturgical performances of some of Bach’s choral works, and my parishioners and friends took great interest in Bach, his music, and this project: thank you. At Trinity College Melbourne, the Warden, Canon Professor Andrew McGowan, Dean Campbell Bairstow, Chief of Staff Dr Brenda Holt and Head of Academic Programs Dr Sally Dalton-Brown welcomed me into a warm and sup- portive research community. Trinity provided outstanding institutional support, enabling me to attend conferences in the field, as well as visit colleagues, archives and libraries in Germany, Israel and the United States. Trinity College Director of Music Michael Leighton Jones and I led two choir tours to Leipzig xx acknowledgements with the splendid Choir of Trinity College; the first Australian choir to lead choral worship at St Thomas’ Church, Leipzig. With Michael I was also able to work closely with Jeremy Summerly and Stephen Layton on curating a number of performances of the Passion and with Thomaskantor Christoph Biller on performing some of the Passion’s chorales. I learnt much from their interpretations of the works and am privileged to have worked with them. My colleagues at Trinity College Theological School actively furthered my research: the Dean of School, the Revd Professor Dorothy Lee was always ready to discuss the finer points of the Johannine Passion narrative over a cup of tea, Dr David Gormley O’Brien shed light on the reliability of Josephus and Dr Meg Warner helped me with my reading of Olearius’ Hebrew variants. Towards the end of the project two Trinity colleagues helped me transition from College Chaplain to Dean of Melbourne: Canon Dr Ray Cleary, Acting Dean of St Paul’s Cathedral Melbourne, and the Revd Christopher Carolane. At St Paul’s, my colleagues on the Cathedral Chapter and on the staff team enabled me to take some research time to complete and review the manuscript. Thank you, colleagues old and new, for your generosity of time and friendship. Much of my research was supported by a number of competitive grants from the University of Divinity, Melbourne, making it possible for me to work closely with a research assistant: the Director of Music of St Paul’s Cathedral Melbourne, Philip Nicholls, worked with me on the musical analysis of the second part of the work as an important collaborator, and reviewed the entire manuscript. In this, he was capably aided by Samuel Allchurch of Trinity College Melbourne and Caius College Cambridge. At the University of Divinity Melbourne I should like to thank the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Peter Sherlock, the Director of Research, Professor Mark Lindsay, and the Head of Biblical Studies of the United Faculty of Theology, Associate Professor Sean Winter, for their support. Thanks are also due to the S.R. Stoneman Foundation for the use of Stoneman’s home Duneira on Mount Macedon, Victoria for two summer writing weeks, and to Allan Myer for enabling me to visit archives and specialist collections in Germany. I am very grateful to Professor Tom Wright of St Andrew’s University for contributing the Foreword to this book. Among my Australian colleagues in the field I should like to thank Principal Fellow Jan Stockigt and Dr Sue Cole at the Conservatorium of Music, the University of Melbourne, Professor Peter Tregear at Australian National University, and Dr Samantha Owens at the Uni- versity of Queensland for their friendship and insight, and Hans Schroeder and the Australian Bach Society for their enthusiasm for this project. Among my international colleagues I am indebted to Professor Christoph Biller and Professor Martin Petzoldt in Leipzig, Professor Ruth HaCohen and Dr Edward acknowledgements xxi

Breuer at the Hebrew University Jerusalem, Professor Robin Leaver and Pro- fessor Markus Rathey at Yale, Dr Nikolaus Bacht at the Humboldt University Berlin, series editor Professor Robert Bast, the two anonymous reviewers and my editor at Brill, Ivo Romein, for many interesting conversations—electronic and in person—on Bach, music and theology in general, and earlier drafts of this book in particular. Numerous collections provided access to manuscript materials, early printed books and out of print materials: I thank the librarians of Trinity Col- lege, and the University of Melbourne for obtaining specific works for me; staff at the Sächsische Landesbibliothek—Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek Dres- den, the Bacharchiv and the Stadtarchiv Leipzig, the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin Preussischer Kulturbesitz, as well as the Israel State Archives in Jerusalem for giving me access to their collections; and staff at Bärenreiter Verlag for readily providing digital copies of out of print books and journals. Particular thanks are due to the staff of the Herzog August Bibliothek Wolfenbüttel, the Niedersäch- sische Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek Göttingen, the Bayerische Staatsbi- bliothek München, the Archives of Concordia Theological Seminary, St Louis, Missiouri, the Bibliothèque Municipale de Lyon, and the Bach-Digital Project for creating digital images of resources for me, and granting reproduction rights for the images contained in this work. My family and friends have lived with Bach and this project for a long time: thank you for your patience. I should like to thank my mother, Dr Brigitte Loewe, for first introducing me to the music of Bach through his Klavierbüchlein für Wilhelm Friedemann Bach and for introducing me to the thought of Martin Luther; my sister, Eva Loewe, for her love and support; my Saxon family from Bach’s neighbourhood, my Lower Saxon and Munich family for their friendship and hospitality; my Melbourne family for attending many of my Bach performances and lectures, and all of them for their love. Thank you also to Perry So and Anna Graber for their wonderful facsimile of a Bach autograph score, to Dr Carsten Murawski for the image of the stunning High Altar piece at St Paul’s Cathedral for use on the cover of this work, to Dr Yazeed Said for host- ing me at the Tantur Ecumenical Institute in Jerusalem, to Anna Sander, Dr Julian Littlewood and Dr Joy Littlewood and Dr John Bithell, to Anne Marie Koper and Sander Pinkse, John and Deirdre Kraimer, and Christoph and Char- lotte von Friedeburg for their hospitality on research visits during the course of this project. Above all, a heartfelt and profound thank you to my partner Katherine: thank you for your love for me, for your belief in this project and your untold contributions to it. This book is for you, my Love.

St Paul’s Cathedral, Melbourne, 2013

Introduction

The performance of the St John Passion at St Nikolai Leipzig in Lent 1724 is the first surviving example of Bach’s new Passion genre, making the St John Passion and its longer successor, the St Matthew Passion, milestones for later composers of Passions.1 In spite of the significance of Bach’s St John Passion as the principal textual model and musical inspiration for numerous later Passion compositions, there is currently no comprehensive single work in English that examines both the development of the new genre and provides a sustained analysis of the words and the music of Bach’s St John Passion. This volume documents the genesis of Bach’s Passion genre and provides a thorough interpretation of the libretto and music of his first surviving Passion. The first part of this volume examines the development of Bach’s StJohnPassion as a principally Lutheran art form by considering the composer’s own thorough Lutheran upbringing and his self-understanding as a Lutheran church musician, while the second part presents a theological and musical commentary of the work in order to show how Bach communicated and anchored the Chris- tian Passion narrative in the devotional story of his community through his music.2 Those familiar with the life and education of Bach, the development of the Lutheran Passion tradition in general and Bach’s work in particular, may wish to move directly to the second part of the volume, and the close reading and musico-theological analysis of Bach’s St John Passion.

1 Drawing on Bach’s necrologue in: Werner Neumann and Hans Joachim Schulze, eds., Bach- Dokumente, 3 vols (Kassel: Bärenreiter, 1963–1972) [cited as BD], 3, no. 666, Philipp Spitta, Johann Sebastian Bach, 2 vols (Leipzig: Breitkopf und Härtel, 1873–1880), 2, p. 333f., suggests that in 1717 Bach may well have written a now lost ‘Weimar Passion’,a number of arias he used for his 1725 revision of the St John Passion (Version II), see Table 6, below, page 86. For other potential Passions by Bach, see: Daniel Melamed, Hearing Bach’s Passions (New York: Oxford University Press, 2005), pp. 78–130. 2 Two previous studies reflect in detail on Bach’s StJohn Passion: Martin Geck, JohannSebastian Bach: Johannespassion BWV 245, Meisterwerke der Musik: Werkmonographien 7, Musikge- schichte 55 (München: Wilhem Fink Verlag, 1991) centres on a number of selected movements, while Alfred Dürr, Johann Sebastian Bach’s St John Passion: Genesis, Transmission and Meaning (Oxford: University Press, 2000) and Eric Chafe, Tonal Allegory in the Vocal Music of J.S. Bach (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1991) primarily reflect on the meaning inherent in the musical structure of the work. Both works select only a number of movements, rather than comment on the entire Passion.

Central to this interpretation of Bach’s St John Passion is a new annotated translation of the libretto by Dr Katherine Firth. Making use of the Neue Bach- ausgabe score as its German textual base, Firth’s translation provides an accu- rate modern English study text that will enable English-speakers with little or no knowledge of German to understand the poetic, linguistic and theological richness of the original libretto. The translation eschews the Cranmerian idiom first introduced by John Troutbeck in his adaptation of the work for the 1872 Novello edition of Bach’s work.3 Because Troutbeck’s translation served as a model for almost all subsequent translators, the use of this outdated idiom has persevered well into the twenty-first-century.4 Although Peter Pears’ collaboration with Imogen Holst in producing an English language performance text for Benjamin Britten’s 1971 recording of the work resulted in a highly innovative and dynamic English paraphrase of the libretto, it still used the English of the reformation.5 Even relatively recent translations, such as Alfred Clayton’s 2000 translation in Dürr’s examination of the St John Passion, still rendered the text into archaic English.6 A notable exception to the rule is the literal annotated translation of the libretto in Michael Marissen’s 1998 Lutheranism, Anti-Judaism, and Bach’s St John Passion which, like the present translation, was also intended as a study rather than a performance text.7

3 Johann Sebastian Bach, tr. and adapted by John Troutbeck, St John Passion (London: Novello, Ewer and Co., 1872). 4 Inspiring for instance Henry S. Drinker’s translation in Johann Sebastian Bach, Arthur Mendel, ed., St John Passion: Vocal Score (New York: Schirmer, 1951), reused, with slight variants, for the 1981 Neue Bachausgabe piano reduction, St John Passion: Vocal Score with Piano Reduction by Walter Heinz Bernstein (Kassel: Bärenreiter, 1981), as well as the performance score commissioned for David Willcocks’ 1973 Decca recording of the St John Passion by Peter Pears and Andrew Raeburn: Johann Sebastian Bach, The Passion of our Lord according to St John, tr. Peter Pears and Andrew Raeburn, Ace of Diamonds GOS628–630 (London: Decca, 1973). Z. Philip Ambrose, J.S. Bach: The Vocal Texts in English Translation with Com- mentary (Bloomington: Xlibris, 2005) still renders the text into a now outdated Cranmerian idiom. 5 The innovative nature of Pears’ and Holst’s paraphrase is apparent from the very beginning of the work: Johann Sebastian Bach, tr. Peter Pears and Imogen Holst, St John Passion, BWV 245, SET531–533 (London: Decca, 1971), ‘Sire, Lord and Master/ unto thee be praise and glory evermore./ Ah, by thy loving sacrifice/ thou, Lord, the only Son of God/ art risen on high/ from deepest woe and bitter pain/ triumphant over death’. 6 Alfred Clayton’s translation of the libretto in Dürr (2000), pp. 132–177. 7 Michael Marissen, Lutheranism, Anti-Judaism, and Bach’s St John Passion: With an annotated literal translation of the Libretto (New York: Oxford University Press, 1998). introduction 3

Firth provides a translation of the libretto into contemporary English that remains as close to the word choice, grammar, sequence and structure of the original libretto as possible. Her translation takes into account repetitions and cognate variations in the German text, such as deliberate word clusters. The notes to her translation highlight and comment on multiple and variant meanings in the German original. The second part of the book, with its theological and musical commentary, in turn, provides full details of variant textual readings in the three different versions of the work, and comments in depth on the provenance of texts and the way in which Bach translates specific textual concepts into music.

1 From ‘Fifth Evangelist’ to the Neue Bachausgabe

This work builds on generations of international Bach research. The view of Bach as a writer of divine music, whether articulated by nineteenth-century philosophers such as Friedrich Nietzsche or musicologists like Philipp Spitta, significantly influenced Bach reception and scholarship at the turn of the twentieth century. While Nietzsche felt ‘that when listening to Bach’s music it is as if we were present at the moment at which God created the world’, Spitta was convinced that the subject of his groundbreaking work ‘ceaselessly pointed to the highest and holiest that we possess’.8 Following the First World War, the idea that Bach’s music was at once deeply mystical and profoundly in tune with divine revelation was further developed, principally by the two Nobel peace prize winners among the students of Bach’s work. Albert Schweitzer understood Bach to be ‘the great German mystic’; Nathan Söderblom believed him to be the fifth evangelist.9 Both Schweitzer and Söderblom set the tone for the

8 Friedrich Nietzsche, Der Wanderer und sein Schatten, in: Giorgio Colli and Mazzino Mon- tarini, eds., Friedrich Nietzsche Werke. Kritische Gesamtausgabe [cited as: KS] (Berlin: de Gruyter, 1969–1978) 2: 615: ‘Bei Bachs Musik ist uns zumute, als ob wir dabei wären, wie Gott die Welt schuf’, see also his reflections on the influence of Bach’s music in Menschliches, Allzumenschliches KS 2: §219. Spitta (1873), 1, p. xix: ‘Mit seinem unablässigen Hinweis auf das Höchste und Heiligste, was wir besitzen’. For other, nineteenth-century biographies, such as C.H. Bitter’s, Johann Sebastian Bach (1865), ‘soon after … eclipsed by Spitta’s’, see: Daniel Melamed and Michael Marissen, An Introduction to Bach Studies (New York: Oxford Univer- sity Press, 1998), pp. 33ff. 9 Albert Schweitzer (Nobel peace prize 1952), J.S. Bach, translated by Ernest Newman (London: A.C. Black, 1911), p. 280. Nathan Söderblom (Nobel peace prize 1930), Christian Fellowship: Or, The United Life and Work of Christendom (New York: Fleming H. Revell, 1923), p. 145: ‘If I were 4 introduction popular perception of Bach as a ‘musical giant’ with unrivalled insights into the revelation of God who communicated these insights by ‘a combination of perfection [and] genius’.10 German scholars of Bach’s music such as Friedrich Smend and Martin Jansen took up the baton, claiming Bach not only for God, but for Germany. In 1926 Smend confirmed the view that Bach was ‘one of our greatest’, while nine years later Jansen testified to ‘our German evangelist’.11 For Jansen Bach was ‘the Master of Baroque Music who was convinced of the all-powerful nature of music’ and who, in his compositions, ‘built on holy ground within the firm conviction that the All-Knowing and All- Comprehending would receive his efforts by grace, and bless them’.12 Though flawed in their promotion of a ‘great man theory’ and their positioning of Bach as a figurehead for the Germanisation of Lutheranism, the first generation of modern Bach scholars nevertheless produced a comprehensive overview of Bach’s life and work.13 Philipp Spitta’s work in particular laid the foundations for the later documentation of the composer’s life, both by examining his musical output and by compiling the first compendium of manuscript and contemporary printed materials on Bach’s life. While many of their insights on the form and structure of Bach’s music have stood the test of time, by the middle of the twentieth century the assessment of Bach as a genius intent to create ‘pure music’ promoted by the first generation of Bach scholars was significantly revised. Instrumental in this was Friedrich Blume’s 1962 seminal ‘Outlines of a new picture of Bach’ (Umrisse eines neuen

asked for a fifth Gospel I should not hesitate to name the interpretations of the secret of the redemption that reached its climax in Johann Sebastian Bach’. 10 Aaron Copland, ‘The Pleasures of Music’, in: idem, Copland on Music (Garden City: Dou- bleday, 1960), pp. 23–51, p. 36. 11 Friedrich Smend, ‘Die Johannes-Passion von Bach. Auf ihren Bau untersucht’, in: Bach- Jahrbuch 22 (1926), pp. 105–128, p. 128: ‘Eines unserer Größten’; Martin Jansen, ‘Bachs Zahlensymbolik, an seinen Passionen untersucht’, Bach-Jahrbuch 34 (1937), pp. 96–117, p. 117: ‘Unseres deutschen Evangelisten’. 12 Jansen (1937), p. 96: ‘Der von der Allmacht der Musik überzeugte Meister des Barocks’, p. 117: ‘In der festen Überzeugung, daß er so auf auf heiligem Grund baue und daß der Allwissende und Allverstehende sein Mühen in Gnaden annehme und segne’. 13 For the view that the first generation of Bach scholars purposefully exchanged a contextual view of Bach’s work in order to promote a ‘true liturgical view of the Cantata’ (Wahre liturgische Kantatenanschauung), see: Sven Hiemke, ‘Bach-Deutungen im Umfeld der kirchenmusikalischen Erneuerungsbewegung’,in: Michael Heinemann and Hans Joachim Hinrichsen, eds., Bach und die Nachwelt, 4 vols. (Laaber: Laaber, 2000), 3, pp. 63–113, p. 69. introduction 5

Bach-Bildes).14 The popular perception of Bach appears to have been little affected by Blume’s reassessment. Certainly, when Aaron Copland reflected on Bach’s music for a popular audience in the 1960s, he continued to promote the image of Bach as a divinely inspired musician:

If one were asked to name one musician who came closest to composing without human flaw, I suppose general consensus would choose Johann Sebastian Bach. Only a few musical giants have earned the universal admiration that surrounds the figure of the eighteenth-century German master.15

This popular perception of Bach as a musical ‘giant’ who single-handedly and almost in isolation transformed the musical landscape of the first half of the eighteenth-century remains in need of revision. This book therefore closely examines Bach’s educational background to establish that his insights into theology were by no means exceptional but shared by an entire generation of students and musicians. It documents his collaborations with other contemporary artists to demonstrate that his church music was shaped in constant interaction with others collaborators, whether theologians, librettists or composers. It examines his cultural context to identify the external factors that determined Bach’s work, such as the needs of his patrons or the limited musical resources available in the places of his employment. When Copland composed his panegyric to the ‘intangible greatness of Bach’s music’, the work of a second generation of Bach scholars was already well underway.16 The time between the bicentenary celebrations of Bach’s death in 1950 and the tercentenary celebrations of his birth in 1985 generated an immense body of scholarship, of which Werner Neumann’s and Hans-Joachim Schulze’s Bach-Dokumente (1963–1984) and the publication of the Neue Bach- ausgabe (1954–2007) under the directorship of Werner Neumann and Alfred Dürr are outstanding examples. The systematic publication of archival materials lodged in collections in Leipzig and elsewhere covered an incredible field that ranged from analyses of portraits of the composer’s family and personal receipts for purchases made by the composer, to the publication of the statutes

14 Jansen (1937), p. 97; Friedrich Blume, ‘Umrisse eines neuen Bach-Bildes: Vortrag für das Bachfest der internationalen Bach-Gesellschaft in Mainz, 1. Juni 1962’, Musica 16 (1962), pp. 169–176, and reactions from first generation scholars, such as Friedrich Smend, ‘Was bleibt? Zu Friedrich Blumes Bach-Bild’, Der Kirchenmusiker 13 (1962), pp. 178–188. 15 Copland (1960), p. 36. 16 Copland (1960), p. 38. 6 introduction of St Thomas’ School and thorough accounts of the devotional life at the principal Leipzig churches.17 These documents have greatly facilitated subsequent research into Bach’s context and cultural background. At the same time, the reassessment of the view that Bach’s music was unique and able to develop in relative isolation from contemporaries promoted by some first generation scholars, has been consistently tempered by research into the precursors and contemporaries of Bach.18

2 Theological Bach Research: Back to the Sources

From 1976 onwards the religious content of Bach’s work began to be closely scrutinised by an association of international Bach scholars, the Internationale Arbeitsgemeinschaft für theologische Bachforschung (International Working Group for Theological Bach Research), a group of music historians, musicologists and—predominantly—Lutheran theologians. Established at the 51st Bach Festival of the Neue Bachgesellschaft (New Bach Society) by Walter Blan- kenburg, Renate Steiger and Christoph Trautmann, until the turn of the twenty- first century the Working Group considered the paradigm that Bach was a theologically trained musician who intentionally set out to communicate Chris- tian doctrines through music: vocal and instrumental, sacred and secular.19 Significant discoveries, such as the authentication of a three-volume commentated Bible from Bach’s estate annotated in the composer’s hand, enabled more sustained engagement with Bach’s theological understanding and generated a

17 For instance: Conrad Freyse, ‘Das Porträt Ambrosius Bachs’, Bach-Jahrbuch 46 (1959), pp. 149–155; Hans Besch, ‘Eine Auktions-Quittung J.S. Bachs’, in: Festschrift für Friedrich Smend: Zum 70. Geburtstag dargebracht von Freunden und Schülern (Berlin: Merseburger, 1963), pp. 74–79; Hans Joachim Schulze, ed., Die Thomasschule Leipzig zur Zeit Johann Sebastian Bachs: Ordnungen und Gesetze, 1634, 1723, 1733 (Kassel: Bärenreiter, 1953), Gün- ther Stiller, Johann Sebastian Bach und das Leipziger gottesdienstliche Leben seiner Zeit (Kassel: Bärenreiter, 1970), tr. Herbert Bouwman, Daniel Poellot, Hilton Oswald, ed. Robin Leaver, Johann Sebastian Bach and Liturgical Life in Leipzig (St Louis: Concordia, 1984). 18 For instance: Friedrich Blume, ‘Das Werk des Michael Praetorius’ in: Martin Ruhnke, ed., Syntagma Musicologicum (Kassel: Bärenreiter, 1963), pp. 229–274, Kurt von Fischer, ‘Die Passionshistorien von Heinrich Schütz und ihre geschichtlichen Voraussetzungen’, Musik und Gottesdienst 20 (1966), pp. 48–59. 19 In 1998 one of the Working Group’s founders, Renate Steiger, published the history of the Working Group in: Renate Steiger, ed., Theologische Bachforschung heute, 1976–96: Dokumentation und Bibliographie der Internationalen Arbeitsgemeinschaft für theologische Bachforschung (Berlin: Galda & Wilch, 1998). introduction 7 wealth of academic research, including one of the first significant assessments of Bach’s understanding of theology in English, Robin Leaver’s 1976 ‘The Calov Bible from Bach’s library’.20 Leaver was not only instrumental in opening up theological Bach research to an international audience, but also was among the first scholars to promote the idea of ‘Bach’s theological library’.21 Based on the list of mainly theological works numbered after Bach’s death in the Specification of the Estate Left by the Late Mr Johann Sebastian Bach, Leaver contributed to an understanding of Bach as ‘the learned musician’ whose insights about God were gained not as much by divine inspiration as by solid theological learning.22 By the time of the tercentenary of his birth in 1985 the understanding of Bach as a theologically schooled composer who used his learning and reading in order to shape music to communicate a distinctive theological message had become firmly established. Leaver postulated that Bach’s liturgical choral music functioned in ways that can be compared to a Lutheran expository sermon; indeed, Luther scholar Jaroslav Pelican already numbered Bach among the theologians, carefully positioning the composer in a theological middle ground between Lutheran Orthodoxy and eighteenth-century Pietism.23 This

20 For instance: Christoph Trautmann, ‘“Calovii Schrifften. 3 Bände” aus Johann Sebastian Bachs Nachlaß und ihre Bedeutung für das Bild des lutherischen Kantors Bach’, Musik und Kirche 39 (1969), pp. 145–160; Helene Werthemann, ‘Bachs Fundament “aller gottge- fälliger Kirchenmusik”’, in: Frank Beyer and Christoph Trautmann, eds., 51. Bachfest der Neuen Bachgesellschaft: Bachfest-Vorträge 1976 (Kassel: Bärenreiter, 1976), pp. 3–17; Robin A. Leaver, ‘The Calov Bible from Bach’s Library’, Bach: The Journal of the Riemenschnei- der Bach Institute, 7.4 (1976), pp. 16–22, and idem, J.S. Bach and Scripture: Glosses from the Calov Bible (St Louis: Concordia, 1986). 21 Robin A. Leaver, Bachs theologische Bibliothek: Eine kritische Bibliographie (Neuhausen- Stuttgart: Hännsler, 1985) [cited as: BB]. 22 BD 2, no. 627, Hans David and Arthur Mendel, eds. et al., revised and enlarged by Christoph Wolff, The New Bach Reader: A Life of Johann Sebastian Bach in Letters and Documents [cited as NBR] (London: W.W. Norton, 1998), no. 279. Christoph Wolff’s biography of Bach, Johann Sebastian Bach: The Learned Musician (Oxford: University Press, 2001), deliberately echoes Prince Leopold of Anhalt-Köthen’s epithet of Bach, BD 2, no. 128, NBR no. 96. 23 Robin A. Leaver, MusicasPreaching:Bach,Passions,andMusicinWorship (Oxford: Latimer House, 1982) and his Johann Sebastian Bach as Preacher: His Passions and Music in Worship (St Louis: Concordia, 1984); Jaroslav Pelican, Bach among the Theologians (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1986), pp. 57–58: ‘He was not to be confined by the categories of Pietism any more than he was by those of Rationalism and Confessional Orthodoxy’.Leaver follows Pelican’s assessment, ‘Bach and Pietism: Similarities today’, Concordia Theological Quarterly 55 (1991), pp. 5–22. 8 introduction perception was underpinned by sustained research by Martin Petzoldt and other contributors to his 1985 Bach als Auslegerder Bibel (Bach as an Interpreter of the Bible) who provided both a valuable overview of some of the exegetical techniques employed in Bach’s music, and offered new insights into the liturgical and devotional life of eighteenth-century Leipzig.24 During the 1980s and the early 1990s scholars in Germany and the United States further pursued the paradigm of Bach as an exponent of theology, examining Bach’s choral works in terms of exegetical and homiletic content, as well as analysing structure and form of his works in order to reveal theological meaning. Eric Chafe’s 1981 ‘The St John Passion: theology and musical structure’ and his 1991 Tonal Allegory in the Vocal Music of J.S. Bach re-examined the work of first generation Bach-scholars such as Friedrich Smend within the paradigm of the Working Group in order to document theological meaning in Bach’s work.25 The German theologian Elke Axmacher provided wide-ranging insights into the cultural context of Bach’s compositions in her comparative study of contemporary Passion sermons and Passion libretti in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Germany, while the American Biblical scholar Paul Min- ear reflected further on the rhetorical and dramatic devices used in Bach’s St Matthew Passion.26 From 1990 onwards, the Working Group’s research included regular summer academies held under the auspices of the International Bach Academy Stuttgart which brought together both musicologists and theologians from Germany and the United States to discover theological meaning in the music of Bach’s Passions and his B-Minor Mass.27

24 Martin Petzoldt, Bach als Ausleger der Bibel. Theologische und musikwissenschaftliche Stu- dien zum Werk Johann Sebastian Bachs, herausgegeben im Auftrag des Kirchlichen Komi- tees Johann Sebastian Bach 1985 von Martin Petzoldt (Göttingen: Vandenhoek & Ruprecht, 1985). 25 Eric Chafe, ‘Key Structure and Tonal Allegory in the Passions of Johann Sebastian Bach: An Introduction’, Current Musicology 21 (1981), pp. 39–54, and idem, Tonal Allegory in the Vocal Music of J.S. Bach (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1991). 26 Elke Axmacher, ‘Aus Liebe will mein Heyland sterben’: Untersuchungen zum Wandel des Pas- sionsverständnisses im frühen 18. Jahrhundert, Beiträge zur theologischen Bachfor- schung 2 (Neuhausen-Stuttgart: Hännsler, 1984). Paul S. Minear, Death Set to Music: Mas- terworks by Bach, Brahms, Penderecki, Bernstein (Atlanta: John Knox, 1987). 27 Ulrich Prinz, ed., Johann Sebastian Bach: Johannes-Passion, BWV 245—Vorträge des Mei- sterkurses 1986 und der Sommerakademie J.S. Bach 1990, Schriftenreihe der internationalen Bachakademie Stuttgart, vol. 5 (Kassel: Bärenreiter, 1993) is particularly relevant to the present work: other volumes consider the St Matthew Passion, vol. 2 (Kassel: Bärenreiter, 1990) and the B-Minor Mass, vol. 3 (Kassel: Bärenreiter, 1990). introduction 9

3 Considering Anti-Judaism in Bach’s Music

As part of the theological analysis of Bach’s work, from 1980 to 1998 members of the Working Group also concerned themselves with the important question of possible Anti-Judaism in Bach’s music. In 1980 one of the founders of the Working Group, Renate Steiger, opened the field with her brief contribution entitled ‘Bach und Israel’ (Bach and Israel), explaining that it was the experience of German post-Holocaust ‘guilt [that] focused the debate … on Anti-Judaism contained in examples of Christian art’, most notably Bach’s St JohnPassion.28 Indeed, in a 1989 contribution to the debate, Dagmar Hoffmann- Axthelm postulates the uncompromising view that Bach’s Passions were outstanding examples of a longstanding German anti-Semitism.29 Although they do not engage with Hoffmann-Axthelm’s arguments per se, Renate Steiger and her husband Lothar Steiger broadly dismiss the idea that Bach’s music might have been a vehicle to convey anti-Jewish sentiments.30 They are supported in their views by much more recent research on Lutheran attitudes to Jews in the pre-Enlightenment period, in particular by Johannes Wallmann’s ‘Das Luthertum und die Juden in der Leibnitzzeit’ (Lutheranism and the Jews at the time of Leibnitz).31 While Wallmann offers no comment on Bach’s Passions, instead centring on his Cantatas, he does share the Steigers’ belief that Bach’s sacred music is not intentionally anti-Jewish, affirming that ‘there is no sign of

28 Renate Steiger, ‘Bach und Israel’, Musik und Kirche 50 (1980), pp. 15–22, p. 15: ‘Die Erfahrung der eigenen Schuld schärfte den Blick [auf …] was sich in Zeugnissen christlicher Kunst an Antijudaismen findet’; Meinrad Walter, ‘Die Bibel, Bach, die Juden—und wir: Zum Verständnis der Johannes-Passion Bachs (BWV 245)’, in: Württembergische Blätter für Kirchenmusik, 60 (1993), pp. 210–212. 29 Dagmar Hoffmann-Axthelm, ‘Bach und die perfidia Iudaica: Zur Symmetrie der Juden- Turbae in der Johannes-Passion’, in: Basler Jahrbuch für historische Musikpraxis, 13 (1989), pp. 31–54. 30 Renate Steiger (1980), p. 21; Lothar Steiger, ‘“Wir haben keinen König denn den Kaiser”— Pilatus und die Juden in der Passionsgeschichte nach dem Johannesevangelium mit Bezug auf Heinrich Schütz und Johann Sebastian Bach: Oder die Frage nach dem Antijudais- mus’,in: MusikundKirche 64 (1994), pp. 264–271; idem, ‘“Die Jüden aber schrieen: Kreuzige ihn!” Theologische Anmerkungen zum Antijudaismus in der Johannespassion’, in: Renate Steiger, ed. et al., Die Quellen Johann Sebastian Bachs, Bachs Musik im Gottesdienst: Bericht über das Symposium 4.-8. Oktober 1995 in der Internationalen Bachakademie Stuttgart (Hei- delberg: Manutius, 1998), pp. 303–318. 31 Johannes Wallmann, ‘Das Luthertum und die Juden in der Leibnitzzeit’,in: idem, Pietismus und Orthodoxie: Gesammelte Aufsätze (Tübingen: Mohr-Siebeck, 2010), pp. 318–338. 10 introduction

Anti-Judaism in [Bach’s] Cantatas’.32 In his 1998 Lutheranism, Anti-Judaism and Bach’s St John Passion, the American musicologist Michael Marissen first introduced what had been a predominantly German debate to an English-language readership.33 He reiterated the question inherent in all contributions to the debate on Anti-Judaism in Bach’s music whether ‘listeners can easily assume that Bach harboured hostility to Jews and, accordingly, that his music probably projects such hostility’ as his initial premise.34 Though Marissen takes issue with some of the Steigers’ work, like Renate Steiger he concludes that Bach was not intentionally anti-Jewish: ‘fostering hostility to Jews is not the subject or purpose of Bach’s interpretation’.35 That Bach adopted a specifically Jew- ish foundation narrative for his own craft—that of the Levitical temple musicians performing music to God’s glory in God’s presence in the Second Book of Chronicles—is demonstrated in the second chapter of this book. Marissen’s questions as to ‘whether or not Bach’s music buys into [the Fourth] Gospel’s hostility to Jews’ and, more specifically, who John might have had in mind when he speaks of ‘the Jews’ in his Passion narrative, are considered in some detail in the commentary section of the work, which will suggest that Bach makes a clear distinction between ‘the Jews’ as the religious hierarchy which is clearly implicated in the death of Jesus, and the Jewish people as a whole, who are not.36 The more complex attitude of pre-Enlightenment Lutherans to Jews and their engagement (and even identification with) Jews is, however, beyond the bounds of this book.

4 Bach and Theology Re-assessed

The reception of Bach’s work within a distinctive theological framework such as the one offered by the International Working Group for Theological Bach Research has been critiqued by a number of Bach researchers. In 2006, Rebecca Lloyd fundamentally challenged the Working Group’s methodology in her her- meneutical re-assessment of theological Bach research, Bach among the Con- servatives.37 In her critique of the work of the Working Group’s longtime co-

32 Wallmann (2010), p. 323: ‘Antijudaismen finden sich in diesen Kantaten nicht’. 33 Michael Marissen, Lutheranism, Anti-Judaism, and Bach’s St John Passion (New York: Ox- ford University Press, 1998). 34 Marissen (1998), p. 3. 35 Marissen (1998), p. 3. 36 Marissen (1998), p. 21. 37 Rebecca Lloyd, Bach among the Conservatives: The Quest for Theological Truth (Unpub- lished Doctoral Dissertation: King’s College London, 2006). introduction 11 chair Lothar Steiger, Lloyd suggests that ‘by writing systematic theology … Steiger seems to forget about Bach, who barely gets a mention’.38 This is not only a problem in Lothar Steiger’s work, Lloyd explains: for her the Working Group’s over-emphasis on identifying theological meaning in Bach’s music has led to a neglect of Bach’s music as music.39 Her primary criticism is that the Working Group promoted ‘one indivisible theological truth, based on the Bible and in the person of Martin Luther’.40 Certainly, the theological interpretations of Bach scholarship in the last quarter of the twentieth century have been in broad agreement that Bach was steeped in a Lutheran devotional culture which underpinned and informed his own devotional life. However, the vast diversity of research produced does not confirm a single monolithic theological narrative held by all theological Bach scholars, as Lloyd implies. Lloyd further postulates that the Working Group’s ‘polemical aims even today involve using Bach’s music as a totem against modern secularism’.41 While this view seriously misreads the intention of theological engagement with Bach’s music, it does raise an important aspect of contemporary Bach scholarship: the erosion of a shared cultural horizon. Lloyd is right in suggesting that a ‘narrow modernist conception of truth—that given in text and tradition which must be assented to intellectually—cramps [the] ability to understand religion and religious experience historically and artistically’.42 Twenty-first-century listeners no longer share the same devotional and social context as Bach’s contemporaries. Nor do they share the most fundamental premises taken for granted in late-early-modern and pre-Enlightenment society: the existence of a God, and a stable God-given social order. The insight that the hearers of today no longer share the primary values of Bach’s contemporaries is by no means new: in his monumental Matthäuspassion (St Matthew Passion), the German cultural philosopher Hans Blumenberg introduced the idea of a Horizontabschreibung (Erosion of the Horizon); the realisation that it is impossible to reach the same shared theological and cultural ‘horizon’ as those listeners who first heard the work in Bach’s pre-Enlightenment world.43 For Blumenberg, the difficulty of reading and interpreting the meaning

38 Lloyd (2006), p. 80. 39 Lloyd (2006), p. 80. 40 Lloyd (2006), p. 83, p. 191. 41 Lloyd (2006), p. 191. 42 Lloyd (2006), p. 191. 43 Hans Blumenberg, Matthäuspassion, Bibliothek Suhrkamp 998 (Frankfurt: Suhrkamp, 1988). For Blumenberg’s idea of Horizontabschreibung, see: Bruce Krajewski, ‘The Musical Horizon of Religion: Blumenberg’s Matthäuspassion’, History of the Human Sciences 6.4 (1993), pp. 81–95, pp. 89–90. 12 introduction of a by-gone era of faith stands at the heart of his investigation of Bach’s faith and music: he holds that it is as difficult to re-imagine the cultural horizon of Bach’s time as it is to re-image Bach’s listener. As a result of this cultural disjoint, much of the meaning of the devotional story of Bach’s time may have been lost to present-day hearers of the work. Rather, the essential meaning of the work has not been substituted by anything else of comparable meaning, but remains a—painfully—empty and meaning-less space. The same principle holds true for Blumenberg’s broader critique of a Judaeo-Christian world-view: for him the Jewish and Christian narrative is replaced ‘neither [by] atheism nor radical agnosticism, but the restless holding out in the empty space where God ought to be’.44

5 Purpose and Scope of This Study

While it is impossible to re-create the devotional context that Bach and his contemporaries knew and took for granted, it is possible to provide an introduction to the religious world in which Bach and his contemporaries lived. This book, therefore, seeks to introduce the reader to a set of resources owned by, and very likely used by Bach and his contemporary collaborators, in shaping John’s Pas- sion narrative for an eighteenth-century devotional context. It seeks to equip scholars, students, and interested listeners of Bach’s work with the necessary tools to engage in the work of interpretation of this influential work, and so to discover and recover for themselves meaning and message of Bach’s St John Passion. Those familiar with the story of Bach’s schooling, musical training, and the development history of his distinctive choral works may wish to pass over the first part of this book and begin with the second part with its new study translation and detailed movement-by-movement commentary of the St John Passion straightaway.

As a German theologian and music historian working in an English-speaking context, I enjoyed assembling a wealth of primary source materials: school ordinances, church liturgies, hymn books, collections of sacred and secular poetry, theological commentaries, reformation writings, sermons, Cantata librettos, personal letters, or the dedications of Bach’s works. Many of these are published in German and might therefore not have been accessible to English-

44 Jens Zimmermann, Humanism and Religion: A Call for the Renewal of Western Culture (Oxford: University Press, 2012), p. 270. introduction 13 speaking readers. The significant increase in digitised primary source materials has made it possible for researchers to draw on an ever-increasing number of sources: many of the printed sources used in this book have been digitised by German research libraries and archives as part of the German Research Foun- dation’s (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft) national bibliography project, a project that since 1996 has sought to establish a retrospective German national bibliography from the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries. Many manuscript sources, in particular autograph scores of Bach’s works, also have recently been made available in digital form as part of the University of Leipzig and Bach Archive Leipzig Bach Digital project. Other sources have been digitised at my request, or were consulted in situ in Leipzig, Berlin and Jerusalem. All primary sources have been translated and are reproduced together with their German originals in order to give the reader a fuller insight into the world of the late- early-modern and pre-Enlightenment periods that shaped the society in which Bach worked. In presenting these sources, I do not seek to reconstruct an— at best imagined—cultural horizon of the period of the pre-Enlightenment for a generation for whom Bach’s own understanding of the Passion and that of his contemporaries may well have become foreign. Rather, I would like to give readers the opportunity to make their own more informed conclusions about Bach and his times and, through that process, come to a better understanding of the possible intent and purpose of Bach and his St John Pas- sion.

The book starts in 1693, when Bach was eight years old and entered the first year of his education as a student of the Secunda (second year) of Eisenach’s Latin School. The opening chapter provides a careful review of the thoroughly Lutheran education Bach and his fellow students received. It shows that the far- reaching educational reforms initiated in the mid-seventeenth century were the result of a desire in Lutheran principalities to regain a sense of social and devotional stability after the Thirty Years’ War of religion that ravaged Germany from 1618–1648. Towards the end of the Thirty Years’ War, Lutheran princes made use of Luther’s insights into teaching and learning for their educational programs: Martin Luther readily understood the opportunities offered by music making, and a general music education, to communicate reformation values. In particular, he appreciated the value of music as an instrument to ‘incite people to do good, and to teach them’, as well as to delight the heart.45

45 Martin Luther, D. Martin Luthers Werke: Kritische Gesamtausgabe [cited as: WA], Joachim 14 introduction

The first chapter of this work provides insights into how Luther’s educational principles were adapted in the mid-seventeenth-century. It shows how Bach’s generation was taught music and Scripture, and how particular care was taken to teach students how to examine Biblical texts and analyse sermons by having to ‘take short notes [on the sermon]/ and to commit the remainder to memory’.46 In this way, students were taught from an early age to understand Luther’s own homiletic model that Scriptural and theological meaning could be expressed through words as much as through art and music.47 The second chapter considers Bach’s life and career from his leaving school in 1702. Drawing on a number of Bach’s own writings, as well as on the literature to which he was exposed during his schooling and later in life, the chapter provides an insight into Bach’s self-understanding as a musician and cantor. An analysis of Bach’s marginal notes in his Calov Bible considers what Bach may have meant when he noted that the account of the dedication of the first Temple in the Second Book of Chronicles (2Chronicles 5.5–14) formed ‘the true foundation of all God-pleasing church music’.48 Bach’s self-identification with a very Lutheran reading of the purpose of the clan of Levitical Temple musicians at the dedication of the first Temple, that of ‘amplifying God’s word through their song in the same way the prophets did through their preaching’, is examined alongside his statement, recorded in the Calov Bible, that

Karl Friedrich Knaake, ed. et al. (Weimar: Hermann Böhlau, 1883–1985), Von den letzten Worten Davids, 1543, WA 54: 33, 21–22: ‘Auch die menschen nützlich zu reitzen und zu leren’. 46 Andreas Reyher, Methodus Oder Bericht/ Wie Nechst Göttlicher Verleyhung die Knaben und Mägdlein auf den Dorffschafften/ und in den Städten/ die üntere Classes der Schul-Jugend im Fürstenthum Gotha/ Kürtz-und nützlich unterrichtet werden können und sollen (Gotha: Christoph Reyher, 1697), p. 50, §19: ‘Mit der Feder kurtz fassen/ und das ubrige im Sinn zu behalten’. 47 Luther, Praefatio zu den Symphoniae Iucundae, 1538, WA 50: 372, 16–20: ‘So that [human beings] may be able to know to praise God by combining songs and words: with clear, resounding preaching and praising of God’s mercy and grace, whenever beautiful words and delightful music are combined and heard together’ (Das er solt künnen vnd wissen, Gott mit Gesengen vnd worten zugleich zu loben, Nemlich mit dem hellen, klingenden predigen vnd rhümen von Gottes güte vnd gnade, darinnen schöne wort vnd lieblicher klang zugleich würde gehöret). 48 Abraham Calov, ed., I. N. J./ Die Heilige/ Bibel/ nach S. Herrn D. Martini Lutheri. Deutscher Dolmetschung und Erklärung/ … mit großem Fleiß/ und Kosten ausgearbeitet/ und verfasset/ von/ D. Abraham Calovio (Wittenberg: Christian Schröter, 1681–1682), 5 volumes [cited as: CB], BB 1 a–f. CB 1.1: 2047–2049: ‘Dieses Capitel ist das wahre Fundament aller gottge- fälliger Kirchen Music’. introduction 15

‘in sacred music God is always present in his grace’.49 This review of Bach’s own formation and reflections suggests that he understood and adapted in his own church music the Lutheran understanding, as received in the eighteenth century, of the potential of music to move hearts and change minds, and that he drew on the work of generations of Lutheran church musicians in order to provide music to speak into the devotional context of his own age. The third chapter provides an overview of the development of the church Cantata from the time of Bach’s first church employment as organist of the New Church in Arnstadt in 1703 to the time of the composition of the St John Passion in 1724. It traces the different sources Bach adopted for the genre he perfected in the Leipzig annual cycles of Cantatas. In particular, it highlights the way in which Bach and his librettists understood the church Cantata to be a means to communicate highly differentiated messages of various Biblical texts. It examines Bach’s collaborations with librettists and clergy colleagues in Weimar and Leipzig, especially examining the ways in which libretto and music reflected and amplified set Scripture readings and sermons, in order to convey a distinctive, unified homiletic message. This analysis shows how a common message was communicated to the contemporary hearers of Bach’s work in a variety of ways: in the reading of the set Scriptural text and the minister’s exposition, in Bach’s musique (Cantata), in singing Lutheran chorales, and in reading both hymns and the libretto of Bach’s works in printed hymn-books or specially commissioned Cantata booklets. The concluding chapter of the first part of this work considers the genesis of the Passion genre Bach adopted for the structure of his St John Passion. It reflects on how Luther effectively utilised and promoted the performing arts as a means to further his reformation, in particular demonstrating that the rich culture of Lutheran Lehrstücke (teaching dramas) on Scriptural subjects led to a tradition of communicating the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ through the arts. At the same time it considers the two principal forms of presenting the Passion through music in use at the time of Bach: the summa Passionis settings of the Passion that drew on early-reformation Lehrstücke, and the responsorial Passion settings that gave a distinctive Lutheran character to pre-reformation Passion traditions; principally through the work of Johann Walter in the first

49 Johannes Olearius, Haupt Schlüßel der gantzen Heiligen Schrifft, 3 volumes in 5 parts (Leipzig: Tarnoven, 1678–1680) [cited as: HS], 2: 531: ‘Die Gottes Wort wiederholeten mit Singen gleichwie sonst die Propheten mit Predigen’. CB 1.1: 2088: ‘Bey einer andächtigen Musique ist allzeit Gott mit seiner Gnaden-Gegenwart’. 16 introduction decade of the reformation.50 The examination of the liturgical and homiletic setting of Bach’s St John Passion is followed by a review of the various textual elements of the libretto of the work, and an analysis of the distinctive theological intention of Bach’s unknown collaborator as librettist, noting especially how the careful combination of John’s Passion narrative with free poetry and traditional chorales is designed to present an invitation to Bach’s listeners to journey with Jesus to the cross and, in so doing, to become disciples who follow Jesus’ invitation to take up their own cross in following him. The libretto confirms that there is a possibility of metanoia, of re-orienting one’s life, offered to all who engage with the story presented, and that the work sets out a framework through which contemporary listeners were enabled to reflect on their own lives, take responsibility for their actions and seek forgiveness for their own wrongs (and possibly also for the wrongs of their society). The chapter confirms that the libretto Bach sets to music in his St John Passion remains closely attuned to both the message of the Gospel narrative and the theological reception of that narrative as expounded by Martin Luther and subsequent commentators, such as Abraham Calov and Johannes Olearius. The extended analysis of the composer’s socio-historical, cultural and devotional context set out in the first half of this book confirms that Bach was a theologically aware composer who used his music to give voice to express a differentiated Biblically-based message. That message was not dictated by a need to set certain doctrines to music. Nor was that message determined by the composer in isolation. The message conveyed through Bach’s Cantatas and Passions was determined by his collaboration with his clergy and artistic colleagues; a process in which preacher, librettist and composer shared in re-telling the Scripture narrative for a specific devotional context. Bach and his collaborators were interested in evoking a personal response to the Biblical message. This insight qualifies the paradigm expressed by some of the members of the International Working Group for Theological Bach Research that Bach used music to give voice to specific Lutheran doctrines. I do not believe that Bach set out to communicate any particular doctrine in his St John Passion, as for instance suggested by Pelican, who suggests that in his St John Passion Bach specifically sought to give voice to the Christus Victor doctrine of atonement, ‘for which Bach had to reach over Protestant Orthodoxy to Luther, and over the Middle Ages to the Greek church fathers of the early Christian centuries’.51 I do,

50 For Walter (1496–1570), see: Walter Blankenburg, Johann Walter: Leben und Werk (Tutzing: Schneider, 1991). 51 Jaroslav Pelican, ‘Christus Victor in the Saint John Passion’, in: idem, Bach among the Theologians (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1986), pp. 102–129, p. 106. introduction 17 however, believe that Bach’s St John Passion communicates a distinctive Scrip- tural message, which, in turn, lies at the heart and gave shape to many important Lutheran doctrines. Bach not only wrote music that encouraged a differentiated response in his listeners, but he wrote music that conveyed meaning. This meaning can be understood theologically because it was created for, read through, and received in, a contemporary theological framework that was based on Lutheran doctrine and embedded in the devotional culture of the eighteenth-century Lutheran church. An analysis of Bach’s background in the first two chapters of this book confirms that Bach shared this eighteenth-century Lutheran cultural and theological framework, and applied it to his own religious music. While it is impossible to confirm the perception of Bach as a theologian who set down specific doctrines through music, it is perfectly possible to confirm that as part of his regular duties as a cantor, Bach sought to contribute to the provision of a ‘well-ordered church music to the glory of God’ that communicated a carefully coordinated devotional message.52 Primary sources show that listeners were able to follow the principal texts used in worship at St Thomas’ and St Niko- lai, including the Passion performances, in hymn books, worship books and libretto booklets. This was true both for regular Sunday worship, but also for Bach’s Passion performances for which libretto booklets were printed for use by the listeners.53 Even ‘strangers and outsiders’, who may not have shared the same devotional framework of the worshippers at St Nikolai and St Thomas’, were able to negotiate and understand worship at Leipzig’s principal churches by drawing on the ‘ordered and clear education about the composition of divine service in this place’ offered by volumes such as the 1710 LeipzigerKirchen-Staat, a work published specifically for visitors to the Leipzig Book Fair who sought to inform themselves about ‘what a devoted church-goer here in Leipzig needs to know’.54 Reactions to the use of a quasi-operatic musical genre such as the

52 BD 1, no. 1: ‘Eine regulirte kirchen music zu Gottes Ehren’. 53 BD 2, no. 179, NBR, no. 115. While there were sufficient subscribers for Bach’s libretti, for some Bach’s well-ordered music was secondary and the sermon held centre stage: several timing their arrival at church to coincide with the end of the musique and the beginning of the sermon, as Tanya Kevorkian notes, BaroquePiety:Religion,Society,andMusicinLeipzig, 1650–1750 (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2007), pp. 33. 54 Leipziger Kirchen-Staat: das ist deutlicher Unterricht vom Gottes-Dienst in Leipzig (Leipzig: Groschuff, 1710), p. )( 5r: ‘Fremden und Auswärtigen’; p. )( 5v: ‘Ordentlichen und deut- lichen Unterricht/ von der Beschaffenheit des hiesigen Gottes-Dienstes’; p. )( 6r: ‘Was ein andächtiger Kirchengänger hier in Leipzig zu wissen nöthig hat’. 18 introduction

Cantata or concerted Passion to communicate a devotional message are also well documented.55 It is much more difficult to measure how the message communicated through the StJohnPassion was received by Bach’s contemporary listeners. John Butt is right in saying that ‘it is impossible to gauge exactly what Bach’s own listeners might have heard in this music’.56 However, it is possible to identify how some of the contributing factors to the way that message was shaped and communicated. The second part of the volume, therefore, documents how John’s story of the Passion was read and received during Luther’s reformation and in Bach’s period. Drawing on the Biblical commentaries, collections of sermon and hymn books contained in the Specification of the Estate Left by the Late Mr Johann Sebastian Bach, it shows how Bach’s St John Passion received and retold the Johannine Passion narrative.57 The movement by movement close reading of Bach’s StJohnPassion not only reflects on the Johannine narrative, it also considers in detail the poetry and devotional hymns assembled by the unknown librettist. Most importantly, the close reading provides an insight into the ways in which Bach brought to life, and gave meaning to, the libretto of his first Leipzig Passion through music. In doing so, the close reading particularly notes recurrent uses of musical tropes and devices and, by comparing Bach’s compositional techniques to those of his immediate predecessors and contemporaries, shows how Bach made use of an established music language in order to communicate the distinctive message of his libretto.

55 NBR no. 324, Christian Gerber, Geschichte der Kirchen Ceremonien in Sachsen (Dresden: Saueressig, 1732), p. 283. 56 John Butt, Bach’s Dialogue with Modernity: Perspectives on the Passions (Cambridge: Uni- versity Press, 2010), p. 17. 57 BD 2, no. 627, NBR no. 279. part i Composer and Work

∵

chapter 1 Learning the Craft of a Church Musician

1 Bach’s Schooling

At the age of eight, in 1693, Bach was enrolled in the second year of the Eisenach Latin School.1 Following the death of their father Johann Ambrosius Bach (1645–1695), two years later, his older brother Johann Jakob and he joined the household of their oldest surviving brother Johann Christoph Bach (1671–1721), then the organist, later also a school master, at Ohrdruf.2 The local Lutheran Latin School that Bach attended next, the Ohrdruf Lyceum Illustre, provided as rigorous a Lutheran academic environment as Eisenach.3 By July 1695, the two Bach brothers had joined their new school: there, Sebastian completed the fourth [Tertia], fifth [Secunda] and, aged 14, part of the final year [Prima] of secondary school, ‘a full four years below the average of that class’.4 It was the newly-appointed cantor at the Ohrdruf Lyceum, Elias Herda, himself a recent alumnus of St Michael’s School in Lüneburg, who suggested that Sebastian complete his studies at his own alma mater.5

1 BD 2, no. 2, NBR no. 6; Helmbold (1930), p. 54. 2 BD 2, no. 2, NBR no. 6c; Helmbold (1930), p. 55: Johann Jakob Bach entered the school the same year as his younger brother Johann Sebastian and joined the same class as his brother, though Sebastian was three years younger. Their older brother Johann Christoph Bach had been a student at the Latin School from 1681–1685 and left after the fourth year of secondary school to be educated at Erfurt by Johann Pachelbel the following year. He took up his appointment as organist of St Michael’s Ohrdruf in 1690. For Johann Christoph Bach, see: Hans-Joachim Schulze, ‘Johann Christoph Bach (1671–1721), “Organist und Schul Collega in Ohrdruf”: Johann Sebastian Bachs erster Lehrer’, Bach-Jahrbuch 71 (1985), pp. 55–81, including reflections on Christoph’s tutelage under Pachelbel, p. 70. 3 For Bach’s enrolment at the Lyceum, see: BD 2, no. 4, NBR no. 8a; Alfred Oertel, ed., Erstveröf- fentlichung der Matrikel des Lyceums illustre Ordruviense: Urkunden aus Johann Sebastian Bachs Ohrdrufer Schulzeit, 1695–1700. Im Auftrag des Bachausschusses der Stadt Ohrdruf, Bei- trag der Stadt Ohrdruf zum Bachjahr 1950 (Erfurt: Ohlenroth, 1950). 4 BD 2, no. 4, NBR no. 8; Christoph Wolff, Bach: The Learned Musician (Oxford: University Press, 2001), p. 57, suggests that ‘even though he had completed half the first year of the prima at the Ohrdruf Lyceum, whose academic year began in the fall. Bach most likely started over again in the prima at St Michael’s [Lüneburg in 1700], where the academic year began at Easter’. 5 For Elias Herda (1674–1728), see: BD 1, no., 23n.

In 1700 Bach joined the final year at St Michael’s School Lüneburg. While the Principality of Lüneburg followed a slightly different Lutheran curriculum than that of Saxe-Gotha, many of the elements of Bach’s education at St Michael’s remained the same as at Eisenach and Ohrdruf.6 In the schools Bach attended, Lutheran doctrine was taught through a typical example of orthodox seventeenth-century doctrinal teaching: by ‘reciting the questions’ from Leonhard Hutter’s Compendium Locorum Theologicorum (1610).7 Hutter’s Latin Compendium used questions and answers to communicate the principal tenets of Lutheran doctrine, enabling the advancement of both ‘language acquisition and theology’.8 It provided a structured approach to a specifically Lutheran understanding of Scripture, doctrine, church and world order which, the 1695 Ordinances of St Michael’s School emphasise, centred in particular on key Lutheran such as ‘election, good works, penance, the ministry and the church’.9 In an educational system that laid such great store on the study of Scripture by school students, it does not surprise that Hutter’s first question and answer also centred on the nature of Scripture:

Quid est Scriptura sacra? What is Holy Scripture? —Est verbum Dei. —It is the Word of God.10

The Ordinances of St Michael’s School further show that in addition to ‘reciting the questions’ of Hutter’s Compendium, in the final three years of secondary

6 For Bach’s attendance at St Michael’s and his membership of the Mattins-Choir (Metten- chor), see: NBR, no. 11. 7 Stadtarchiv Lüneburg, Michaelisarchiv F99, No. 5, no pagination: ‘Compendium Hutteri recitantur quaestiones’. For Hutter’s Compendium Locorum Theologicorum, see: Wolfgang Trillhaas, ed. Compendium Locorum Theologicorum: Herausgegeben von Wolfgang Trill- haas (Berlin: de Gruyter, 1961); see also: Reinhard Kirste, ‘Theologische und spirituelle Ermöglichungsansätze für Bachs Werk unter besonderer Berücksichtigung des Verständ- nisses von Wort und Geist bei Leonhard Hutter und Johann Arnd’ in: Martin Petztoldt, ed. et al., Bach als Ausleger der Bibel: Theologische und musikwissenschaftliche Studien zum Werk Johann Sebastian Bachs (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck und Ruprecht, 1985), pp. 77–95, especially pp. 79–82. 8 Martin Petzoldt, ‘“Ut probus & doctus reddar”: Zum Anteil der Theologie bei der Schu- lausbildung Johann Sebastian Bachs in Eisenach, Ohrdruf und Lüneburg’, Bach-Jahrbuch 71 (1985), pp. 7–42, p. 37. 9 Stadtarchiv Lüneburg, Michaelisarchiv F99, No. 5, unpaginated entry: ‘De Electione, Bonis Operibus, Poenitentia, Ministerio et Ecclesia’. 10 Trillhaas (1961), p. 1. learning the craft of a church musician 23 school there was great emphasis on the study of Scripture in their original languages:11

In the fourth year of secondary school [Tertia] the Gospel in Greek is read, and students are to recite declensions and conjugate verbs from the Greek Grammar. … In the fifth year [Secunda]: the fundamentals of Greek, reading and studying the text of the New Testament. … In the final year [Prima] … in Greek, the same method as before: students are to gain greater familiarity with the Greek text.12

In order to join the final year, therefore, Bach would have had to have demonstrated ‘the fundamentals of Greek’; that is the ability to read and translate the text of the New Testament. Among final year students, the study of Hebrew was encouraged: those students that chose to be taught ‘diligently in the development of Hebrew Grammar’ by the deputy rector, also studied the two opening parashot of the Hebrew Bible, Bereshit (Genesis 1.1–6.8) and Noach (Genesis 6.9–11.32) in depth.13 It is clear that, by the time Bach completed his formal studies at St Michael’s School in 1702, the seventeen-year-old was fluent in Latin, in which language he had been taught for more than nine years, had a thorough grounding in Lutheran doctrine, solid mastery of New Testament Greek, and probably a smattering of Hebrew as well.14 At the same time, he was able to acquire a working knowledge of the modern lingua franca of courtly life, French.15 If Bach’s later extensive collection of books is any indicator of

11 Stadtarchiv Lüneburg, Michaelisarchiv F99, No. 5, unpaginated entry: ‘Compendium Hut- teri recitantur questiones’. 12 Stadtarchiv Lüneburg, Michaelisarchiv F99, No. 5, unpaginated entry: ‘In Tertia legitur graecum Evangelium, et recitantur declinationes et verbum typiō graeca grammatica … In secunda classe: Rudimenta Graeca, legendo explorandoq[ue] Novi Test[amenti]: textum … in prima classe … in Graecis, eaddem methodo, qua antea, textum Gr.[aece] Novi Test[amenti]. Discipulis familiare[m] reddere’. 13 Stadtarchiv Lüneburg, Michaelisarchiv F99, No. 5, unpaginated entry: ‘His addit in Hebrai- cis parscham [sic: parascham] Bereschith et Noae, cum Sedulo Gram:[maticae] Hebr:[ai- cae] evolutione’. 14 It was not uncommon for musicians to know Hebrew: Bach’s colleague Johann Matthe- son certainly had a good grounding in Hebrew, Johann Mattheson, Der/ Vollkommene/ Capellmeister/ Das ist/ Gründliche Anzeige/ aller derjenigen Sachen,/ die einer wissen, kön- nen, und vollkommen inne habe muß,/ der einer Capelle/ mit Ehren und Nutzen verstehen will (Hamburg: Christian Herold, 1739), p. 4, §4. 15 Bach wrote most of the addresses and many of the conclusions of his surviving letters, as well as the dedication to his 1721 Brandenburg Concertos in French. It is highly likely 24 chapter 1 his enthusiasms, then the study of the Scriptures in their original languages remained a life-long interest.16

2 Singer, Instrumentalist, Church Musician

Bach’s musical education has been well-documented:17 born into a family of composers, cantors, court- or civic-musicians, ‘he belonged to a family,to whom love and skill for music was seemingly granted by nature as a common gift to all its members’, his eulogy rightly emphasises.18 As town piper of Eisenach, his father Ambrosius directed the civic music, which included leading the music at the town’s Georgenkirche on Sundays and Festivals, while his father’s cousin, Christoph Bach, was the town’s organist.19 From an early age, Bach would therefore have been introduced to observing the craft of a ‘well-ordered church music to the glory of God’ from members of own family, who also were the first to introduce him ‘to a disciplined study of the string and wind instruments that a town piper was expected to master’.20 The opportunity to perfect his skills as a string player as well as to learn the craft of matching choral music with instrumental and organ works for Lutheran worship at Eisenach’s Georgenkirche from his father and cousin, was complemented by further opportunities to learn about Lutheran music at school.21 Certainly, in Eisenach and Ohrdruf

that he learnt the language at the Ritterakademie attached to St Michael’s, an academy for young noblemen, many of whom employed the services of scholarship holders such as Sebastian as famuli or menservants. He certainly acquired a knowledge of French ensemble music there, BD 3, no. 666. 16 For the works contained in Bach’s estate, see: Robin A. Leaver, Bachs theologische Biblio- thek: Eine kritische Bibliographie [cited as BB] (Neuhausen-Stuttgart: Hännsler, 1985). 17 Wolff (2001), pp. 42–51. 18 BD 3, no. 666: ‘Gehöret zu einem Geschlechte, welchem Liebe und Geschicklichkeit zur Musick, gleichsam als ein allgemeines Geschenck, für alle seine Mitglieder, von der Natur mitgetheilet zu seyn schienen’. 19 Unto the completion of the Georgenkirche’s new organ in 1707, Ambrosius Bach provided instrumental music at the Georgenkirche in Eisenach, Wolff (2001), p. 30. 20 BD 1, no. 1: ‘Eine regulirte kirchen music zu Gottes Ehren’, Wolff (2001), p. 28. 21 For Luther’s use of music in education and to further the cause of the reformation, see: Andreas Loewe, ‘Why do Lutherans sing? Lutherans, Music and the Gospel in the first century of the Reformation’, Church History (82.1) 2013, pp. 69–89; Johann Michael Reu, Quellen zur Geschichte des kirchlichen Unterrichts in der evangelischen Kirche Deutschlands zwischen 1530 und 1600: Quellen zur Geschichte des Katechismusunterrichts (Gütersloh: Bertelsmann, 1935), Volume 3/1, p. 873: ‘Textum Epistolae et Evangelii sequentis Dominicae in templo canere debet’. learning the craft of a church musician 25 as well as at Lüneburg, students began each school day ‘by singing together a Catechism hymn’, ensuring that children like Sebastian learnt their Lutheran chorales and music theory together with their doctrine.22 At the same time, students learnt the hymns of the Teutsch Gesangbüchlein (German hymnal); in Bach’s case the 1673 New Eisenach Hymnal.23 In his Ded- ication, Johann Günther Rörer, Lutheran minister and editor of the Eisenach Hymnal emphasises the benefits of communal singing which was fostered in the town’s churches and parochial schools (bey Kirchen und Schulen): ‘If there ever was a place/ where children and their parents/ old and young/ delight in sweet songs in praise of God/ then it is this well-praised city of Eisenach’.24 The combination of ‘the sweetness of rhymes/ the well-pleasing nature of the beautiful tunes/ the accompanying strings/ attract the heart greatly’, Rörer explained:

They give the heart new strength/ and let it dance in God/ even/ when danger/ the cross/ despair/ misery and death knock/ Times, at which one truly realises/ which songs are the glorious songs of a master.25

In their weekly hymn singing classes Bach and his fellows learnt ‘one hymn after the other/ from the hymnal/ which they/ have to work with/ once they

22 Andreas Reyher, Methodus Oder Bericht/ Wie Nechst Göttlicher Verleyhung die Knaben und Mägdlein auf den Dorffschafften/ und in den Städten/ die üntere Classes der Schul- Jugend im Fürstenthum Gotha/ Kürtz-und nützlich unterrichtet werden können und sollen (Gotha: Christoph Reyher, 1697), p. 32, §2: ‘In der ersten Frühe-Stunden wird allezeit ein Catechismus-Gesang gesungen’; Wilhelm Junghans, JohannSebastianBachalsSchülerder Partikularschule zu St. Michaelis in Lüneburg: Oder Lüneburg eine Pflegestätte kirchlicher Musik, Programm des Johanneums zu Lüneburg (Lüneburg: Stern, 1870), p. 22. 23 Neues vollständiges Eisenachisches Gesangbuch: Worinnen/ in ziemlich bequeemer und füglicher Ordnung/ vermittels fünffacher Abteilung/ so wol die alte/ als neue/ doch mehrenteils bekante geistliche Kirchenlieder und Psalmen/ D. Martin Luthers (Eisenach: Johann Günther Rörer, 1673), see also: Robin A. Leaver, Luther’s Liturgical Music: Principles and Implications, Lutheran Quarterly Books (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2007), p. 113. 24 Neues vollständiges Eisenachisches Gesangbuch, p. )( vr: ‘Wo ie ein Ort zufinden/ da Kinder u. Eltern/ Alte u. Junge/ sich an lieblichen Gottesliedern ergetzen/ ist es diese hochge- priesene Stadt Eisenach’. 25 Neues vollständiges Eisenachisches Gesangbuch, p. )( ivv: ‘Die Süßigkeit der Reime/ der Wolklang der schönen Gesangsweisen/ die mitstimmende Seitenspiele/ locken das Herz gewaltig an/ geben demselben eine neue Kraft/ und machen es in Gott tanzend/ auch so gar/ wenn Gefahr/ Kreuz/ Verzweifelung/ Noht und Tod anklopfet/ da man erst recht gewahr wird/ was die herrliche Meistergesänge’. 26 chapter 1 can read it/ beginning with the most well known and used’.26 In doing so, they followed Luther’s own wishes closely: in his preface to the 1524 Wittenberg Hymnal Luther had explained that the hymns had been published to be learnt at school. Indeed, they had been ‘set in four parts, for no other reason than that I should like the young to be educated in music and other proper arts, as indeed they should’.27Music was ‘essential (necessario) to schools’,Luther believed, not only as a way of learning about Scripture and doctrine, but more so as a way of promoting reforms in church and community.28 Because he was educated in a Lutheran school system, and because he had an ‘extraordinarily beautiful treble voice’, Bach sang throughout his school career.29 He retained his noted treble voice until his voice-break as a seventeen- year-old, when ‘for eight days … he could but sing in octaves, and thereafter … lost his beautiful voice’.30 A choral scholar at the Ohrdruf Lyceum Illustre who joined his Lüneburg school on a choral scholarship, it is more than likely that he previously had also been also part of the Eisenach Latin school’s chorus musicus, a choral ensemble that rehearsed on four days each week, and provided additional opportunities for choral singing and music tuition in addition to those stipulated in the Gotha national curriculum.31 From the time of his father’s death Bach was reliant both on choral scholar- ships and hospitia liberalia—fees for tutoring the children of local patricians— and therefore literally ‘sang for his school fees’. His departure to Lüneburg to

26 Reyher (1697), pp. 28–29, §17: ‘Aus denen Gesang-Büchlein/ welche sie/ so bald sie im Lesen fortkommen können/ zu schaffen haben/ einen Gesang nach dem andern/ worzu anfänglich die bekantesten/ und die am meisten gebrauchten/ zu nehmen’. 27 Martin Luther, D. Martin Luthers Werke: Kritische Gesamtausgabe [cited as: WA], Joachim Karl Friedrich Knaake, ed. et al. (Weimar: Hermann Böhlau, 1883–1985), Vorrede des Wit- tenberger Gesangbuches, 1524, WA 35: 474, 18–20: ‘Und sind dazu auch ynn vier stymme bracht, nicht aus anderer ursach, denn das ich gerne wollte, die iugent, die doch sonst soll und mus ynn der Musica und andern rechten künsten erzogen werden’. 28 WA Tr 5: 557, 19–20, no. 6248: ‘Man muß musicam necessario in der schulen behalten’. 29 BD 3, no. 666: ‘Ungemein schöne Sopranstimme’. 30 BD 3, no. 666: ‘Acht Tage lang … er nicht anders als in Octaven singen und reden konnte. Hierauf verlohr er … seine schöne Stimme’. 31 Reyher (1697), pp. 28–29, §17, Wolff (2001), p. 28: ‘For the select chorus musicus, the cantor assembled the students on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday for an additional hour, 12–1’, see also: Claus Oefner, ‘Musical life of the Towns and Courts in Central Germany around 1700’, in: Christoph Wolff, ed., The World of the Bach Cantatas: Johann Sebastian Bach’s Early Sacred Cantatas (New York and London: W.W. Norton, 1997), pp. 35–48, pp. 38–40. learning the craft of a church musician 27 take up a choral scholarship as a descant in the fifteen-strong Mattins Choir at St Michael’s School was clearly motivated by the lack of continued opportunities for tutoring at Ohrdruf: the Ohrdruf school records state that ‘in the absence of hospitia [Sebastian] set out for Lüneburg on March 15, 1700’.32 By 3 April that year, his name is registered among the members of the Lüneburg Mattins Choir who received a regular stipend of 12 Groschen.33 When he made his way to Lüneburg, Christoph Wolff notes, Bach’s ‘musical preparation was exceptional, comprehensive, and in every way well rounded’.34 At Lüneburg, he acquired further practical skills that would stand him in excellent stead as a church musician. His new school set a benchmark for musical distinction in worship. St Michael’s fostered a strong musical tradition unpar- alleled by any of the other city churches: directed by Cantor August Braun the Mattins Choir led worship on Saturdays, twice every Sunday, on the eve of Festi- vals and at Festivals themselves, as well as at occasional services, the city’s 1649 Worship Order for St Michael’s set down.35 In order for the music to be varied, to be ‘refined and to inspire devotion’, a large choir library was at the disposal of the cantor, including mass settings by Praetorius, Schütz’s Geistliche Concerte und Exequien, Psalmen Davids and Passions, Hammerschmidt’s Dialogi and Geistliche Andachten und Concerte, Crüger’s Laudes Dei Vespertinae, anthems by Handl, Hassler and Lassus as well as Monteverdi’s Selva morale e spirituale.36 A similarly large library of organ works by German and Italian composers, including works by Lassus, Frescobaldi, Scheidt, Kircher, Hammerschmidt, and by the organist at St Nicolai and St Mary’s Lüneburg Johann Jacob Loewe, himself a student of Schütz, was also available.37 The resultant carefully planned

32 NBR 8e, BD 2, no. 4; Junghans (1870), p. 4: ‘The number of Mattins students varies between 18 and 13, including two probationers whose names are never recorded. The highest number of members was in the year 1695. At the beginning of 1700 there were 15 students [in the Mattins Choir]’ (Die Zahl der Mettenschüler variiert zwischen 18 und 13 einschließlich der beiden Expectanten, welche ständig als namenlos angeführt werden. Die höchste Zahl erreicht das Jahr 1695. Der Anfang des Jahres 1700 erhält 15). 33 Junghans (1870), pp. 4–5. 34 Wolff (2001), p. 42. 35 Worship Order for St Michael’s 1649, cited in: Junghans (1870), pp. 17–18. 36 Order for Mattins and Vespers at St Michael’s 1656, §7, in: Junghans (1870), p. 18: ‘zierlich stehet und zur Andacht ermuntert’. Junghans (1870), pp. 26–33, provides a full list of the St Michael’s choir and organ libraries. The repertoire sung by the Eisenach chorus musicus is, unsurprisingly, very similar, see: Oefner (1997), p. 40. 37 For Johann Jakob Loewe ‘von Eisenach’ (1628–1703), see: John Hamilton Warrack, German Opera: From the Beginnings to Wagner (Cambridge: University Press, 2004), p. 30. 28 chapter 1 combination of orchestral, organ and vocal music at St Michael’s ensured that ‘worship was graceful and reasonable’, and ‘that there would be a clear distinction between this and a farmers’ church’, the Lüneburg 1656 Order for Mattins and Vespers at St Michael’s documents.38 By the time his voice broke in 1702, Bach had been a choral scholar for more than seven years.39 During that time he had become well-versed in the art of Lutheran choral singing and the workings of Lutheran Kantoreien (church choirs).40 He had gained first hand experience of the demands on church musicians such as Cantor Braun to provide a varied musical program for the 65 ‘ordinary’ Festivals and Sundays of the Lutheran calendar, and more than 30 ‘extraordinary’ church occasions every year.41 He had been exposed to Schütz’s 1623 Historia der Auferstehung, his 1660 Historia der Geburt Jesu Christi and his Passions.42 He certainly had heard, and probably also performed, Hammer- schmidt’s 1655–1656 Musicalische Gespräche über die Evangelia.43Bach’s participation in performances of contemporary Italian and German compositions would have taught him about Baroque aesthetics, such as the formulaic use of certain Affekte, vocal registers or keys to indicate certain moods, as well

38 Order for Mattins and Vespers at St Michael’s 1656, §7, in: Junghans (1870), p. 18: ‘Ein zierlicher und vernüftiger Gottesdienst’, ‘damit ein Unterscheidt unter dieser und einer Bauernkirche seyn möge’. 39 Once his voice had settled, Bach joined the bass section of the Mattins choir, remaining a member until his graduation from Lüneburg in spring later that year, BD 3, no. 801; NBR, no. 394. 40 For the development of Lutheran Kantoreien, see: Loewe (2013), pp. 83–87. 41 A complete list of ‘ordinary’ (ordinarie) and ‘extraordinary’ (extraordinarie) occasions on which the Mattins Choir was to provide a combination of Latin and German, polyphonic and unison or solo vocal music, is appended to the Order for Mattins and Vespers at St Michael’s 1656, in: Junghans (1870), p. 18. 42 Junghans (1870), p. 27 documents that Schütz’s Oratorios and Passions were purchased at Lüneburg before 1694. For Schütz’ Passions, see: Tamsin D. Jones, Passions in Perspective: An Analytical Discussion of the three Passion Settings of Heinrich Schütz (1585–1672) against their Historical and Stylistic Backgrounds (Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation: Birming- ham University, 2000). 43 A full cycle of musical reflections on the Sunday and Feast Day Gospels for solo voices and obbligato accompaniment in various movements, such as recitatives, songs and chorales that ‘anticipate the later development of the German church Cantata’, Johannes Günther Kraner and Steffen Voss, ‘Hammerschmidt, Andreas’, New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (Oxford: University Press, 2005), 10: pp. 732–735. Junghans (1870), p. 27, lists Hammerschmidt’s Gespräche über die Evangelia among the purchases between 1656–1666. learning the craft of a church musician 29 as the use of certain rhetorical devices such as musica poetica in the word setting of Schütz and his predecessors, or the use of certain dance forms, such as the Sarabande, in Hammerschmidt’s church music.44 In his Lüneburg years Bach built on the secure footing of his early musical education as a singer and instrumentalist in Eisenach and Ohrdruf. His membership of a group of singers and instrumentalists charged with delivering an ambitious musical program to amplify the Lutheran message at St Michael’s undoubtedly laid the foundations for his own later career as a church musician.

3 ‘Singing preaching and praising of God’

The establishment of an enduring choral tradition was one of the hallmarks of the Lutheran Reformation. The deliberate promotion of music and music- making became a central part of Luther’s Reformation: for Lutherans preaching and singing went hand in hand.45 This is why in Lutheran school choirs, students not only learnt to sing contemporary compositions that intentionally expounded the Scriptural and preached word, such as the oratorios of Schütz or the early Cantatas of Hammerschmidt.46 They also received formal instruction about exegesis and homiletics. Lutheran students were taught both to examine the Biblical text and given pointers about how to listen to sermons attentively, by learning to ‘take short notes/ and to commit the remainder to memory’.47 Certainly during his secondary schooling in Eisenach and Ohrdruf and very likely also at Lüneburg, Bach and his fellow students were taught how a sermon

44 For the Lutheran concept of musica poetica, see: Nicolaus Listenius, Rudimenta Musicae Planae (Wittenberg: Georg Rhau, 1533) and Joachim Burmeister, Musica Poetica: Defini- tionibus Et Divisionibus Breviter Delineata, quibus in singulis capitibus sunt hypomnemata praeceptionum instar synoptikōs addita, edita studio & opera, M. Joachimi Burmeisteri, Lunaeburg. Scholae Rostoch., Collegae Claßici (Rostock: Stephan Myliander, 1606), and the excellent introduction of Benita Rivera’s translation of Burmeister’s work, Musical Poetics (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1993), pp. xiii–lxii. 45 Loewe (2013), pp. 71–72. 46 Richard D.P. Jones, The Creative Development of Johann Sebastian Bach, 2 vols. (Oxford: University Press, 2006), 1: 1695–1717: Music to Delight the Spirit, p. 97: ‘As a result of this highly favourable attitude towards music on the part of the founder of the Lutheran Church, the art flourished within it, leading to the great traditions of chorale, motet, and sacred concerto that arose in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries’. 47 Reyher (1697), p. 50, §19: ‘Mit der Feder kurtz fassen/ und das ubrige im Sinn zu behalten’, see: pp. 45–46, §§7–10 for detailed instructions on how to analyse a sermon. 30 chapter 1 was structured, and even were given the opportunity to exegete some of the Biblical texts read in worship.48 Martin Petzoldt is right in suggesting that the education Bach and his contemporaries received would have provided them with

a benchmark, which was entirely accessible to lay people, for any questions about content and background in discussing the sermon, the hymns and the hymnal, and later also the texts of Cantatas.49

It is clear that Bach’s education had equipped him well for a career as a ‘preacher in sound’. Rather than choose to study at university to enter into one of the professions or pursue a theological career, Bach instead chose to follow in the footsteps of his musical family. This may well have been motivated by the acute lack of financial support, and his need to earn a living. Whatever reason Bach had for deciding against tertiary studies, immediately after the completion of his schooling at Lüneburg he applied for the position as organist at the Jakobikirche Sangerhausen, vacated by the death of Gottfried Christoph Gräffenhayn in July 1702.50 The Duke of Saxe-Weissenfels overruled the town’s invitation to Bach to take up the post, appointing instead his own candidate, the court composer Johann Augustus Kobelius.51 Instead of a pursuing a career as a church organist from the outset as intended, in March 1703 Bach took up his first professional post as an instrumentalist in the court orchestra of Duke Johann Ernst of Saxe-Weimar.52 His tenure in the court orchestra was short: in July the same year, Bach was invited to examine his first organ in Arnstadt’s New Church. A month later, on 9 August 1703, he was appointed organist of Arnstadt,

48 Reyher (1697), pp. 47–50, §§11–17, provides a model exegesis of the set texts for Estomihi Sunday or Sunday before Lent; its Lutheran name is derived from the opening words of the set Introit Psalm in its Vulgate translation, ‘Esto mihi in Deum protectorem’, Ps. 31.1. 49 Petzoldt (1985), p. 19: ‘Ein auch von Laien handhabbarer Maßstab für inhaltliche und sachliche Fragen zur Predigt, zum Kirchenlied, zum Gesangbuch, später auch zu Kanta- tentexten’. 50 Friedrich Schmidt, Geschichte der Stadt Sangerhausen: Im Auftrage des Magistrates (Sang- erhausen: Selbstverlag des Magistrats der Stadt Sangerhausen, 1906), p. 726; Christoph Wolff, Markus Zepf, The Organs of J.S. Bach: A Handbook (Champaign: University of Illi- nois Press, 2012), p. 83. 51 In 1737, Bach’s son Johann Gottfried Bernhard Bach, was appointed to the post his father did not obtain 35 years earlier. 52 BD 2, no. 6, NBR no, 13. learning the craft of a church musician 31 charged to be ‘industrious and reliable in the office, vocation and practice of art and science assigned’.53

53 BD 2, no. 8, NBR no. 16, see also: BD 3, no. 666: ‘In the year 1703 he came to Weimar, where he became a court musician. The following year he was appointed to be the organist of the New Church in Arnstadt’ (Im Jahre 1703 kam er nach Weymar und wurde daselbst Hofmusikus. Das Jahr drauf erhielt er den Organistendienst an der neuen Kirche in Arnstadt). chapter 2 ‘It Pleased God That I Should be Called’—Bach’s Office and Craft

Not only the consistory of the Count of Schwarzenberg who confirmed Bach’s post of organist of Arnstadt’s New Church regarded his appointment in terms of ‘office and vocation’.1 Like many of his contemporaries, Bach reflected on many of his appointments in terms of a call from God. In rejecting an appointment at Halle’s Liebfrauenkirche in early 1714, for instance, he declined the invitation on the grounds of the ‘Divine beckoning revealed by this vocation’.2 Similarly, he saw his 1723 appointment as Thomaskantor entirely in terms of vocation (vociret) and divine providence ( fügete es Gott).3 He certainly later reflected how the former

Capellmeister and Director of the Chamber Music at the Court of the Serene Prince of Anhalt-Köthen … had been called from there, Anno 1723, to become Music Director and Cantor at the St Thomas’ School in Leipzig in accordance with God’s Holy Will.4

Likewise, six years after his own call to the cantorate at St Thomas’, he advised his colleague Christoph Gottlob Wecker to discern God’s will with regard to a potential appointment: ‘I see that the good Lord seems to guide your footsteps towards a position. In this I wish for you a Divine fiat’.5 In his understanding of his office, and his sense of calling, Bach reflected the orthodox Lutheran doctrine that God called each person to their own office and station in life.6

1 NBR, no. 152, BD 1, no. 23: ‘Vocieret’. 2 BD 1, no. 2, NBR, no. 49. 3 BD 1, no. 23: ‘So fügete es Gott, daß zu hiesigem Directore Musices u. Cantore an der Thomas Schule vocieret wurde’, NBR, no. 152. 4 BD 1, no. 184, NBR, no. 303: ‘Capellmeister u. Director derer Cammer Musiquen am Hochfürst- lich Anhalt Köthischen Hofe … wurde von dar An[no]. 1723, als Director Chori Musici u[nd]. Cantor an der Thomas Schule nacher Leipzig vociert … nach Gottes H[eiligem]. Willen’. 5 BD 1, no. 120, NBR, no. 130. 6 For a Lutheran theology of vocation by an outstanding exponent of Lutheran Orthodoxy familiar to Bach, see: Abraham Calov, Systema Locorum Theologicorum, 12 vols. (Wittenberg: Hartmann, 1655–1677), 10.1: ‘De vocatione, eiusque cognatis’; for Abraham Calov (1612–1686),

The Wittenberg theologian Abraham Calov had made the systematisation of the Lutheran doctrine of vocation his life’s work.7 Bach owned Calov’s work: an avid collector of books, in September 1742, he had purchased part of ‘the library of the eminent Wittenberg superintendent and theologian Abraham Calov’ at a Leipzig auction.8 The books purchased included not only Calov’s works, but also the Altenburg edition of the ‘German and magnificent writings of the blessed Dr M. Luther’, which Calov ‘supposedly used to compile his great German Bible’,as Bach speculated at the time.9 The works he bought at auction in 1742 were not the only Lutheran, or theological works, that Bach owned. The 1750 Specification of the Estate Left by the Late Mr Johann Sebastian Bach records a large Lutheran library:10 nine volumes, conventionally bound in seven, of the Altenburg edition of the works of Luther, a three-volume Bible commentary by Johann Olearius, the five-volume School of Piety by Johann Gerhard, as well as eight volumes of the Leipzig Hymn-Book.11 Of the numerous theological works Bach owned, only his three-volume annotated Calov Bible survives, in the library of Concordia Seminary, St Louis, Missouri.12

see: Johannes Wallmann, ‘Abraham Calov: theologischer Widerpart der Religionspolitik des großen Kurfürsten’,in: Stefan Oehmig, ed., 700 Jahre Wittenberg: Stadt, Universität, Ref- ormation (Weimar: Hermann Böhlau, 1995), pp. 303–311; Ernst Feil, Religio: Die Geschichte eines neuzeitlichen Grundbegriffs im 17. und frühen 18. Jahrhundert, 3 vols. (Göttingen: Van- denhoeck und Ruprecht, 2001), 3, pp. 33–44; for his hermeneutic method, see: Volker Jung, Das Ganze der Heiligen Schrift. Hermeneutik und Schriftauslegung bei Abraham Calov, Cal- wer theologische Monographien B/18 (Stuttgart: Calver Verlag, 1999). 7 See: Kenneth G. Appold, Abraham Calov’s Doctrine of Vocatio in its Systematic Context, Beiträge zur historischen Theologie 103 (Tübingen: Mohr-Siebeck, 1998), pp. 73–170. 8 BD 1, no. 123, NBR no. 228: ‘Aus des großen Wittenbergischen General-Superintendentens u[nd]. Theologi D. Abrah[ami]: Calovii Bibiliothec’. 9 BD 1, no. 123, NBR no. 228: ‘Teütsche und herrliche Schriften des seeligen D.M. Lutheri’, ‘woraus er vermuthlig seine große Teütsche Bibel colligiret’. 10 Specificatio der Verlassenschaft des am 28. July 1750 verstorbenen Herrn Johann Sebastian Bachs, BD 2, no. 627, ‘Chapter XII: Theological Books’, NBR no. 279, for his music manuscripts, see: NBR nos. 286–301. 11 For the works contained in Bach’s estate, see: BB, pp. 37–38. For the Lutheran theological works owned by Bach, see: Robin A. Leaver, ‘Bach und die Lutherschriften seiner Biblio- thek’, in: Bach-Jahrbuch 61 (1975), pp. 124–132; Bach’s musical collection included works by Buxtehude, Schütz, Telemann, Pachelbel and Italian composers such as Frescobaldi and Albinoni, see: Stanley Godman, ‘Bachs Bibliothek: Die noch vorhandenen Handex- emplare’, Musica 10 (1956), pp. 756–761. 12 Abraham Calov, ed., I. N. J./ Die Heilige/ Bibel/ nach S. Herrn D. Martini Lutheri. Deutscher Dolmetschung und Erklärung/ … mit großem Fleiß/ und Kosten ausgearbeitet/ und 34 chapter 2

It cannot be said with absolute certainty that Bach read any of the theological works in his library beyond the surviving three volumes of the Calov Bible with their marginalia in Bach’s hand.13 Nevertheless, his appellation of Luther as ‘blessed’ and his praise of the reformer’s writings as ‘magnificent’, in conjuction with his ownership of multiple editions of Luther’s works, suggests that he greatly admired and had read the works of the Saxon reformer.14 His self-understanding of his office of a church musician in terms of vocation further suggests that Bach had at least some understanding of Calov’s works. Luther had extended the pre-Reformation understanding of vocation in terms of ‘setting apart for divine service’ to a general call to all people through their individual Beruf, their secular or ecclesiastical occupation.15 In his 1523 interpretation of 2Peter 1.10, Luther had made a clear distinction between calling (berüff ) and election (erwelung).16 It was not possible to be among the elect,

verfasset/ von/ D. Abraham Calovio (Wittenberg: Christian Schröter, 1681–1682), 5 volumes [cited as: CB], BB 1 a–f. For the authenticity of the manuscript entries in Bach’s Calov Bible, see: Howard H. Cox, ed., The Calov Bible of J.S. Bach, Studies in Musicol- ogy 92 (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Research Press, 1985), especially pp. 6–7; Leaver (1983), Thomas Rossin, The Calov Bible of Johann Sebastian Bach (Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation: University of Minnesota, 1992), pp. 100–103, and Christoph Traut- mann, ‘“Calovii Schrifften. 3. Bände” aus Johann Sebastian Bachs Nachlaß und ihre Bedeu- tung für das Bild des lutherischen Kantors Bach’, Musik und Kirche 39 (1969), pp. 145– 160. 13 Rebecca Lloyd, Bach among the Conservatives: The Quest for Theological Truth (Unpub- lished Doctoral Dissertation: King’s College London, 2006), p. 48, is justified in introducing a note of caution that ‘we cannot know the full composition of the library nor, crucially, Bach’s reading of and attitude to the books listed in the Specificatio’. 14 BD 1, no. 123, NBR no. 228. Martin Petzoldt, ‘Beobachtungen zur Spezifik der theologischen Bibliothek Johann Sebastian Bachs’,in: Winfried Hoffmann, Armin Schneiderheinze, eds., Bericht über die wissenschaftliche Bach-Konferenz zum V. Internationalen Bachfest der DDR in Verbindung mit dem 60. Bachfest der Neuen Bachgesellschaft, Leipzig, 25. bis 27. März 1985 (Leipzig: VEB Deutscher Verlag für Musik, 1985), pp. 65–75, documents well Bach’s familiarity with, and reliance on, Luther’s own works and the works of key Lutheran interpreters. 15 For a development history of the term ‘Beruf’ and its associated doctrine, see: Karl Holl, ‘Die Geschichte des Wortes Beruf’, in: idem, Gesammelte Aufsätze zur Kirchengeschichte, 3 vols. (Tübingen: Mohr-Siebeck, 1928), 3, pp. 194–195 and Robin A. Leaver, J.S. Bach and Scripture: Glosses from the Calov Bible Commentary (St Louis: Concordia Publishing, 1985), pp. 14–16. 16 Luther, Die ander Epistel S. Petri und eine S. Judas geprediget und ausgelegt, 1523/24, WA 14: 22, 11–12: ‘Darumb, lieben bruder, thut deste mehr fleys, ewren berüff und erwelung fest zu machen’. ‘it pleased god that i should be called’—bach’s office and craft 35

Luther suggested, without also exercising a calling. Election for Luther was a passive process originating ‘from God alone’.17 People were justified when they ‘hear and believe in the Gospel, and seek baptism’.18 Living out their calling, on the other hand, was an active process that enabled Christians to make a personal response to their election, and so to confirm and live out their salvation.19 Calov developed Luther’s understanding of call and election further, placing an individual’s calling or vocation at the centre of their spiritual journey. For Calov, the discernment of a specific calling marked ‘the first moment of “contact” between the Holy Spirit and an individual’.20 Within this doctrine, Bach would have identified his calling in making music in the service of God, as one of God’s Capellmeister, making use of ‘the small talents that heaven has bestowed on me for music-making’, as he explained in the Dedication of his Brandenburg Concertos [BWV 1046–1051, 1721].21 These God- given gifts he employed to create musical offerings in the service of God and the church by writing and performing ‘well ordered church music to the glory of God’.22 Although he had received a thorough theological education, and was theologically remarkably well read, Bach remained, of course, a musician. He therefore never reflected on a theological method, or set down any theological writings beyond the insights contained in his choral works. Petzoldt is right in suggesting that Bach’s theology was ‘liturgically determined’.23 Kriste elaborates on what characterises such a theology determined and expressed through liturgical music: Bach’s music made use of ‘the language of lively faith, whose terminology leaves behind lofty [doctrinal] distinctions and instead reaches out into the depths of religious experience’.24 Bach’s annotated three volume Bible commentary supports this view and gives further insights into his self-understanding as a musician who lived out Luther’s pre- cept that the combination of words, melody and harmony could foster the

17 WA 14: 22, 18: ‘Alleyne bey Gott’. 18 WA 14: 22, 15–16: ‘Das Euangelium horet und daran glewbet und getaufft wird’. 19 WA 14: 22, 16: ‘Confirmed within us, not only by God’ (Auch bey uns feste sey, nicht alleyne bey Gott). 20 Appold (1998), 14. 21 BD 1, no. 150, NBR, no. 84: ‘Petits talents que le Ciel m’a donnés pour la Musique’; for an analysis of Bach’s dedications, see: Werner Felix, Titel und Widmungen Bachscher Werke als musikpädagogische und musikästhetische Dokumente (Berlin: Akademie Verlag, 1993). 22 BD 1, no. 1, NBR, no. 32: ‘Regulirte kirchen music zu Gottes Ehren’. 23 Petzoldt (1988), p. 76: ‘Vom Gottesdienst her bestimmten Theologie’. 24 Kirste (1985), p. 90: ‘In der Sprache des bewegten Glaubens gesprochen … dessen Termi- nologie aus den hohen Distinktionen in die Tiefe geistlichen Erlebens hinabgeht’. 36 chapter 2 understanding of the nature and works of God: while not in itself theology, music certainly was ‘next to theology’.25

1 The Purpose of Church Music

Bach’s understanding of church music was strongly shaped by the account of the dedication of the Solomonic Temple in the Second Book of Chronicles (2Chronicles 5.5–14). From an early age onwards, Bach literally would have had the image of musicians offering their skills as a living sacrifice before him: every time he opened his Eisenach Hymnal to sing in school or in church, Bach would have had occasion to look at the hymnal’s elaborate frontispiece with its image of the dedication of the Temple (See Figure 1, opposite).26 The lower part of Johann David Herlicius’ engraving showed the city of Eise- nach, beneath the Wartburg—both the local Ernestine stronghold and the place where Luther first translated the Bible into the vernacular—a ‘mighty fortress’ in both a physical and spiritual sense for Eisenach’s Lutherans.27 Above a depiction of their city, protected both by the might of God’s Word that had been translated at the Wartburg and the might of the Wartburg fortress itself, was an image of the Temple of Solomon: the king, with his striking resemblance to the reigning prince Ernst of Saxe-Gotha, is clad in an ermine-lined coat, and kneels in prayer at the foot of the altar with its smoking burnt offering of an oxen (2Chronicles 5.6). He is attended by priests and levites ‘with cymbals, harps, and lyres, [who] stood east of the altar with one hundred and twenty priests who were trumpeters’ (2Chronicles 5.12), who added their own sacrifice of praise to the king’s burnt offering. In the light of the aftermath of the Thirty Years’ War of Religion, the overall message of the frontispiece is unmistakable: led by their earthly sovereign, ministers and musicians joined in offering praise and thanksgiving to their heavenly sovereign. In return, both heavenly and earthly ruler offered protection from all that assailed the believer: the heavenly sovereign providing ‘a bulwark never failing’, the earthly ruler a secure

25 WA Tr 6: 348, 22–24, no. 7034: ‘Ich gebe nach der Theologie der Musica den nähesten Locum und höchste Ehre’. 26 For Bach’s hymnal, see Conrad Freyse, ‘Sebastians Gesangbuch’, Bach-Jahrbuch 45 (1958), pp. 123–126 27 For Johann David Herlicius, who also very probably painted the image of Bach’s father, Jo- hann Ambrosius Bach, see: Conrad Freyse, ‘Das Porträt Ambrosius Bachs’, Bach-Jahrbuch 46 (1959), pp. 149–155. ‘it pleased god that i should be called’—bach’s office and craft 37

figure 1 Dedication of Solomon’s Temple: Frontispiece of the 1673 Eisenachisches Gesangbuch 38 chapter 2 homeland where Lutherans can learn and sing about their faith without fear of religious division or persecution from Catholic rulers. Later in life, Bach’s theological understanding of the dedication of God’s dwelling place on earth by ministers and musicians would have been further developed by Lutheran commentators such as Abraham Calov and Johannes Olearius.28 Bach not only would have sung Olearius’ popular hymns at school.29 Olearius also was the grandfather of the superintendent minister Johann Gott- fried Olearius who had oversight of Bach’s first church, the New Church at Arn- stadt.30 Bach owned Olearius’ expository commentary on the Bible in addition to Calov’s commentated Bible and therefore may well have consulted Olearius’ gloss on the dedication of the Temple in Second Chronicles alongside the entry he annotated in his Calov Bible.31 In reflecting on the dedication of the Temple in 2Chronicles 5.5–14, Olearius made clear that the purpose of music in worship was to amplify the preached word. He explained that the Temple musicians, singers and composers:

Repeated God’s word through their song in the same way the prophets did through their preaching. They were also fine composers, who directed where and when to raise the voice.32

28 For Johannes Olearius, see: Karl Dienst, ‘Olearius, Johannes’, Biographisch-Bibliographi- sches Kirchenlexikon [cited as: BBKL] (Herzberg: Traugott Bautz, 1993), 6: col. 1191–1192. 29 Indeed, Johannes Olearius’ hymn Gelobet sei der Herr forms the basis for Bach’s eponymous Cantata BWV 129. 30 For Johann Gottfried Olearius, see: Walter Troxler, ‘Olearius, Johann Gottfried’, BBKL, 6: col. 1189–1190. BD 2, no. 16, NBR, no. 20 documents how the young Bach proved to be a difficult appointment as organist, for instance overstaying his leave to see Buxtehude in Lübeck in late 1705 by sixteen weeks without seeking permission for his longer stay from Olearius, which is why, unsurprisingly, their relationship was strained. 31 Johannes Olearius, Haupt Schlüßel der gantzen Heiligen Schrifft, 3 volumes in 5 parts (Leipzig: Tarnoven, 1678–1680) [cited as: HS]; see: BB 12 a–e. The general assumption is that Olearius’ Haupt Schlüßel came into his possession early in life. However, it is not possible to determine with certainty whether Bach would have been able to consult the copies contained in his personal collection and, in the case of the Calov Bible, annoted by him, at the same time. Nevertheless, although the 3 volumes of the Calov Bible did not come into his possesion until 1733, the views expressed in Calov’s and Olearius’ glosses were those commonly found in the writings of Lutheran commentators and preachers. 32 HS 2: 531: ‘Die Gottes Wort wiederholeten mit Singen gleichwie sonst die Propheten mit Predigen. Sie waren auch gute Componisten, welche Anleitung gaben wie und wo man die Stimme erheben sollte’. ‘it pleased god that i should be called’—bach’s office and craft 39

Like Olearius’ Temple musicians, in his choral music Bach also provided a musical framework to reflect on the Biblical and preached texts. This strongly suggests that he not only shared Luther’s view that ‘God preached the Gospel also through music’ and therefore was an ideal means of communicating the words of Scripture.33 He also understood well how, adopting the Biblical model of the Temple musicians’ repetition of ‘God’s word through their song’, church music had the ability to amplify the preached word ‘so that it might incite the listeners to devotion’.34 For Bach, the Biblical account of the dedication of the Temple provided the foundation narrative of his own craft: he traced his chosen call back to compose and conduct music to the praise of God back to the first Temple musicians, who served God and instructed their neighbours through their music-making.

2 ‘Gnaden-Gegenwart’: God’s Presence in Sacred Music

The Chronicler’s account of the appointment, training and setting apart of Temple musicians in 1Chronicles 25.6-end; the ordering of their divisions and specification of their service in 1Chronicles 28.21; and the musical spectacle of the dedication of the Temple in 2Chronicles 5.11–14, clearly captured Bach’s imagination. They provided rich sources for marginalia in his Calov Bible which, in turn, afford fascinating insights into Bach’s self-understanding of his craft and music. For Bach, the ordering of the sons of Asaph and of Heman, ‘the inspired Capellmeister of David’ as Calov called them,35 as Temple musicians not only provided an example of ‘the true foundation of all God-pleasing church music’ but also an exemplar of musical clans and families working under gifted composer-fathers.36 Here were singers and instrumentalists who had been ‘set apart for the service of God’ (1Chronicles 25.1), honing their skills

33 Luther, Tischreden [cited as: Tr], WA Tr 2: 11, 26: ‘Deus praedicavit euangelium etiam per musicam’. 34 HS 2: 531: ‘Gottes Wort wiederholeten mit Singen’; BD 1, no. 92, NBR, no. 100: ‘Die Zuhörer zur Andacht aufmuntere’. 35 In the preface to the Book of Psalms in the Calov Bible, Bach underlined the names of Asaph and Heman in red ink; in his brief introduction to Psalms 50 and 73, CB 1.2: 441 and 545, Calov called them ‘Capellmeister’. 36 CB 1.1: 2047–2049; NBR, no. 165, b: ‘Dieses Capitel ist das wahre Fundament aller gottge- fälliger Kirchen Music’; Helene Werthemann, ‘Bachs Fundament “aller gottgefälliger Kir- chenmusik”’, in: Frank Beyer and Christoph Trautmann, 51. Bachfest der Neuen Bachge- sellschaft: Bachfest-Vorträge 1976 (Kassel: Bärenreiter, 1976), pp. 3–17, p. 3. 40 chapter 2

‘under the direction of their father for the music in the house of the Lord’ (25.6), ‘trained in singing to the Lord’ (25.7), and so together exercising their duties diligently ‘small and great, pupil and teacher alike’ (25.8). Mary Dalton Greer rightly suggests that:

Bach’s view of his musical calling and his membership in a large, musically gifted family appear to have been shaped at the most fundamental level by his reading of Old Testament passages pertaining to the families of musicians who were called to serve in the Temple.37

Certainly, Bach’s entry next to 2Chronicles 5.13 suggests that the composer not only saw ordered worship, and music in worship, as a foundation narrative for his craft, but that he regarded all sacred music as grace-filled. In the margins of his Calov Bible, Bach recorded his insight that ‘in sacred music God is always present in his grace’ (Bey einer andächtigen Musique ist allzeitGottmitseinerGnaden-Gegenwart).38 He had amplified the sub-headings of the commentator, Abraham Calov, who prefaced the section 2Chronicles 5.11–14 with: ‘How the Glory of the Lord was made present by delightful music’.39 Calov claims that music could make God’s glory manifest (erschienen). Bach’s marginal note is ambiguous, hyphenated at a line break, but seems to suggest that God imparts grace through devotional music (Gnaden-Gegen- wart). Neither reading suggests that God himself is there in the midst of the music, but rather that the music, devotional or delightful, becomes a vehicle by which the attentive (andächtig) listener is able to perceive God’s glory and grace. This therefore makes music akin to the proclamation of God’s word in the reading of the Bible and in sermons, as a sign of the praesentia gratiae, the presence of grace in the word of proclamation in orthodox Lutheranism.40 This presence is distinct from the universal presence of Christ assured to those two or three who are gathered in his name (Matthew 18.20), just as it is distinct from the real presence in the sacrament of Holy Communion.41 Rather, for

37 Mary Dalton Greer, ‘From the House of Aaron to the House of Johann Sebastian: Old Testament Roots for the Bach Family Tree’,in: Gregory Butler, George Stauffer, Mary Dalton Greer, eds. et al., AboutBach (Champaign: University of Illinois Press, 2008), pp. 15–34, p. 16. 38 CB 1.1: 2088; NBR, no. 165, d. 39 CB 1.1: 2088: ‘Wie auff die schöne Music die Herrlichkeit des HErrn erschienen sey’. 40 Wallmann (1995), p. 143. 41 Wallmann (1995), p. 143: ‘Clearly distinct from the praesentia universalis and the ‘it pleased god that i should be called’—bach’s office and craft 41

Lutheran orthodox theologians, the presence of God in proclamation signified the assurance of grace for the present, and therefore the hope of continued grace hereafter.42

3 Music for the Glory of God

Certainly, the account of the calling and ordering of the Capellmeister in the Jerusalem Temple, appears to have resonated deeply with the Lutheran Capell- meister. Greer explains that Bach’s markings in the Calov Bible ‘demonstrate his deep affinity for the Levite musicians and his especially strong identification with Asaph, “King David’s Capellmeister”’.43 In his expository Bible, Calov interpreted the setting apart of the sons of Asaph for musical service in the Temple in 1Chronicles 25.1–8 entirely in terms of his Lutheran understanding of vocation. Their calling, ‘by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit’, equipped them for their service of making known ‘God’s word by composing spiritual songs and psalms and singing them in the Temple, as well as playing their instruments’.44 God had called each one of them to their allotted place to promote his word, an insight that reflected as much on the hierarchy of the Jerusalem Temple as on Calov’s own understanding of call and office. In a passage that held Bach’s attention, ‘The Singers and Instrumentalists’,45Calov explained that the singers were ‘numbered and were ordained to their respective offices according to their calling, so that they may exercise their office in a certain order’.46 In his commentary on 1Chronicles 25.1–9, Calov identified three distinctive expressions of that calling: firstly, the vocation of musical performers to a

praesentia sacramentalis’ (Von praesentia universalis und praesentia sacramentalis deut- lich unterschieden). 42 Ulrich Meyer, ‘Johann Sebastian Bachs theologische Äußerungen’, Musik und Kirche 47:3 (1977), pp. 112–118, p. 116; for a detailed consideration, see: Renate Steiger, Gnadengegen- wart:JohannSebastianBachimKontextlutherischerOrthodoxieundFrömmigkeit, Doctrina et pietas. Zwischen Reformation und Aufklärung. Texte und Untersuchungen Abteilung II: Varia, Band 2 (Stuttgart: Hänssler, 2002), p. 150, pp. 243–246, especially note 24. 43 Greer (2008), p. 16, Bach underlining the word ‘Capellmeister’ in red ink: CB 1.2: 222. 44 CB 1.1: 2047: ‘Aus Eingebung des Geistes GOttes’; ‘GOttes Wort in geistliche Lieder und Psalmen fassen, dieselbe im Tempel singen, und zugleich darein mit Instrumenten spielen’. 45 CB 1.1: 2047–2052: ‘Der Erste Theil. Die Sänger und Instrumentalisten’. 46 CB 1.1: 2047–2048: ‘Sie wurden … verordnet zum Werck nach ihrem Ampt, dasselbe in gewisser Ordnung zu verrichten’. 42 chapter 2 specific office within Temple worship (the way in which they were ‘ordered according to their office’);47 secondly, the order of the performers themselves within their musical divisions (the way in ‘which they should be ordered themselves in hierarchical order’);48 and thirdly the actual structure of their performance (the way in which they sang accompanied ‘by cymbals, psalteries and harps according to their office … and the order stipulated by the king’).49 For Calov, the Chronicler’s account of the Temple music confirmed that the office and calling of a musician was ‘the proclamation of Christ … not only in words but also through instrumental music and singing’.50 This was best exercised in the context of worship, as part of an ordered form of service where everyone took up their God-given place: ‘for God is a God of order’.51 Bach also seems to have regarded the Biblical text and its Lutheran gloss in terms of a foundation narrative for church musicians, or at least a Biblical framework for his own craft. Bach certainly annotated 1Chronicles 25.21 in Calov’s Bible, and noted that here was ‘a wonderful proof that divine service in general, and in particular music, was ordered by the Holy Spirit through David’.52 It is highly likely that Bach shared Calov’s belief that divine service was a reflection of the divine order, and that preachers, performers, and worshippers should take their God-given place in accordance with their calling to offer God praise and worship. Calov’s God-given order was not only restricted to the individual calling each person held. His gloss on the structure of the Temple musicians’ performance in 1Chronicles 5.1–9 makes clear that the God-given order extended even to the form and shape of worship and music, enabling composers, instrumentalists

47 CB 1.1: 2047: ‘Verordnet zum Werck nach ihrem Ampt’. 48 CB 1.1: 2048: ‘Wie sie sich zusammen solten subordiniren und einer dem anderen unter- geben werden’. 49 CB 1.1: 2048: ‘Mit Cymbeln, Psaltern und Harffen nach dem Ampt … wie der König die Ordnung gemacht hat’. 50 CB 1.1: 2048: ‘Christum … zu erheben, welches nicht allein mit Worten, sondern auch mit Musiciren und Gesängen geschach’. 51 CB 1.1: 2047: ‘Gott ist ein Gott der Ordnung’. 52 NBR no. 165 c: ‘Ein herrlicher Beweis, daß neben anderen Anstalten des Gottesdienstes, besonders auch die Musica von Gottes Geist durch David mit angeordnet worden’; see: Werthemann (1979), p. 3: ‘Bach always used the word “herrlich” (noble) in the same way as its Biblical counterpart, when he spoke of those things directly and absolutely “pertaining to him”.’ (Daß Bach das Wort ‘herrlich’—ganz seinem biblischen Ausgangsort entsprechend—immer dann verwendete, wenn er von Dingen sprach, die ihn ‘unbedingt angingen’). ‘it pleased god that i should be called’—bach’s office and craft 43 and singers to reflect a greater truth: ‘the proclamation of God’s word through spiritual songs and psalms’.53 Many Baroque composers, most notably Bach’s contemporary Johann Mattheson, believed ‘that in the visible world, music was a sign of divine order’.54 Bach’s reading of Calov’s commentated Bible suggests that he shared the view that music was a means to reflect a greater order and a greater truth. That greater truth, the aim and purpose of his compositions, Bach summed up well in the autograph score of his Orgel-Büchlein [BWV 599–644],55 dedicating the work ‘to the Glory of God most high alone, and for the edification and education of my neighbour’.56 His motivation is best traced in his Cantatas and Passions, where Bach carefully combined words and music in order to help convey a distinctive homiletic message, to create, as Wolff explains:

A composition that listens to, understands, transforms, and projects the biblical message; a composition that enhances, clarifies, and elevates the biblical word.57

53 CB 1.1: 2047: ‘GOttes Wort in geistliche Lieder und Psalmen fassen’. 54 Walter Blankenburg, ‘Der Harmoniebegriff in der lutherisch-barocken Musikanschauung’, Archiv für Musikwissenschaft 16.1–2 (1959), pp. 44–56, p. 48: ‘Musik als einer in der sicht- baren Welt wahrnehmbaren göttlichen Ordnung’; see especially: Johann Mattheson, Das neueröffnete Orchestre (Hamburg: Schiller, 1713), Supplement, p. 302. For its parallels with the medieval musica speculativa, see: Andreas Loewe, ‘“Musica est optimum”: Martin Luther’s Theory of Music’, Music and Letters 94.4 (2013), pp. 573–605. 55 Composed chiefly during his Weimar period (1708–1714), Bach’s Little Organ Book contains 48 ‘through-composed chorale preludes’ (ausgeführte Choräle) for the church’s year. The autograph score was completed during Bach’s time as Kapellmeister in Köthen. 56 NBR, no. 69, BD 1, no. 148; Johann Sebastian Bach, Heinz Löhlein, ed., Orgelwerke Band 1: Orgelbüchlein, Schübler-Choräle, Choralpartiten, Johann Sebastian Bach, Neue Ausgabe sämtlicher Werke, Serie IV: Orgelwerke, Band 1 (Kassel: Bärenreiter 1983): ‘Dem Höchsten Gott allein zur Ehren, dem Nechsten, draus sich zu belehren’. 57 Christoph Wolff, ‘Bible and Hymnal in Johann Sebastian Bach’,in: Carlos R. Messerli, ed. et al., Thine the Amen: Essays on Lutheran Church Music in Honor of Carl Schalk (Minneapolis: Kirk House Publishers, 2005), pp. 111–122, p. 121. chapter 3 Proclaiming Scripture through Music— The Development of Bach’s Cantatas

Bach was as uncompromising in his pursuing his music-making as could be expected from someone who regarded his gifts, his craft and his office entirely in terms of divine vocation. This unbending attitude is first documented during his time as organist at Arnstadt’s New Church, his first church appointment. In 1706, the musician was twice cited before the Arnstadt consistory to be questioned and disciplined by superintendent minister Johann Gottfried Olearius and members of the city’s consistory.1 In February 1706, Bach was reproved ‘that hitherto no concerted music had been performed’.2 Contrary to the church’s expectation, for the first two years of his appointment Bach had neither provided sacred music to be performed by choir and orchestra, nor made use of the pupils at Arnstadt’s Latin School to perform such music.3 The significant musical resources held in the choir library at Lüneburg suggest that Bach would have had at his disposal both conservative models for ‘concerted music’, such as the combination of dictum motets by sixteenth- and early-seventeenth-century composers or the more modern seventeenth- century choral concertos of Heinrich Schütz and Michael Praetorius and their contemporaries and students, as well as the ‘reform’ Cantatas of Erdmann Neumeister.4 The reason why there had been no concerted music at Arnstadt was not due to a lack of musical resources, Bach’s insisted, but rather were due

1 BD 2, nos. 16–17, NBR, nos. 20–21. Bach had previously been cited before the consistory in August 1705 for publicly insulting one of his instrumental students, the bassoonist Geyers- bach, an act that led to a fight between the two in Arnstadt’s town square, BD 2, nos. 14–15, NBR, nos. 19a–d. 2 BD 2, no. 16: ‘Daß bißher gar nichts musiciret worden’, NBR, no. 20. 3 For the 1675 Order of Service for the County of Schwarzburg, the Agenda Schwartzburgica/ Das ist/ Verzeichniß der Ceremonien (Arnstadt: Heinrich Meurer, 1675), see: Martin Petzoldt, ‘Bible, Hymnbook and Worship Service’, in: Wolff (1997), pp. 125–141, pp. 129–132. For Arnstadt’s Latin School, established after the dissolution of the Monastery of the Discalced Francis- cans, see: Samuel Kroschel, Die Arnstädter lateinische Schule zur Zeit der Reformation (Arn- stadt: Emil Frotscher, 1885) and idem, Die Gräfliche Erziehungsanstalt im Barfüßerkloster zu Arnstadt und Arnstädter Abiturienten des 16. und 17. Jahrhunderts (Arnstadt: Emil Frotscher, 1890). 4 Jones (2006), p. 97, for the musical resources held at Lüneburg, see: Junghans (1870), pp. 26–33.

© koninklijke brill nv, leiden, 2014 | doi: 10.1163/9789004272361_005 proclaiming scripture through music 45 to the lack of a reliable conductor: ‘if there were a decent conductor, he would be willing to perform’, the consistory minutes record.5 Since the Arnstadt consistory made clear that they ‘were not willing to employ a Capellmeister for him’, and relationships between the consistory and Bach did not improve, by Easter 1707, Bach had sought and secured employment as organist at St Blasius’ Church, Mühlhausen.6 The fact that Bach performed no concerted music in Arnstadt does not, however, mean that he did not write concerted music there. Wolff argues that two pre-Weimar Cantatas, Cantata BWV 150 Nach dir, Herr, verlanget mich (I yearn for you, O Lord) and Cantata BWV 196 Der Herr denkt an us (The Lord thinks of us) share sufficient stylistic similarities to make ‘an Arnstadt origin entirely plausible’.7 That either Cantata was, in fact, written in Arnstadt cannot be said with any certainty. However, when Bach auditioned for his second post in Mühlhausen at Easter 1707, a ‘trial piece’ was performed.8 If Wolff is right in his suggestion that Bach’s Cantata BWV 4 Christ lag in Todes Banden (Christ lay in death’s bonds) was performed at Mühlhausen as part of ‘trial playing’ at Easter 1707, then the work would have been composed in Arnstadt, during the winter of 1706–1707, making Arnstadt the city where Bach first made use of the new Cantata genre.9

1 Musical and Textual Models for Bach’s Early Cantatas

While the three possible ‘Arnstadt Cantatas’ identified by Wolff share much stylistic musical material, each one is based on a different textual model.10 As such, the three reflect well the the evolution of the eighteenth-century church Cantata as a whole. Until the development of the textual and musical rhythm of recitative, arias and chorales made popular in his three annual cycles of Leipzig Cantatas, Bach made use of a variety of textual models, each of which contributed to the development of the genre of church Cantata.11

5 BD 2, no. 16, NBR, no. 20: ‘Würde man ihm einen rechtschaffenen Director schaffen, wolte er schon spiehlen’. 6 BD 2, no. 16, NBR, no. 20: ‘Dann man ihm keinen Capellmeister halthen könne’,BD 2, no. 35, NBR, no. 25. 7 Wolff (1997), p. 9. 8 BD 2, no. 19, NBR, no. 22a. 9 Wolff (1997), p. 11. 10 Wolff (1997), p. 9. 11 For the Leipzig Jahrgänge (Annual Cycles) of Cantatas, see: Wolff (2001), pp. 270–273 46 chapter 3

In 1700, the term ‘Cantata’ was ‘new and unkown to many’, the librettist Erdmann Neumeister made clear in his volume Geistliche Cantaten (Sacred Cantatas).12 In the preface to his own collection of librettos he explains that ‘Cantata is an Italian word/ that the virtuosos of that nation invented’.13 Neumeister’s Italian ‘virtuosos’ included early-seventeenth-century Venitian composers such as Alessandro Grandi, Giovanni Berti, Carlo Milanuzzi and Bartolomeo Barbarino.14 Their shortened operas cantade et arie inspired Ger- man poets and composers to adapt this quasi-operaic form for the nascent church Cantata, Neumeister explains: ‘If I had to express [its history] concisely/ then a Cantata looks no different/ than a small section of an opera, composed of recitatives [stylo recitativo] and arias’.15 Its purpose was to

(Table 8.7: First Jahrgang, 1723–1724), pp. 275–278 (Table 8.8: Second Jahrgang, 1724–1725), pp. 281–283 (Table 8.10: Third Jahrgang, 1725–1727), although Bach did continue to draw on older musical models for his 12 Leipzig Chorale Cantatas (Table 8.9), p. 280. 12 Erdmann Neumeister, Geistliche Cantaten, Uber [sic] alle Sonn- Fest- und Apostel-Tage/ Zu beförderung Gott geheiligter Hauß- Und Kirchen-Andacht In ungezwungenen Teutschen Versen (Halle in Magdeburg: Rengerischer Buchladen, 1705), p. )( 2r: ‘Neu und unbekant’. For Neumeister, see: Ute Poetsch-Seban, Die Kirchenmusik von Georg Philipp Telemann und Erdmann Neumeister. Zur Geschichte der protestantischen Kirchenkantate in der ersten Hälfte des 18. Jahrhunderts (Beeskow: Ortus Musikverlag, 2006). 13 Neumeister (1705), p. )( 2r: ‘Cantata, ist ein Italianisch Wort/ welches die Virtuosen dieser Nation ersonnen’. 14 For Alessandro Grandi (1586–1630), Monteverdi’s assistant at St Mark’s Venice, see: Denis Arnold, ‘Alessandro Grandi, A Disciple of Monteverdi’, The Musical Quarterly 43.2 (1957), pp. 171–186. For Giovanni Berti (c. 1590–1638) and Bartolomeo Barbarino, ‘Il Pesarino’ (c. 1568–c. 1617), see: Roark Miller, ‘New Information on the Chronology of Venetian Mon- ody: The “Raccolte” of Remigio Romano’, Music and Letters 77.1 (1996), pp. 22–33. For Carlo Milanuzzi (c. 1590–c. 1647), see: Claudio Dall’Albero, ed., Carlo Milanuzzi da Santa Natoglia: Sacred music (Milano: Rugginenti, 2008). 15 Neumeister (1705), p. )( 2v-)( 3r: ‘Solls ichs kürtzlich aussprechen/ so siehet eine Cantata nicht anders aus/ als ein Stück aus einer Opera, von Stylo Recitativo und Arien zusammen gesetzt’. For the development of the Italian Cantade, see: Reinmar Emans, ‘A Tale of Two Cities: Cantata Publication in Bologna and Venice, c. 1650–1700’, in: Michael Talbot, ed. et al., Aspects of the Secular Cantata in Late Baroque Italy (Farnham: Ashgate, 2009), pp. 79–110, p. 80: ‘Compositions in strophic variation form that we today would not recognise as Cantatas, since they do not exhibit the expected alternation of recitative and aria’, which nevertheless ‘laid the groundwork for the consolidation of the Cantata’s form’; see also: Gary Tomlinson, ed. et al., Italian Secular Solo Song 1607–35 (New York and London: Yale, 1986), p. ix. proclaiming scripture through music 47

Cast its poetry in the same form … as with a madrigal/ sonnet/ rondeau etc. … And since this art lends itself better to concerted music (Music) than others, it needs to be called a ‘Cantata’ or … a song above all songs.16

Writing some forty years later, in his 1739 Complete Capellmeister the Ham- burg composer and music theorist Johann Mattheson also reflected on the evolutionary process of the Cantata. With the benefit of hindsight, Mattheson describes the hybrid origins of the church Cantatas as follows:17

Within the principal classification of musical genres it does not occupy its own, let alone a particularly noble or orderly musical category; … rather it is a creation gleaned from many dififferent styles. The characteristics of the cantata [that is: recitatives and arias] that it contains belongs to the madrigal style; the polyphonic choruses and fugues to the motet style; the accompaniment and ritornellos to the instrumental style and, finally, the chorales to the melismatic style. Faced with such procedures we have hardly anything systematic to go by.18

Mattheson is right in suggesting that there were a number of different textual and musical models that led to the contemporary cantata form that Bach perfected in the first three Leipzig Jahrgänge. These include the dictum motet, from which the polyphonic choruses of Bach’s later Cantatas developed; the chorale concerto, from which the Scriptural recitatives and arias of Bach’s later Cantatas are derived; and the Neumeister or ‘reform’ model of libretto, which provides a model for later free poetry arias. As part of his Leipzig Jahrgänge, Bach only performed one of these early Cantatas [BWV 4]; he ‘very likely came to regard these early works as outmoded’.19

16 Neumeister (1705), p. )( 2r–v: ‘Ihre Poesie in dergleichen Forme zugiessen/ … als bey einem Madrial [sic]/ Sonnet/ Rondeau &c. Und weil diese Art sich zu der Music vor andern am schönsten bequemet/ muß sie daher eine Cantata … heissen/ ein Gesang über alle Gesänge’. 17 Mattheson (1739), p. 215, §§29–30. 18 Mattheson (1739), p. 215, §30: ‘Sie macht in einer Haupt-Eintheilung der Schreib-Arten keine eigene, geschweige besonders-vornehme und ordentliche Gattung … sondern ein aus vielerley Schreib-Arten zusammen gestoppeltes Wesen. Das Cantatenmäßige, so darin vorkömmt, gehört zum Madrigal-Styl; Die vielstimmigen Chöre und Fugen zum Motteten- Styl; die Begleitungen und Zwischen-Spiele zum Instrumenten-Styl; und endlich die Cho- räle zum melismatischen. Bey solchen Verfahren werden wir wenig systematisches auf- weisen können’. 19 Jones (2006), p. 98. 48 chapter 3

By the time he took up his new post in Mühlhausen in 1707, Bach had discovered what Neumeister suggested some eight years earlier: ‘that a Cantata is a most tidy and accomplished forms of musical poem/ both for the poet/ as well as for the composer’.20 Bach’s ready adoption of the new genre shows that he found the reform Cantata to be highly versatile, just as Neumeister had suggested in his seminal Sacred Cantatas:

For in an ode a poet has to constrain his ideas and bind them/ and/ so to say/ let them be fixed on a frame. … In a Cantata on the other hand, he is not bound by anything/ but arranges the verses one after the other/ just as they want to flow and fall.21

In Mühlhausen, Bach increasingly made use of the free poetry style of the reform Cantata as a textual base. Cantata BWV 71 Gott ist mein König (God is my King), written for the Mühlhausen council inaugurations in February 1708, makes use of a combination of Scriptural passages and free poetry for its libretto, while the Actus Tragicus, Cantata BWV 106 Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit (God’s time is the best of all), written at about the same time, adds the concluding chorale so well known from Bach’s later Cantatas.22 By the time Bach resigned from his post mid-year 1708, he reflected that although he had striven to provide and perform ‘a well-regulated church music, to the glory of God’, despite his best efforts in ‘acquiring [for myself] from far and wide, not without cost, a good store of the choicest church compositions … it has not been possible to accomplish this without hindrance’.23 What Bach did accomplish at Mühlhausen, though, was to harness the potential of the ‘transitional’ model of the Cantata, a combination of Scripture and free poetry, though as

20 Neumeister (1700), p. )( 4v: ‘Daß eine Cantata eine der nett- und geschicktesten Arth Musicalischer Gedichte ist/ so wohl vor den Poeten/ als auch vor den Componisten’. 21 Neumeister (1700), p. )( 4v–p. )( 5r: ‘Denn in einer Ode muß der Poet seine Einfälle zwingen und binden/ und/ so sprechen/ über einerley Leisten spannen lassen. … In einer Cantata dargegen ist er an nichts gebunden/ sondern setzet die Verse nach einander hin/ wie sie fliessen und fallen wollen’. 22 Bach’s Cantata BWV 71 Gott ist mein König (God is my King) was published as a ‘congratu- latory church motet’ (glückwünschende Kirchen Motetto) in Mühlhausen the same year, Glückwünschende Kirchen Motetto/ als bey solennen Gottesdienste/ … der gesegnete Raths- Wechsel/ am 4. Februarii dieses M.D.C.C.VIII Jahres geschah/ … schuldigst erstattet/ durch Johann Sebastian Bachen/ Organ. Div. Blasii (Mühlhausen: Tobias David Brückner, 1708). 23 BD 1, no. 1, NBR, no. 32: ‘Eine regulirte kirchen music zu Gottes Ehren’; ‘weit u[nd]. breit, nicht sonder kosten, einen guthen apparat der auserleßenensten kirchen Stücken mir angeschaffet … so hat sichs doch ohne wiedrigkeit nicht fügen wollen’. proclaiming scripture through music 49 yet without recitatives, which would stand him in excellent stead in his collaborations with his new librettist, the Chief Secretary of the Weimar consistory Salomo Franck.24

2 The ‘Modern’ Cantata

Between leaving Mühlhausen in 1708 and the time Bach was appointed Court Concertmaster at the Court of Saxe-Weimar in 1714, he began to compose the first Cantatas according to the Neumeister model; ‘a remarkable transformation’, as Jones rightly suggests.25 It is uncertain what motivated that transformation: the composer either absorbed the ‘good store of the choicest church compositions’ he had acquired in Mühlhausen, or was increasingly exposed to Italian compositions at the Weimar court.26 In either case, by the time of performance of his secular Cantata BWV 208 Was mir behagt, ist nur die muntre Jagd (The merry hunt alone is what pleases me) on 23 February 1714, Bach had added Italianate operatic recitatives to his Cantatas, thus completing the highly versatile musical pattern of recitative, aria or arioso and chorale that gave shape to most of his later Cantatas and Passions.27

24 Salomo Franck, Evangelische/ Sonn- und Fest-/ Tages-Andachten/ Auf/ Hochfürstl. Gnädig- ste Verordnung/ Zur/ Fürstl. Sächsis. Weimarischen/ Hof-Capell-Music/ in geistlichen Arien/ erwecket/ Von/ Salomon Francken (Weimar and Jena: Johann Felix Bielken, 1717). Franck’s librettos still lack Neumeister’s ‘operatic’ recitative. For other ‘operatic’ elements in Bach’s Mühlhausen Cantatas, see: Wollny (1997), p. 29. 25 Jones (2006), p. 243. For Bach’s appointment as Concertmaster, a newly created office ‘with official rank below that of Vice-Capellmeister [Johann Wilhelm] Drese’ (1677–1745) see: BD 2, no. 66, NBR, no. 51. For Johann Wilhelm Drese and his father, Capellmeister Johann Samuel Drese (c. 1644–1716), see: Erich Reimer, ‘Die Technik des Vokaleinbaus in den Arien der Weimarer Kantaten Johann Sebastian Bachs (1714–16)’, Archiv für Musikwissenschaft 61.3 (2004), pp. 163–189. 26 BD 1, no. 1, NBR, no. 32: ‘Guthen apparat der auserleßenensten kirchen Stücken’. Bach certainly made this musical library available to others, his keyboard student Philip David Kräuter, suggests, BD 2, no. 58, NBR, no. 312: ‘The rest of the time [not used for studies with Bach] I use by myself for practice and copying work, since he shares with me all the music I ask for’ (Die übrige Zeit wende ich vor mich allein zum Exerciren und decopiren an, dann derselbe mir alle Musik Stück, die ich verlange, communiciert, habe auch die Freyheit, alle seine Stücke durchzusehen.). 27 Jones (2006), p. 245. Today, the work known widely for its ninth movement, Schafe können sicher weiden (Sheep may safely graze), an allegorical reference to the sage rule of Duke Christian. The work was most likely commissioned by Bach’s employer, Duke Ernst of 50 chapter 3

From February 1713 onwards three distinctive textual and musical elements made up Bach’s Cantatas, putting in place a model that would serve for most of his later Cantatas (and, since they were in effect extended Cantatas, his Christmas, Easter and Ascension Oratorios as well as his Passions):28

– Recitatives, either sung Scriptural texts based on the Luther translation of the Bible or poetic texts based on Scripture.29 – Arias or ariosos, virtuosic settings of contemporary poetry that comment on the Biblical narrative, based on commissioned poems by librettists including, in his Weimar period, Erdmann Neumeister (1671–1756) and Salomo Franck (1659–1725) and, in his Leipzig period, the poet Picander, nom de poésie of Christian Friedrich Henrici (1700–1764).30 – Choruses based on poetry or Scripture, or chorales, carefully selected individual verses from popular hymns, that linked the other texts with the hearers’ day-to-day spiritual practice.31

Using these musical building blocks, Bach succeeded in setting to music what contemporary librettists of the new Cantata genre such as Erdmann Neumeis- ter set out to do in their poetry:

Saxe-Weimar. For an extensive analysis of the work see, Jones (2006), pp. 245–246. For the Hofkapellen of the Saxon courts, see: Wolfgang Ruf, ‘The Courts of Saxony-Weißenfels, Saxony-Merseburg, and Saxony-Zeiß’, in: Samantha Owens, ed., Music at German Courts, 1715–60: Changing Artistic Priorities (Woodbridge: Boydell, 2011), pp. 223–255, p. 226. 28 For evidence of Bach’s performance of a Weimar Passion in the form of a printer’s bill by Gotha printer Christoph Reyher for ‘20 bound booklets for the Passion to be performed that year’, see NBR, nos. 64–65. Reyher, incidentally, not only published the— lost—libretto of Bach’s first Passion, but also published Andreas Reyher’s school curricula for the Duchy of Saxe-Gotha which had ordered much of Bach’s primary and secondary schooling in Eisenach and Ohrdruf (see above, Chapter 1). 29 Luther, Deutsche Bibel 1545 [DB]: Prior to the purchase of his Calov Bible in 1736, Leaver (1983), 50, Bach probably used an early eighteenth century edition of Luther’s Bible such as the popular Biblia Germanica (Nürnberg: Endter, 1702), or its subsequent reprints in 1706, 1708 and 1710. For Bach’s recitatives, see: Dürr (2005), pp. 17–18. 30 For Bach’s ariosos and arias, see: Dürr (2005), pp. 18–19. 31 For Bach’s choruses, see: Dürr (2005), pp. 19–20. The hymns Bach used for his Catatas, certainly during the Leipzig period, were sourced from a variety of Lutheran hymnals, such as Gottfried Vopelius, Neues Leipziger Gesangbuch (Leipzig: Christoph Klinger, 1682), which ran through two further word-only editions in 1693 and 1707, and the Geistreicher Lieder-Schatz, oder Leipziger Gesang-Buch (Leipzig: Johann Friedrich Braun, 1715), with subsequent editions in 1717, 1724 and 1732. proclaiming scripture through music 51

I endeavoured to join the most noble parts of/ what had been expounded in the sermon/ into words for my own personal devotion/ … From which text I either created odes, or poetic oratorios, and from both created the present Cantatas.32

From the outset, then, the combination of a Cantata’s libretto and music was designed to be able to convey as distinct a message as a contemporary Lutheran expository sermon: not merely pleasing rhetoric but a compelling rhetoric that invited the listener to contemplation of and conversion to God’s word.33 In a Cantata for Exaudi Sunday, Bach’s Weimar librettist Salomo Franck expressed this homiletic purpose in the form of an aria:

Preachers/ be the mouth of God!/ Proclaim/ as it behoves/ God’s Word/ that moves souls/ that pierces the heart of stone/ and heals souls that have been brought low/ when you share it as befits it/ Preachers/ be the mouth of God!34

Similarly, in the preface to his Musicalische Vorstellung einiger Biblischer Hi- storien in 6. Sonaten (Musical Presentation of some Biblical Histories in Six Sonatas), Bach’s predecessor as Thomaskantor, Johann Kuhnau, reiterated the same point.35 The purpose of his solo keyboard reflections on the Bible was to

32 Neumeister (1700), p. )( 6r: ‘Versuchte ich das vornehmste dessen/ was in der Predigt abgehandelt worden/ zu meiner Privat-Andacht in eine gebundene Rede zusetzen/ … Woraus denn bald Oden, bald Poetische Oratiorien, und mit ihnen auch gegenwärtige Cantaten, gerathen seynd’. 33 Jonathan Strom, ‘Pietism and Revival’, in: Joris van Eijnatten, ed. et al., Preaching, Sermon and Cultural Change in the Long Eighteenth Century, A New History of the Sermon 4 (Lei- den: Brill, 2009), pp. 173–218, p. 188, rightly notes that the purpose of eighteenth-century Lutheran preaching was to emphasise ‘conversion and the personal appropriation by [the] audience’. 34 Salomo Franck, Epistolisches/ Andachts-/ Opffer/ In Geistlichen Cantaten/ Uber/ Die Sonn- und Fest-Tages/ Epistlen durch das gantze Jahr/ angezündet/ Von/ Salomon Francken (Wei- mar and Jena: Johann Felix Bielcke, 1718), p. 67: ‘Aria: Prediger/ seyd GOttes Mund!/ Traget vor/ wie sich’s gebühret/ GOttes Wort/ das Seelen rühret/ Das ein Felsen-Hertz verwund’t/ Und zerknirschte Seelen heilet/ Wenn ihr es gebührend theilet/ Prediger seyd Gottes Mund!’ 35 Johann Kuhnau, Musicalische Vorstellung/ Einiger/ Biblischer Historien/ in 6. Sonaten/ 52 chapter 3 convey as clear a message as the exegetical introduction he provided with each of his six sonatas, that is to convey a distinctive theological meaning through music:

Both the delight in true piety and holy writ/ as well as the delight in the same science/ that/ according to Luther’s opinion/ was worthy in rank next to theology/ that is music/ [both of which] fall like bright sun beams into everyone’s eye.36

As a matter of course, secular Baroque poetry ‘induces the spectator to shift his position continuously in order to see the work in constantly new aspects, as if it were in a state of perpetual transformation’, Umberto Eco explains.37 The same emphasis on forcing the audience to shift their standpoint held true for Neumeister’s, Franck’s or Picander’s contributions to Bach’s libretti. The dynamic ‘building of words’ characteristic of a secular poem that encouraged the audience to shift position in order to behold the whole ‘artifice’ was perfected by the even more deliberately planned architecture of a sacred cantata, Neumeister made clear:

In this genre I much prefer to keep Biblical and theological sayings. For I believe/ that with sacred poetry ornate verbosity rooted in human skill and thinking hinders both Spirit and grace/ just as much as wordiness might promote both in political verses.38

… versuchet/ von Johann Kuhnauen (Leipzig: Immanuel Tietz, 1700) [reprint Denkmäler deutscher Tonkunst, 1. Folge (Leipzig: Breitkopf und Härtel, 1901)]. 36 Kuhnau (1700), p. 119: ‘Der Vergnügung an der wahren Pietät und heiligen Schrifft/ wie nicht weniger an derjenigen Wissenschaft/ welcher/ nach Lutheri Meinung/ der Rang gleich nach der Theologie gebühret/ nemlich an der Music/ wie helle Sonnen-Strahlen iederman in die Augen fallen’. For Luther’s dictum, WA Tr 6: 348, 22–24, no. 7034: ‘I give music the closest place and highest honour after theology’ (Ich gebe nach der Theologie der Musica den nähesten Locum und höchste Ehre), see: Loewe (2013), p. 596. 37 Umberto Eco, The Role of the Reader: Explorations in the Semiotics of Texts (Bloomington, Indiana University Press, 1979), p. 52. 38 Neumeister (1700), p. )( 6v: ‘Bey dem Stylo habe ich am liebsten Biblische und Theologi- sche Redens-Arthen behalten wollen. Denn mich dünckt/ daß bey Geistlichen Gedichten ein prächtiger Wörterschmuck von menschlicher Kunst und Weisheit den Geist und die Anmuth so sehr verhindert/ als er vielleicht beydes in Politischen Versen befördern möchte’. proclaiming scripture through music 53

table 1 Libretti published in Salomo Franck’s Evangelisches Andachts-Opffer, Geist und Weltlicher Poesien Zweyter Teil and Evangelische Sonn- und Festtages-Andachten39

Sacred cantatas Occasion

BWV 12 Alles nur nach Gottes Willen Epiphany III 1726 BWV 31 Der Himmel lacht! Die Erde jubilieret Easter Day 1715 BWV 70 Wachet, betet, betet, wachet Trinity XXVI 1717 BWV 80 Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott Reformation Day, after 1727 BWV 80a Alles was von Gott geboren Oculi Sunday (Lent III) 1716 or 1715 BWV 132 Bereitet die Wege, bereitet die Bahn Advent IV 1715 BWV 147 Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben Advent IV 1716 BWV 152 Tritt auf die Glaubensbahn Christmas I 1714 BWV 155 Mein Gott, wie lang, ach lange Epiphany II 1716 BWV 161 Komm, du süße Todesstunde Candlemas 1716 BWV 162 Ach, ich sehe, itzt da ich zur Hochzeit gehe Trinity XX 1715 BWV 163 Nur jedem das Seine Trinity XXIII 1715 BWV 165 O heiliges Geist- und Wasserbad Trinity Sunday 1715 BWV 168 Tue Rechnung, Donnerwort Trinity IX 1715 BWV 172 Erschallet, ihr Lieder Pentecost 1714 BWV 182 Himmelskönig, sei willkommen Palm Sunday 1715 BWV 186 Ärgre dich, o Seele, nicht Trinity VII 1717

Birthday cantata Occasion

BWV 208 Was mir behagt, ist nur die muntre Jagd Birthday Prince of Weißenfels 1716

The Cantata’s libretto not only refined the architecture of Baroque poetry with its capacity to invite the hearer to contemplate a poem ‘as a potential mystery to be solved, a role to fulfil, a stimulus to quicken his imagination’.40 It also had a very specific role in communicating a ‘rightful application’, Neumeister

39 Salomo Franck, Salomo Franckens,/ Fürstl. Sächß. gesamten Ober-Consistorial-/ Secretarii in Weimar/ Geist- und Weltliche Poesien, 1 and 2 (Jena: Johann Felix Bielcke, 1711), Evangeli- sche/ Sonn- und Fest-Tages-/ Andachten/ Auf/ Hochfürstl. Gnädigste Verordnung/ Zur/ Fürstl. Sächsis. Weimarischen/ Hof-Capell-Music/ In Geistlichen Arien/ erwecket/ von/ Salo- mon Francken (Weimar and Jena: Johann Felix Bielcke, 1717), 3. 40 Eco (1979), p. 52. 54 chapter 3 affirmed.41 In the case of the modern Cantata that application was the contemplation of God’s Word; with a clear expectation that hearers would shift their original position and so be converted. Even though Bach’s time in Weimar saw the development of the Cantata, his most poular vocal genre, and the first performance of a Bach Passion, it also ‘marked the absolute low-point in Bach’s professional life’.42 On 1 August 1717 he accepted a new contract at the Court of Prince Leopold of Anhalt-Köthen, himself a lover of music and a competent viola da gamba player. The acceptance of this appointment, without first having sought permission from the ruling prince of Saxe-Weimar, Duke Wilhelm Ernst, led to Bach’s detention under arrest for six weeks.43 According to the Weimar court records, ‘the erstwhile concertmaster and organist Bach too stubbornly forced the issue of his dismissal and finally on 2 December [1717] was freed from arrest with the notice of his unfavourable discharge’.44 Having been released into the service of the Calvinist Duke of Anhalt-Köthen, on 29 December 1717 Bach took up his new post as Capellmeister of the Ducal Capelle, where he was received with honour, and received his lost income in arrears.45

3 From Köthen to Leipzig: from Capellmeister to Lutheran Cantor

Bach’s time in Köthen yielded a rich crop of instrumental music, including some of his most popular instrumental works: the Concertos for solo and double violin BWV 1041–1043, his French Suites BWV 812–817 as well as the Well-tempered Clavier BWV 846–893; all were composed here. Because Prince Leopold’s court was Calvinist, however, there was almost no opportunity to write church music.46 Indeed, only four Cantata performances are recorded

41 Neumeister (1700), p. )( 7v: ‘Applicatione justa’. 42 Wolff (2001), p. 184. 43 Günther Hoppe, ‘Köthener politische, ökonomische und höfische Verhältnisse als Schaf- fensbedingungen Bachs (Teil 1)’, Cöthener Bach-Hefte 4 (1986), pp. 13–62, especially p. 52, noting that Leopold’s father Prince Emanuel Leberecht also played the viola da gamba. 44 BD 2, no. 84, NBR, no. 68: ‘Der quondam Concert-Meister und Hof-Organist Bach wegen seiner Halsstarrigen Bezeugung und zu erzwingenden Dismission auf der Land Richter- Stube arretieret und entlich den 2. Dezember darauf mit angezeigter Ungnade ihm die Dismission durch den Hofsekretär angedeutet und zugleich des arrests befreiet worden’. 45 BD 2, no. 86, NBR, no. 70a; for Bach’s tenure in Köthen, see: Friedrich Smend, Bach in Köthen (Berlin: Christlicher Zeitschriftenverlag, 1951). 46 In Köthen Luther’s reforms were adopted in 1525, during the reign of Georg III of Anhalt- proclaiming scripture through music 55 during Bach’s time in Köthen. All of them had secular librettos and were written either to celebrate the birthday of his patron on 10 December or to mark the beginning of a new year.47 Bach remained in Köthen for six years. In 1730 Bach reflected on his rea- sons for leaving his congenial working environment in a letter to his former classmate at St Michael’s Lüneburg, Georg Erdmann, then the Imperial-Russian Residence Agent in Danzig:

You know the course of my life from my youth up until the change in my fortunes that took me to Köthen as Capellmeister. There I had a gracious Prince, who both loved and knew music, and in his service I intended to spend the rest of my life. It must happen, however, that his said Serene Highness should marry a princess of Berenburg [sic: Anhalt-Bernburg], and that then the impression should arise that the musical interests of the said Prince had become somewhat lukewarm, especially as the new Princess seemed to be unmusical.48

From about the time of Leopold’s courtship of Princess Friderica Henrietta, and certainly after their wedding on 11 December 1721, Bach sought to attract new

Dessau. In 1606 the Duchy of Anhalt adopted a reformed confession, thereby allying it with Calvinist Palatinate, see: Andrew Thomas, A House Divided: Wittelsbach Confessional Court Cultures in the Holy Roman Empire, c. 1550–1650, Brill Studies in Medieval and Refor- mation Traditions 150 (Leiden: Brill, 2010), p. 132. 47 Of these, only two birthday Cantatas, and one New Year’s Cantata survive: Cantata BWV 66a Der Himmel dacht auf Anhalts Ruhm und Glück (The Heavens thought of Anhalt’s Fame and Fortune) was written for Prince Leopold’s 1718 birthday, Cantata BWV 134a Die Zeit, die Tag und Jahre macht (The Time that creates Day and Years) for New Year’s Day 1719, while Cantata BWV 173a Durchlauchtester Leopold (Most Serene Leopold) was performed on the Duke’s 1722 birthday, only four months before the composer’s departure to Leipzig. 48 BD 1, no. 23, NBR, no. 152: ‘Von Jugend auf sind Ihnen meine Fata bestens bewust, biß auf die mutation, so mich als Capellmeister nach Cöthen zohe. Daselbst hatte einen gnädigen und Music so wohl liebenden als kennenden Fürsten; bey welchem auch vermeinete meine Lebenszeit zu beschließen. Es muste sich aber fügen, daß erwehnter Serenißimus sich mit einer Berenburgischen Princeßin vermählete, da es denn das Ansehen gewinnen wolte, als ob die musicalische Inclination bey besagtem Fürsten in etwas laulicht werden wolte, zumahl da die neüe Fürstin schiene eine amusa zu seyn’. Not only the marriage of the Prince of Köthen, also the ruler’s shift in interest from music to the military took its toll on the musical life there. 56 chapter 3 patrons—hence probably also the dedication of the Brandenburg Concertos BWV 1046–1051 to a neighbouring ruler, Christian Ludwig, the Margrave of Brandenburg-Schwedt.49 When the Cantor of St Thomas’ Leipzig, Johann Kuhnau, died on 5 June 1722, Bach was invited by the city council to apply for the post. At his audition at St Thomas’ on 7 February 1723 he performed Cantata BWV 22 Jesus nahm zu sich die Zwölfe (Jesus took with him the Twelve). Based on the set texts for Estomihi Sunday he exegeted as a chorister at Ohrdruf or Lüneburg, this Cantata was one of the last vocal works he composed at Köthen.50 Bach was not the city council’s preferred candidate for the position of Thomaskantor. The Hamburg Capellmeister Georg Philip Telemann was the council’s front runner.51 When the council offered him the post, Telemann’s employer raised his pay by the incredible sum of 400 Thaler, leading him to decline the appointment.52 The council’s second preference, Johann Christoph Graupner, was not released from service at the Darmstadt court to return to his native Saxony.53 Bach was the third runner up. Counsellor Dr Platz argued at the cantoral election on 22 April that ‘it was to be hoped that the third [candidate] would be the right one. He must accommodate himself to the instruction of the youth. Bach was

49 A collection of probably earlier compositions dedicated to the Margrave during Prince Leopold’s courtship with Princess Friderica Henrietta on 21 March 1721, Malcolm Boyd, Bach: The Brandenburg Concertos (Cambridge: University Press, 1993), p. 16, suggests. Boyd also provides a thorough genesis of the work, pp. 11–17. 50 Bach would have studied Andreas Reyher’s model exegesis of the Estomihi periocopes contained in Reyher (1697), pp. 47–50, §§11–17. 51 BD 2, no. 129, NBR 98: ‘Dr Lange related, in joint assembly of all three Councils, that it was known that for the position of Cantor at St Thomas’ Mr Telemann had been thought of’ (D. Lange truge, in Versammlung aller drey Räthe, vor, es ware bekannt, daß man wegen der Cantor-Stelle zu S. Thomas seine Gedancken auf H. Telemann gerichtet gehabt). 52 BD 2, no. 129, NBR 98: ‘[Telemann] had promised to do everything, but had not kept his promise’ (Er hätte auch versprochen, alles zu thun, jedoch aber sein Versprechen nicht gehalten). For the politics of Bach’s appointment, see: Ulrich Siegele, ‘Bach and the domestic politics of Electoral Saxony’, in: John Butt, ed. et al., The Cambridge Companion to Bach (Cambridge: University Press, 1997), pp. 17–34, pp. 22–25. 53 BD 2, no. 129, NBR 98: ‘Thereupon attention had been turned, though only privately, to Mr Graupner, Capellmeister at Darmstadt who, however, had reported that he could not obtain his dismissal’ (Man hätte hernach auf Hn. Graupnern, Capellmeistern zu Darmstadt, sein Absehen, jedoch privatim gerichtet gehabt, welcher aber berichtet, daß man ihn nicht laßen wolte). proclaiming scripture through music 57

figure 2 Exterior and Interior of St Thomas’ Church Leipzig: Frontispiece of the 1710 Leipziger Kirchen-Staat 58 chapter 3 fitted for this and willing to do it’.54 Platz proposed Bach and ‘cast his vote for him’.55 The remaining counsellors followed his example and that day elected Bach Thomaskantor. Recalled to Leipzig, he was confirmed in his new office on 22 April 1723, and promptly cited before the city’s consistory for a series of theological examinations. In two three-hour examinations on 8 May 1723, Bach’s confessional sound- ness was scrutinised by the Leipzig superintendent and pastor of St Thomas’ Church Dr Solomon Deyling, who was assisted in his task by the Dean of Leipzig’s Theological Faculty, Dr Johann Schmidt.56 Martin Geck is very likely right in suggesting that such an examination was normal Saxon practice in the appointment of church cantors.57 Bach’s sense of call and purpose for his craft, combined with his thorough theological education at Eisenach, Ohrdruf and Lüneburg would have stood him in excellent stead for Deyling’s and Schmidt’s examination, and it is clear that his Christian faith or Bible knowledge in general were not in question. Rather, his six-hour colloquium was a test of the applicant’s Lutheran credentials: together with the consistory’s letter of appointment, Bach was instructed to subscribe to the Lutheran Formula of Con- cord to attest to his Lutheran orthodoxy.58 The consistory’s insistence that the

54 BD 2, no. 129, NBR 98: ‘Es wäre zu wünschen, daß man es mit dem dritten träffe. Zur Information der Jugend müße er sich accommodiren. Bach wäre geschickt darzu, und wolte es thun’. 55 BD 2, no. 129, NBR 98: ‘Gab ihm also sein Votum’. 56 For Bach’s musical examination, see BD 2, no. 142, NBR, no. 93b: ‘Mr Sebastian Bach, then Capellmeister at Cöthen, passed his test for the post of the Cantorate’; the Hamburg Relationscourier, 2 February 1723, in: NBR, no. 95, reported: ‘On Sunday last in the morning the Honourable Capellmeister of Cöthen, Mr. Bach, gave his test here at the Church of St Thomas for the hitherto vacant cantorate, the music of the same having been amply praised on that occasion by all knowledgeable persons’. BD 2, no. 134, NBR, no. 101: ‘Dn. Jo. Sebastianus Bach ad quaestiones a me propositas ita respondit, ut eundem ad officium Cantoratus in Schola Thomana admitti posse censeam. D. Jo. Schmidius, consentit Dr. Salomon Deyling’. 57 Martin Geck, Johann Sebastian Bach: Life and Work (Boston: Harcourt, 2007), p. 132, documents how in 1722 Conrad Küffner, a candidate for the position of cantor at St Katharinen in Zwickau, failed to pass a similar consistorial examination. 58 BD 2, nos. 135–136; BD 2, no. 63, NBR, no. 48: in a letter by the consistory of St Mary’s Halle in December 1713, Bach was offered the post of organist on condition that ‘he above all cling faithfully all his life long to the unchanged Augsburg Confession, the Formula of Concord, and other symbolic confessions of faith, keep diligently to the altar of this Church and be obedient to the word of God’ (Zuförderst bey der ungeänderten proclaiming scripture through music 59 new cantor was to be ‘instructed’ (eingewiesen) into his office, coupled with ‘an admonition to the Cantor to the faithful observance of his office’ issued by the pastor of St Thomas’, Christian Weise Senior, further suggests that the consistory had deliberately probed Bach’s Lutheran credentials. Bach’s consistorial instruction certainly was noted as an ‘innovation’ (etwas neuerliches) by Leipzig counsellors:59

Lord Mayor Lehmann … at once pointed out that this instruction (Ein- weisung) by the consistory, or one appointed by it for the pupose, had not taken place before, and was an innovation.60

Bach’s theological examination shows that the composer not only had theological learning but that, in the context of his new appointment, this theological education and understanding had been formally assessed and was found to be Lutheran and orthodox.61 In Bach’s new position that was a necessity. In taking up the appointment as Thomaskantor, he undertook daily to instruct students ‘conscientiously’ at St Thomas’ Choir School: ‘not only in vocal but also in instrumental music’ as well as in ‘the vivid knowledge of divine essence and will’ and ‘the knowledge and fear of God’, while in his capacity as a church musician he was to ‘demonstrate to the entire congregation his confession of

Augspurgischen Confession, der Formula Concordiae und andern symbolischen Glaubens Bekäntnüßen bis an sein Ende beständig verharre, nebst andächtigem Gehör Göttliches Wortes sich zu dieser Kirchen Altar fleißig halte). 59 BD 2, no. 145, NBR no, 104: ‘Eine Ermahnung zu treulicher Beobachtung des Amts und Wunsch’. 60 BD 2, no. 145, NBR no, 104: ‘Herr Baumeister [the NBR translation ‘Commissioner’ is mis- leading, the title is analogus to the Roman aedile] Lehmann … erinnerte sogleich, daß diese Einweisung vor dem Consistorio, oder dem es von demselben aufgetragen, vormals nicht geschehen und etwas neuerliches sei’. For the idiosyncratic use of ‘Baumeister’ to signify the leader of council, see: Gustav Wustmann, Der Leipziger Baumeister Hierony- mus Lotter, Programm des Nikolaigymnasiums (Leipzig: Hunderstud und Pries, 1875), p. 27. 61 Geck (2007), p. 132, explains that other cantors had been asked to reflect in detail on Scripture, including technical questions on the length of individual Biblical books, or locating Scripture passages in their context, such as ‘Where the statement “That is life eternal [John 17.3]” can be found, and what characteristics God the Father possesses as the primary member [probably an ambiguity in the English translation: Geck means ‘the first person’] of the Trinity’. 60 chapter 3 faith and Christian character’.62 The way in which Bach was able to give voice to these inner attributes was through the choral music he composed and performed in St Thomas’ and St Nikolai. He chose the modern Cantata as the primary vehicle for communicating his understanding about God as expressed in Scripture.

4 The Leipzig Cantata: Words and Music that Amplify Scripture

During his time as Thomaskantor Bach made up for the dearth of Cantatas in his previous employment at Prince Leopold’s court of Köthen.63 It was in Leipzig that he came to perfect the conception and composition of the genre, producing no fewer than 300 Cantatas, of which approximately two-thirds survive in their entirety.64 He evidently shared Neumeister’s belief that the sacred Cantata, ‘despite its origin in theatrical verses’, was an ideal vehicle to amplify the preached word.65 In the first five years of his tenure alone, Bach produced a full annual cycle ( Jahrgang) of 59 Cantatas for performance on the Sundays of the year, as well as on the Feasts of the Epiphany, Candlemas, the Annunciation, Easter Monday and Tuesday, Ascension Day, Pentecost Monday and Tuesday, the Feast of the Visitation (30 May), the Birth of St John the Baptist (24 June), Michaelmas (29 September), Reformation Day (31 October), New Year’s Day and the annual Inauguration of the Town Council (on the Monday after St Bartholomew’s Day, 24 August).66 At any given moment, therefore, Bach was working on one or more Cantatas. The process of writing a new Cantata began with the compilation of his libretto. Bach set out by selecting suitable extracts from the set sermon text and

62 BD 1, no. 92, NBR, no. 100: ‘Nicht allein in der Vocal- sondern auch in der Instrumental- Music fleißig unterweisen’. Hans Joachim Schulze, ed., Die Thomasschule Leipzig zur Zeit Johann Sebastian Bachs: Ordnungen und Gesetze, 1634, 1723, 1733 (Kassel: Bärenreiter, 1953), p. 12; BD 2, no. 63, NBR, no. 48, ‘Und dadurch sein Glaubens-Bekäntnüß und Christenthum der ganzen Gemeinde bezeuge’. 63 Wolff (2001), p. 199: ‘The Calvinist liturgy left little, if any room for concerted Church music, so it required some special occasion for a Cantata to find its way into the service’. 64 For a thorough overview of Bach’s Cantatas, see: Wolff (2001), pp. 253–288. 65 Neumeister (1700), p. )( 7v: ‘Wenn sie gleich ihr Modell von Theatralischen Versen erborget’. 66 Wolff (2001), pp. 270–273, pp. 275–278, pp. 281–283, details the first three annual Cantata cycles ( Jahrgänge), see also: idem, p. 286. proclaiming scripture through music 61 poetic reflections on the text for his recitatives. These were matched with further poetical reflections for his arias and ariosos, and individual verses (sometimes two, more often just one carefully chosen verse) from popular hymns.67 Bach’s librettos were purposefully designed to complement the spoken word of sermon text and sermon. In Leipzig, the composer worked closely with the clergy of St Thomas’ and St Nikolai and his librettists in providing a musique (‘music’ or, better, ‘Cantata’) that had the capacity to amplify the spoken proclamation of the reading of the sermon text and the preaching of the sermon. Among his librettists were poets, including Picander, Gottsched and Ziegler, and possibily also members of the local clergy, including Thomaspastor Chris- tian Weise.68 Bach’s principal librettist in Leipzig was the poet and civil servant Christian Friedrich Henrici who, under his nom de poésie Picander, provided libretti for at least 31 of Bach’s Cantatas, as well as the poetic passages of his St Matthew Passion. By comparison, only ten libretti can with certainty be be attributed to Ziegler, and only the libretto for the Trauerode Cantata BWV 198 to Gott- sched.69 In the preface to the libretti for their 1728 cycle of Cantatas, Picander

67 Paul S. Minear, ‘J.S. Bach and J.A. Ernesti: A Case Study in Theological and Exegetical Conflict’, in: John Deschner eds. et al., Our Common History as Christians: Essays in Honor of Albert C. Outler, Oxford University Press, 1975, pp. 131–155, p. 137, suggests that ‘Bach believed that the biblical text was designed to release within the reader an intense kind of spiritual activity. The interpreter must therefore help the text produce in his own audience an emotional action appropriate to the text at hand’. 68 For Christian Friedrich Henrici (1700–1764), see: Friedrich Wilhelm Bautz, ‘Henrici: Chris- tian Friedrich (Pseudonym: Picander)’, in: BBKL 2, col. 723, for Johann Christoph Gott- sched (1700–1766), see: Manfred Rudersdorf, ed., Johann Christoph Gottsched in seiner Zeit. Neue Beiträge zu Leben, Werk und Wirkung (Berlin/New York: de Gruyter, 2007) and Gabriele Ball, Helga Brandes, Katherine R. Goodman, eds., Diskurse der Aufklärung, Luise Adelgunde Victorie und Johann Christoph Gottsched, Reihe Wolfenbütteler Forschungen (Wiesbaden: Harrasowitz, 2006), for Christiane Mariana von Ziegler (1695–1760), see: Christian Geltinger, ‘Ziegler, Christiane Mariane von, geb[orene] Romanus’ in BBKL 1584– 1588 and Mark A. Peters, A Woman’s Voice in Baroque Music: Mariane von Ziegler and J.S. Bach (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2008). For the hypothesis that a large part of the librettos in Bach’s first Jahrgang of Cantatas was written by Weise Senior, see: Rudolf Wustmann, Johann Sebastian Bachs Kantatentexte, Veröffentlichungen der neuen Bach-Gesellschaft 14.1 (Leipzig: Breitkopf und Härtel, 1913), pp. xxii–xxv. For a re-assessment of Wustmann’s theory, see: Dürr (2005), pp. 27–28. 69 Cantata BWV 198, Laß, Fürstin, laß noch einen Strahl (Let, Princess, let one further ray), was written by Gottsched to mark the death of Christiane Eberhardine Queen of Saxony and Poland in October 1727. 62 chapter 3

reflected on his extensive collaboration with Bach with characteristic under- statement:70

To the glory of God, actuated by the requests of many good friends, and by much devotion on my own part, I resolved to compose the present Cantatas. I undertook the design more readily,because I flatter myself that the lack of poetic charm may be compensated for by the loveliness of the music of our incomparable Capellmeister Bach, and that these songs may be sung in the principal churches of our pious Leipzig.71

table 2 Libretti published in Ziegler’s Versuch in gebundener Schreib-Art (1728)72

Sacred cantatas Occasion Pages

BWV 68 Also hat Gott die Welt geliebt Whit Monday 1725 262–264 BWV 74 Wer mich liebet, der wird mein Whit Sunday 1725 259–261 Wort halten BWV 87 Bisher habt ihr nichts gebetet in Rogation Sunday 1725 253 meinem Namen BWV 103 Ihr werdet weinen und heulen Jubilate Sunday 1725 244–245 BWV 108 Es ist gut, daß ich hingehe Cantate Sunday 1725 249–250 BWV 128 Auf Christi Himmelfahrt allein Ascension Day 1725 255–256 BWV 175 Er rufet seine Schafe mit Namen Whit Tuesday 1725 266–270 BWV 176 Es ist ein trotzig und verzagt Ding Trinity Sunday 1725 271–272 BWV 183 Sie werden euch in den Bann tun Exaudi Sunday 1725 257–258

70 Christian Friedrich Henrici, Cantaten auf die Sonn-/ und/ Fest-Tage/ durch das gantze Jahr,/ verfertiget/ durch/ Picandern (Leipzig: Immanuel Tietz, 1728), including Cantatas such as BWV 19 Es erhub sich ein Streit written for Michaelmas 1726. 71 BD 2, no. 243: ‘Gott zu Ehren, dem Verlangen guter Freunde zur Folge und vieler Andacht zur Beförderung habe ich mich entschlossen, gegenwärtige Cantaten zu verfertigen. Ich habe solches Vorhaben desto lieber unternommen, weil ich mich schmeicheln darf, daß vielleicht der Mangel der poetischen Anmuth durch die Lieblichkeit des unvergleich- lichen Herrn Capell-Meisters, Bachs, dürfte ersetzet, und diese Lieder in den Haupt- Kirchen des andächtigen Leipzigs angestimmt werden’. 72 Christiane Mariana von Ziegler, Versuch in gebundener Schreib-Art (Leipzig: Johann Frie- drich Brauns Erben, 1728), Christianen Marianen/ von Ziegler,/ gebohrenen Romanus,/ Ver- mischete/ Schriften/ in gebundener/ und/ ungebundener Rede (Göttingen: Im Verlag der Königlich priviligierten Universitets [sic]-Buchhandlung, 1739). proclaiming scripture through music 63

table 3 Libretti published in Picander’s Ernst-Schertzhaffte und Satyrische Gedichte73

Church cantatas and passions Occasion Pages

BWV 84 Ich bin vergnügt in meinem Glücke Septuagesima Sunday 1730 3: 108–110 BWV 120a Gott, man lobet dich in der Stille Augsburg Confession 1730 II 3: 75–77 BWV 145 Ich lebe, mein Herze, zu deinem Easter Tuesday 1730 3: 125–126 Ergötzen BWV 148 Bringet dem Herrn Ehre seines Trinity XVII Namens BWV 149 Man singet mit Freuden vom Sieg Michaelmas 1730 3: 175–176 in den Hütten BWV 156 Ich steh mit einem Fuß im Grabe Epiphany III 1730 3: 100–102 BWV 159 Sehet, wir gehn hinauf gen Estomihi Sunday 1730 3: 111–113 Jerusalem BWV 171 Gott, wie dein Name, so ist auch New Years’ Day 1730 3: 92–95 dein Ruhm BWV 174 Ich liebe den Höchsten von Whit Monday 1730 3: 139–140 ganzem Gemüte BWV 188 Ich habe meine Zuversicht Trinity XXI 1730 3: 179–181 BWV 190a Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied Augsburg Confession 1730 I 3: 73–75 BWV 197a Ehre sei Gott in der Höhe Christmas 1729 5/1: 218–219 BWV 247 Geh, Jesu, geh zu deiner Pein Passion Music 1731 3: 49–67 BWV 244 Matthäus Passion Passion Music 1727 5/1: 471–480 BWV 244a Klagt, Kinder, klagt es aller Welt Passion Music 5/1: 471–480 BWV Anh. 4 Wünschet Jerusalem Glück Augsburg Confession 1730 III 3: 77–79 BWV Anh. 190 Ich bin ein Pilgrim auf dem Weg Easter Monday 1730 3: 123–124

73 Christian Friedrich Henrici, Picanders/ Ernst-Schertzhaffte/ und/ Satyrische/ Gedichte, Pi- canders/ Ernst-Schertzhaffte/ und/ Satyrische/ Gedichte,/ mit Kupfern, 1 (Leipzig: Theodor Boethius, 1732), Picanders/ Ernst-Schertzhaffte/ und/ Satyrische/ Gedichte, 2 (Leipzig: Johann Theodor Boethius, 1729), Picanders/Ernst-Schertzhaffte/und/Satyrische/Gedichte, 3 (Leipzig: Johann Theodor Boethius Daughter, 1732), Picanders/ Ernst-Schertzhaffte/ und/ Satyrische/ Gedichte, 4 (Leipzig: Friedrich Matthias Friese, 1737), Picanders/ bis anhero herausgegebene/ Ernst-Schertzhaffte/ und Satyrische Gedichte, 5/1 (Leipzig: Johann Gottfried Dyck, 1748), Picanders/ neu herausgegebene/ Ernst-Scherzhafte/ und Satyrische/ Gedichte, 5/2 (Leipzig: Johann Gottfried Dyck, 1751). 64 chapter 3

table 3 Libretti published in Picander’s Ernst-Schertzhaffte und Satyrische Gedichte (cont.)

Birthday, name-day and mourning cantatas Occasion Pages

BWV 36a Steigt freudig in die Luft Birthday Charlotte of Anhalt 1: 14–17 1726 BWV 157 Ich lasse dicht nicht, du segnest Death J.C. von Ponickau Sr. 5/1: 537–538 mich denn 1726 BWV 193a Ihr Häuser des Himmels, ihr Name-Day King Saxony 1727 5/1: 12–15 scheinenden Lichter BWV 205 Zerreißet, zersprenget, Name-Day A.F. Müller 1725 5/1: 172–176 zertrümmert die Gruft BWV 216 Vergnügte Pleißenstadt Wedding Hempel 1728 2: 379–382 BWV 249a Entfliehet, verschwindet, Birthday Prince of Weißenfels 5/1: 60–62 entweichet ihr Sorgen 1725 BWV 249b Verjaget, zerstreuet, zerrüttet ihr Birthday J.F. von Flemming 1: 42–45 Sterne 1726 BWV Anh. 10 So kämpfet nun, ihr muntern Töne Birthday J.F. von Flemming 4: 45–47 1731 BWV Anh. 11 Es lebe der König, der Vater im Name-Day King of Saxony 1727 5/1: 35–38 Lande BWV Anh. 12 Frohes Volk, vergnügtes Sachsen Name-Day King of Saxony 1733 4: 14–17

Council cantatas Occasion Pages

BWV Anh 3 Gott, gib dein Gerichte dem König Council Election 1730 3: 67–69 BWV Anh. 4a Wünschet Jerusalem Glück Council Sermon 5/1: 192–193

Other secular cantatas Occasion Pages

BWV 201 Geschwinde, ihr wirbelnden Winde Collegium Musicum opening 3: 501–506 1729 BWV 211 Schweiget stille, plaudert nicht ‘Coffeen Cantata’ 1734 3: 565–567 BWV 212 Mer han en neue Oberkeet ‘Cantate en burlesque’ 1742 5/2: 283–287 proclaiming scripture through music 65

figure 3 Picander’s Texts for the Passion-Music according to the Evangelist Matthew set to music by Bach in the St Matthew Passion, 1727, from the 1748 Ernst-Scherzhafte und Satyrische Gedichte, p. 471 66 chapter 3

5 Composing, Rehearsing and Performing the Cantata

Once Bach and his collaborators had completed the librettos for each cantata and the selection of relevant hymns under the guidance of the Leipzig consistory, the libretto was sent off to Bernhard Christoph Breitkopf for type- setting and printing.74 Breitkopf’s printed libretto booklet made it possible for subscribers to follow the Cantata texts for each given month.75 These were ‘printed at the Cantor’s expense and then, with the help of students or his own children, distributed to subscribers and other interested or more affluent citizens’.76 The opportunity to follow the libretti of Bach’s Cantatas as well as hear them performed would have added another layer of communicating the Scripture message for some members of the congregation for whom the written word of Scripture would have been expounded through Bible reading, sermon and Bach’s musique which, in itself, was presented both as an aural experience and in written form. Once the libretto had been printed, Bach set out composing and rehearsing his Cantata, assisted by his wife Anna Magdalena and his children Friedemann and Philipp as copyists.77 He rehearsed vocal parts with members of the St Thomas’ School, divided, as he explained in August 1730 in a famous memoran- dum on the deplorable state of music in Leipzig’s churches, ‘into four choirs for the four churches in which they must partly perform concerted music, partly sing motets, and partly sing chorales’.78The singers were joined by 18–20 instrumentalists, Bach explained, among whom were ‘four town pipers and three pro-

74 NBR, no. 111, BD 2, no. 149; NBR, no. 137, BD 2, no. 246, for example gives details of a conflict of opinion with the diaconus substitutus at St Nikolai, Gottlieb Gaudlitz, ‘about the singing of hymns’ in September 1728, Gaudlitz seeking to introduce new, contemporary hymns. 75 NBR, no. 115–116, BD 2, no. 179 gives an insight into the process in the run-up to the first performance of the St John Passion which Bach had hoped to perform at St Thomas’, but the council intended to be performed at St Nikolai: Bach ‘pointed out that the booklet was printed already’, indicating that the performance was at St Thomas’ Church. The council decided to print announcements that the performance was to be held at St Nikolai instead. Five such booklets, containing on average three Cantatas each, are reproduced in facsimile in: Werner Neumann, ed., Sämtliche von Johann Sebastian Bach vertonte Texte (Leipzig: Breitkopf und Härtel, 1974), pp. 422–447. 76 Wolff (2001), p. 260, explains that the sales funded ‘pay for additional musicians (particularly instrumentalists) and other performance related expenses’, see: BD 2, no. 416. 77 Wolff (2001), p. 283. For Bach’s collaboration with the Breitkopf family, see: George B. Stauf- fer, J.S. Bach, the Breitkopfs, and Eighteenth-Century Music Trade, Bach Perspectives 2 (Lin- coln: University of Nebraska Press, 1996), pp. 11–12. 78 NBR, no. 151, BD 1, no. 22. proclaiming scripture through music 67 fessional violinists’,the town pipers making up the brass and woodwind section of the orchestra.79 Bach had problems in filling the ranks of the orchestra and had to resort to supplementing instrumentalists from among his St Thomas’ students, some of whom were extremely versatile and managed to double up as violinists and continuo players as well as singers.80 He complained to the Town Council:

The deficiency of indispensable players will show even more clearly, particularly since I must give up … all those pupils who play one instrument or another, and must get along without their help.81

Bach struggled not only with the tight production and rehearsal schedule, but also with the evident lack of musical resources to help him sustain the ambitious aim to provide a new Cantata for each Sunday of the Church’s Year. Geck explains:

Pressure of time, performance material that was on occasion amazingly defective, and consisting of written parts without any marking of bar numbers—such circumstances were without doubt the order of theday.82

The fact that Bach sustained five Jahrgänge of Cantatas working under such pressure and with limited forces is remarkable.83 The fact that in the same period he also produced, revised and performed two large-scale Passions is exceptional.

79 NBR, no. 151, BD 1, no. 22: ‘4 Stadt Pfeifer, 3 Kunst Geiger’. 80 Including Georg Gottfried Wagner who, according to Bach, NBR, no. 112, BD 3, no. 56a, has ‘perfected himself in the practise of various instruments such as clavier, violin, etc.’ and Carl Gotthelf Gerlach who was a competent counter-tenor, violinist and continuo player, see: H.J. Schulze, ‘Studenten als Bachs Helfer bei der Leipziger Kirchenmusik’, Bach-Jahrbuch 70 (1984), pp. 45–52, p. 50. 81 NBR, no. 151, BD 1, no. 22. 82 Martin Geck, ‘Bach’s art of church music and his Leipzig performance forces: contra- dictions in the system’, Early Music 11 (2003), pp. 558–571, see also: Arnold Schering, Musikgeschichte Leipzigs, 2 vols. (Leipzig: Fr. Kistner und C.F.W. Siegel, 1926), 2, pp. 25–33. 83 Robert Marshall, ‘Bach the Progressive: Observations on His Later Works’, Musical Quar- terly 63.3 (1976), pp. 313–357, p. 315n, suggests that Bach may well have become disen- chanted with the lack of institutional support and that Picander’s foreword to the 1728 Cantata Jahrgang [above, n. 71] may have been written as ‘a deliberately public appeal to urge the disaffected composer to relent in what may have been his widely known decision to withdraw from active participation in the musical life of Leipzig’s Churches’. chapter 4 Bach’s St John Passion

Bach employed the same compositional processes he used to write his Cantatas for his St John and St Matthew Passions, though both were clearly written for significantly augmented musical forces.1 A key difference between the libretti for his Passions and those of his Cantatas is that the Passion libretti made use of a single consecutive source of Scripture for their narrative, rather than a selection of thematically related Bible texts or poetical paraphrases of Scrip- ture as was the case with most of his Cantatas.2 However, the musical building blocks—Scriptural recitatives and choruses, poetical arias and ariosos and chorales—were the same elements that make up his Cantatas, though on a grander scale. The use of the same underlying structural principles as those employed in writing a Cantata suggest that Bach’s St John Passion was developed from a combination of the Lutheran responsorial Passion tradition and Bach’s own Cantatas, rather than the popular contemporary Passion Oratorio. The Passion Oratorio, popularised on the cusp of the eighteenth century in Lutheran Germany by dramatists such as Barthold Heinrich Brockes and his contemporaries, derived directly from the late-sixteenth-century Lutheran dramatisation of Scripture. Gospel harmonies such as the influential History of the Passion and Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ from the four Gospels (1526) by the reformer of Northern Germany and Denmark Johannes Bugenhagen, furnished the genre with its Latin name: Summa Passionis, ‘gleaned from all four Passions’.3 From the 1530s onwards, the proclamation of Scripture through

1 NBR, no. 115, BD 2, no. 179, documents how in an exchange with the Town Council Bach argued for a performance of his St John Passion at St Thomas’ rather than St Nikolai on the grounds ‘that there was no room available’, requesting that ‘additional room be provided in the choir loft, so that he could place the persons needed for the music’. 2 The consecutive Scriptural source, rather than a summa Passionis poetical paraphrase, appears to have been a requirement by the Leipzig consistory who, together with the Town Council, had final control of the libretto, see: NBR, no. 208, BD 2, no. 439, documenting the Council’s direction that the performance of a Bach Passion on Good Friday 1739 was ‘to be omitted until regular permission for the same is received’. On that occasion, Bach declined performing his own work, and instead performed a Telemann Passion, Andreas Glöckler, ‘Johann Sebastian Bachs Aufführungen zeitgenössischer Passionsmusiken’, Bach-Jahrbuch 66 (1977), pp. 75–119, p. 118, suggests. 3 Johannes Bugenhagen, Die Historia des leydens vnd der Aufferstehung vnsers Herrn Jhesu

© koninklijke brill nv, leiden, 2014 | doi: 10.1163/9789004272361_006 bach’s stjohnpassion 69 the arts had been developed and intentionally fostered in Lutheran principalities, in particular in electoral Saxony and Brunswick.4 Biblically-based dramas, including some Passion and Resurrection plays, often made use of Biblically- paraphrased free verse drama coupled with audience interaction to further reformation doctrine. Key to the new genre was the presentation of the newly- translated Scriptures in a variety of vernacular forms of communication— declamation, drama and hymn—which, in combination, ensured the successful promotion of Lutheran doctrine and teaching beyond the heartlands of Luther’s reformation.5 One of the first, and most prolific dramatists of Luther’s Reformation, Joachim Greff, explained this principle in the prologue of his Tragedy of the Book of Judith in German Rhyme (1536):

[God’s word] is written/ read/ and sung for us/ It’s painted on our neighbours’ doors/ it’s heard in sermons everywhere/ And often is performed for us/ That we delight therein may gain.6

The step from a Passion and Resurrection play such as Greff’s Sacred New Play for Easter (1542) or the Lutheran Passion plays of the Meistersinger Guilds in Free Imperial Cities in the 1550s and 1560s to Brockes’DerfürdieSündenderWelt Gemarterte und Sterbende Jesus (Jesus, Suffering and Dying for the Sins of the World) was a comparatively small one.7 Like Brockes’ Passion some 150 years

Christi aus den vier Evangelien, durch Johannem Bugenhagen Pomer vleyssig zusammen bracht (Wittenberg: Hans Weiß, 1526). For Bugenhagen’s Passion Harmony, and its later poetic adaptations, see: Andreas Loewe, ‘Proclaiming the Passion: Popular Drama and the Passion Tra- dition in Luther’s Germany’, Reformation and Renaissance Review 12.2/3 (2010), pp. 235–282, pp. 255–256. 4 For the development of a specifically Lutheran genre of Biblical drama, see: Loewe (2010), pp. 235–282. 5 For the success of Lutheran drama in spreading Lutheran doctrine to areas where reformation writings were banned, see: Loewe (2010), pp. 263–264. 6 Joachim Greff, Tragoedia des Buchs Iudith jnn Deudsche Reim verfasset durch Joachim Greff von Zwickaw nützlich zu lesen (Wittenberg: Georg Rhaw, 1536), Prologus, p. A 7r: ‘Man schreibts/ man lists/ man singt vns fur/ Man sihts gemalt an jdermans thür/ Es wird gepredigt vberall/ Man spilts vns auch fur zum offtermal/ Das wir solten lust darzu/ Gewinnen’. For the intentional involvement of Greff’s audience through brief homiletic reflections, explanations or questions, see: Loewe (2010), pp. 256–259. 7 Joachim Greff, Ein Geistliches schönes newes spil auff das heilige Osterfest gestellet (Magde- burg: Michael Lotter, 1542). For examples of the Lutheran Meistersinger Passions, see: Hans Sachs, Die ganz Passio, in idem, Sehr herrliche schöne und warhaffte Gedicht geistlich unnd weltlich allerley Art (Nürnberg: Christoff Heußler, 1558) and Sebastian Wild, Die Passion und 70 chapter 4 later, the Lutheran summa Passions of the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries also drew on a combination of Gospel harmony or Biblically-based poetry combined with congregational chorales, to communicate the message of the cross.8

1 The Development of the Lutheran Responsorial Passion

Unlike the Lutheran summa Passion, which had its roots in reformation Lehr- stücke (educational plays), such as the Meistersinger Passion plays and Greff’s Biblical dramas, the development of a Lutheran responsorial Passion music had its roots in the pre-reformation liturgical traditions associated with Holy Week.9 From at least the tenth century onwards, each of the four Passions were recited in Latin to chant on the first three days of Holy Week and Good Fri- day in the order of their publication in the New Testament, beginning with St Matthew’s account on Palm Sunday, and ending with St John’s on Good Fri- day.10 By the end of the fifteenth century, the first polyphonic turba choruses in fauxbourdon were introduced to illustrate crowd scenes.11 It was this genre that Luther and his followers adapted for their vernacular Holy Week services.12

Aufferstehung Christi, in idem, Schöner Comedien und Tragedien zwölff: Auß heiliger Gött- licher schrift und auch auß etlichen Historien gezogen (Augsburg: Matthäus Franck, 1566). 8 Barthold Heinrich Brockes, Der für die Sünden der Welt Gemarterte und Sterbende Jesus, in: idem, Verteutschter Bethlehemitischer Kinder-Mord des Ritters Marino. Nebst etlichen von des Herrn Übersetzers Eigenen Gedichten (Cöln & Hamburg: Schiller, 1715), pp. 299–320. Jones (2000), p. 34, lists ‘the most notable examples in this genre’ as: ‘Balthasar Resinarius (St John Passion, Latin, 1543), Joachim a Burck (St John Passion, shortened, German, 1568), Johann Steuerlein (St John Passion, German, 1576), Ludwig Daser (Latin, 1578), Leonhard Lechner (St John Passion, German, 1594), Johannes Herold (St Matthew Passion, German, 1594), Bartolomaus Gesius (St Matthew Passion, 1613), and Christoph Demantius (St John Passion, German, 1631)’. 9 For the medieval and late-medieval responsorial Passion, see: Basil Smallman, The Back- ground of Passion Music: J.S. Bach and his predecessors (London: SCM Press, 1957), pp. 21– 33, and his enlarged edition (New York: Dover, 1970), Appendix I, p. 123. 10 Susan Boynton and Diane J. Reilly, The Practice of the Bible in the Middle Ages: Production, Reception, and Performance in Western Christianity (New York: Columbia University Press, 2011), p. 13. 11 Friedrich Blume, Geschichte der evangelischen Kirchenmusik (Kassel, Bärenreiter, 1965), pp. 115–116. 12 For Luther’s adaptation of traditional pre-reformation responsorial Passions and materials, see: Leaver (2007), p. 192. bach’s stjohnpassion 71

The first composer of a Lutheran Passion with plainchant recitatives and fauxbourdon choruses was the Torgau Cantor and later Capellmeister at the Electoral Saxon Court in Dresden, Johann Walter.13 Walter collaborated extensively with Luther to provide vernacular music for Luther’s liturgical reforms: in 1524 he edited Luther’s first hymnal, two years later he worked with the reformer on the German Mass.14 By the 1540s, he had adapted the traditional Passion tones for a vernacular St Matthew and St John Passion.15 Both Walter Passions remained standard repertoire for Lutheran Passion-tide observances. Indeed, a number of composers, such as the Ansbach composer Jakob Meiland (1542–1577),16 or Thomaspastor Nikolaus Selnecker (1532–1592) reworked Wal- ter’s simple fauxbourdon Passions, ensuring their popularity.17 For more than 150 years Walter’s Passion settings were reprinted in Lutheran hymnals, such as the New Leipzig Hymnal (1682), a work still in use in Leipzig churches during Bach’s tenure as Thomaskantor.18 In the 1700s in St Thomas’ Leipzig, Walter’s

13 For Walter (1496–1570), see: Walter Blankenburg, Johann Walter: Leben und Werk (Tutzing: Schneider, 1991). 14 For Luther’s Wittenbergisches Gesangbuch, 1524, WA 35: 315–219, see: Loewe (2013), pp. 5–6, for his Deutsche Messe und Ordnung Gottesdiensts, 1526, WA 35: 374, see: Leaver (2001), pp. 292–297. 15 A contemporary copy of two choruses, Ja nicht auf das Fest and Jesum from Nazareth from both Passions is lodged in the Ludwig Maximilians University Library in München, MS 8° 326, no. 31, pp. 22v–25. A late-sixteenth century copy of Walter’s St Matthew Passion survives in manuscript in the Staatliche Bibliothek Ansbach, MS VI.g.27 (1583) and has been analysed by Günther Schmidt in: ‘Die Handschrift Ansbach VI g 27 der Matthäus-Passion von Johann Walter’, Jahrbuch für Liturgik und Hymnologie 1 (1955), p. 101. For an analysis of Walter’s Passion tones, see: Jones (2000), pp. 26–27. 16 For the musical life at the court of Brandenburg-Ansbach, see: Günther Schmidt, DieMusik am Hofe der Markgrafen von Brandenburg-Ansbach (Kassel: Bärenreiter, 1956) and Rashid Pegah, ‘The Court of Brandenburg-Culmbach-Bayreuth’, in: Owens (2011), pp. 389–412. Jakob Meiland’s Johannes-Passion was first performed in 1568, his St Matthew and St Mark Passions at the beginning of the 1570s, all three were composed during his tenure as Capellmeister at the electoral Court of Ansbach. 17 The Passion setting in Nikolaus Selnecker’s ChristlichePsalmen,LiederundKirchengesänge (Leipzig: Beyer, 1587) closely echoes Walter’s. For Selnecker, author of the History of the Augsburg Confession (1584) and one of the editors of the Formula of Concord (1580), see: Werner Klän, ‘Der “vierte Mann”. Auf den Spuren von Nikolaus Selneckers (1530–1592), Beitrag zu Entstehung und Verbreitung der Konkordienformel’, Lutherische Theologie und Kirche 17 (1993), pp. 145–174, and Wolfdietrich von Kloeden, ‘Selnecker, Nikolaus’, BBKL 9: cols. 1376–1379. 18 Gottfried Vopelius, ed., Neu Leipziger Gesangbuch/ Von den schönsten und besten Liedern verfasset/ In welchem Nicht allein des sel. Herrn D. Lutheri und andere mit Gottes Wort/ 72 chapter 4

St Matthew Passion was still performed by the clergy and choral scholars of St Thomas’ on the evening of ‘Palm Sunday in front of the High Altar’, using the setting provided in the New Leipzig Hymnal and Leipziger Kirchen-Staat.19 Not only the tradition of singing the Passion to certain set pre-Reformation Passion tones was shared by Catholic Latin Passion performances and Lutheran German Passions.20 The musicians who, in the second half of the sixteenth century, provided new musical settings for vernacular Lutheran Passions, also came both from Lutheran and Catholic backgrounds:

Even in the sixteenth and the early seventeenth century Protestant and Catholic Passion settings can hardly be distinguished from one another nor should they be viewed in isolation. In the liturgical Passions of both denominations common elements—today one might call them ecumenical—have been decisive.21

One of Walter’s successors as Capellmeister of the Dresden Court, Antonio Scandello, is a good example of this ‘ecumenical’ provenance: following his conversion to Lutheranism in 1562, he began almost exclusively to set vernacular

und unveränderter Augsburgischer Confession überein stimmende … und gebräuchliche Gesänge/ Lateinische Hymni und Psalmen/ Mit 4. 5. bis 6. Stimmen/ deren Melodeyen Theils aus Johann Herman Scheins Cantional, und andern guten Autoribus zusammen getagen/ theils aber selbsten componiret … / Mit Fleiß verfertiget und herausgegeben von Gottfried Vopelio (Leipzig: Christoph Klinger, 1682). 19 Johann Christoph Rost, Nachricht/ Wie es/ in der Kirchen zu St Thom allhier/ mit dem Gottesdienst/ Jährlichen sowohl and Hohen Festen/ als anderen Tagen/ pfleget gehalten zu werden/ aufgezeichnet von Johann Christoph Rosten/ Custode ad D. Thomae/ anno 1716, Archiv Stadtgeschichtliches Museum der Stadt Leipzig, cited in: BD 2, no. 180, NBR, no. 114: ‘The priest and the students sang … the entire Passion according to St Matthew’ (Der Priester mit den Schülern … [die] gantze Passion aus dem Evangelisten Matthäo abgesungen). Leipziger Kirchen-Staat: das ist deutlicher Unterricht vom Gottes-Dienst in Leipzig (Leipzig: Groschuff, 1710), p. 74: ‘Vor dem hohen Altar am Palm-Sonntage’. 20 For the various pre-Reformation liturgical tones, see: Theodor Göllner, Die mehrstimmigen liturgischen Lesungen, Münchner Veröffentlichungen zur Musikgeschichte 15 (Tutzing: Schneider, 1969). 21 Kurt von Fischer, ‘Die Passionshistorien von Heinrich Schütz’, in: Walter Blankenburg ed., Heinrich Schütz in seiner Zeit. Wege der Forschung 614 (Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, 1985), p. 140: ‘Noch im 16. und frühen 17. Jahrhundert die Passionsverto- nungen evangelischer und katholischer Herkunft kaum voneinander getrennt betrachtet und verstanden werden. In den liturgischen Passionen beider Konfessionen ist immer wieder das Gemeinsame—man möchte heute sagen: das Ökumenische—von entschei- dender Bedeutung gewesen’. bach’s stjohnpassion 73 texts to music.22 His St John Passion, the Passio/ das Leiden/ unsers Herren Jesu Christi/ wie das der heilige Evangelist Johannes/ beschreibet, was first performed in the early 1560s.23 His setting clearly echoes earlier Italian models in providing both for an evangelist’s part, set to the Passion tone, as well as a polyphonic parts for crowd or turba scenes and for the individual characters in Johannine Passion; most notably Jesus himself, and each of the other key individuals of St John’s Passion account.24 The turn of the seventeenth century saw the steady development of the Lutheran responsorial Passion in Saxony, Brunswick, Brandenburg and its dependent principality of Ansbach.25 Among the most notable examples before and after the turn of the seventeenth century are Bartholomäus Gesius’ five- part St John Passion, first performed in 1588 in Muskau, his six-part St Matthew Passion first performed in 1613 in Frankfurt an der Oder, alongside Melchior Vulpius’ six-part St Matthew Passion, first performed in Weimar in 1613.26 In 1642, the Hamburg Cantor Thomas Selle had contributed the first instrumental Passion, setting St Matthew’s account of the Passion to music; a year later, he republished an orchestrated version of his St John Passion, ‘con intermediis’, with three reflective madrigalic intermedi or Choraleinlagen based on the Hebrew Scriptures (Isaiah 53.5, Psalm 22.1–21) and the Passion Chorale O Lamm Gottes,

22 For Scandello (c. 1517–1580), see: Robert Eitner, ‘Scandello, Antonio’ in: Allgemeine Deut- sche Biographie (Leipzig: Duncker & Humblot, 1890) [cited as: ADB], 30: 475–476, and Dane Owen Heuchemer, Italian Musicians in Dresden in the Second Half of the Sixteenth Century, with an Emphasis on the Lives and Works of Antonio Scandello and Giovanni Bat- tista Pinello di Ghirardi (University of Cincinnati: Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation, 1997). 23 A Manuscript copy of Scandello’s St John Passion remains in the Sächsische Landesbiblio- thek Dresden, MS Mus. Gri. 11, a modern edition has been compliled by Klaus Beckmann, Antonio Scandello: Johannespassion 1561 (Stuttgart: Carus, 1998). 24 The parts of Jesus, Peter, Servus, Ancilla I and II and Pilate each are set for multiple voices, as pioneered in the 1540s in the responsorial Passions of Gasparo Alberti (c. 1485–1560). For Gasparo’s Holy Week compositions, see: D. Crawford: ‘Gaspar de Albertis and Holy Week Liturgies in Renaissance Bergamo’, Third International Musicological Society Study Session on “Cantus Planus”, Tihány, Hungary, 19–24 September 1988 (Budapest: Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Institute for Musicology, 1989), pp. 415–429. 25 Just Martin, ‘Deutschland um 1600’, Schütz-Jahrbuch 26 (2004), pp. 89–107, p. 98. 26 Bartholomäus Gesius, Historia vom Leiden und Sterben unsers Herren und Heilandes Jesus Christi wie sie uns der Evangelist Johannes im 18. und 19. Cap. Beschrieben mit 2.3.4. und 5. Stimmen (Wittenberg: Matthes Welack, 1588), Melchior Vulpius, Karl Ziebler, ed. Mat- thäus-Passion von 1613 für Soliloquenten und Chor zu vier und sechs Stimmen (Kassel: Bären- reiter, 1948). 74 chapter 4 unschuldig (O Innocent Lamb of God), to end each of the three parts of his Passion.27 Selle’s responsorial St John Passion with intermedi is undoubtedly of great significance in the development of Bach’s own Passions: the fact that copies of Selle’s works were housed in the choir library of St Michael’s Lüneburg at the time of Bach’s tenure as a choral scholar suggests that he may well have sung Selle’s Passions.28 Also purchased by the cantor of St Michael’s Lüneburg, Friedrich Emanuel Praetorius (1623–1695), were the vocal works of Heinrich Schütz.29 By the 1660s, Heinrich Schütz had fully established the instrumental responsorial Passion, without intermedi, setting to music the Passion Gospels of Matthew, Luke and John.30 From 1655 until 1694, six years before Bach took up his choral scholarship in Lüneburg, cantor Praetorius purchased 26 volumes of Schütz’s work, again suggesting that Bach would have been exposed to performances of Schütz’s Passions from his school days.31 By the time he came to compose his St John Passion, Bach drew on a combination of established textual and music models—the Lutheran responsorial Passion with intermedi, his own church Cantatas and his no longer extant Weimar Passion—to create his own reflection in music on the journey to the cross.32

2 The Liturgical and Homiletic Context of Bach’s St John Passion

The performance of Bach’s St John Passion on 7 April 1724 in St Nikolai was not, in fact, the first performance of a concerted Good Friday Passion in one of Leipzig’s principal churches.33 The records of St Thomas’ sexton, Johann Christoph Rost, show that both in the final year of Johann Kuhnau’s cantorate, in 1721 and 1722, and during the vacancy in post in 1723, a ‘concerted Pas-

27 Thomas Selle, Rudolf Gerber, ed., PassionnachdemEvangelistenJohannes:mitIntermedien für Solostimmen, Chor und Instrumente (Wolfenbüttel: Möseler Verlag, 1934). For Selle (1599–1663) and his St Matthew and St John Passions, see: J. Birke, Die Passionsmusiken von Thomas Selle (1599–1663) (Heidelberg University: Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation, 1957). 28 Junghans (1870), p. 27. 29 Junghans (1870), p. 27. 30 For a detailed analysis of Schütz’s Passions, see: Jones (2000), pp. 96–289. 31 Junghans (1870), p. 27: ‘List of musical works which F.E. Praetorius … purchased (1655–94)’ (Designatio ibrorum Musicalium, quae F.E. Prateorius … comparavit [1655–1694]). 32 Christoph Wolff, Bach: Essays on his Life and Music (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1991), p. 137. 33 BD 2, no. 180, NBR, no. 114. bach’s stjohnpassion 75 sion’ was performed at St Thomas’ Church.34 While Rost’s diary does not give details of the composer of these Passions, Petzoldt’s and Dürr’s suggestion that the ‘first concerted Passion to be performed at the Good Friday Vespers’ in St Thomas’ was Johann Kuhnau’s St Mark Passion makes good sense.35 The unknown concerted Passion performed at St Thomas’ fell into two parts, each framed by congregational hymns, with a sermon in the middle of the performance:

The hymn Da Jesus an dem Kreuze stund (When Jesus stood at the cross) was sung from the choir gallery. Then the concerted Passion began immediately, half of which was performed before the sermon. This half was completed with the hymn verse, O Lamm Gottes unschuldig (O innocent Lamb of God) during which the priest made his way to the pulpit. After he reached the pulpit, Herr Jesu Christ, dich zu uns wend (Turn to us, Lord Jesus Christ) was sung. After the sermon, the other half of the music began. When it was finished [Jakob Handl’s] motet Ecce quomodo moritur iustus (Behold how the rightous dies) was sung. Then the Passion verse [Thanks be to the LORD/ who has redeemed us/ from hell by his suffering] was intoned, a collect prayed, and the hymn Nun danket alle Gott (Now thank we all our God) sung.36

This performance of a concerted Passion at St Thomas’ in the last year of Kuhnau’s cantorate clearly emulated the successful performances of concerted

34 BD 2, no. 180, NBR, no. 114: ‘Musicierte Passion’. 35 BD 2, no. 180, NBR, no. 114: ‘Am Charfreytag in der Vesper die Passion zum 1st mahl Musicirt’. Martin Petzoldt, ‘Bachs Passion als Musik im Gottesdienst’, in: Ulrich Prinz, ed., Johannes-Passion, BWV 245, Schriftenreihe der internationalen Bachakademie Stuttgart 5 (Kassel: Bärenreiter, 1993), pp. 44–61, p. 46 and Alfred Dürr, ‘Der Passionsbericht des Johannes in Bachs Deutung—Aus der Sicht des Musikwissenschaftlers’, in: Prinz (1993), pp. 166–185, p. 166. 36 BD 2, no. 180, NBR, no. 114: ‘Wurd auf dem Chor das Lied gesung[en]. da Jesus an dem Creutze stund p. dann ging gleich die musicirt Passion an, und ward vor der Predigt halb gesungen, die Helfte schloß sich mit dem verß, o Lamb gottes unschuldig, damit ging der Prister auf die Cantzel. auf d[er]. Cantzel ward a[uch]. H[err]. Jesu Christ dich zu uns wend gesungen. Nach der Predigt dann ging die andre Helffte der Music an, als solche aus, ward die Motete Ecce quomodo moritur justus p. gesungen, als dann der passions vers intoniret und Collect gesprochen. als dann Nun dancket alle Gott gesungen’. The Passion verse, ‘Danck sey dem HERREN/ der uns erlöset hat/ durch sein Leiden von der Höllen’ as well as the text of Handl’s motet with a German translation are reproduced in Leipziger Kirchen-Staat, p. 93. 76 chapter 4

Passions in Leipzig’s New Church since 1717. From 1723 onwards both the Pas- sion sermons and the associated performance costs at St Thomas’ and St Niko- lai were funded by ‘a legacy made by the widow of the goldleaf-merchant and jeweller Koppy’ (FrauKoppin).37 Financially underwritten in this way, from 1724 onwards, the performance of an annual concerted Passion alternated between St Thomas’ and St Nikolai.38 In the church in which there was no performance of a concerted Passion that year a traditional Passion service, ‘as was the custom before [1721]’, that is with a performance of Walter’s Passion, took place.39 The development of the Leipzig concerted Passion shows that, from the outset, the Passion music was to be complemented by a sermon. Indeed, Mrs Koppy’s legacy to perpetuate a Passion sermon and preformance merely for- malised the financial basis for this arrangement: as with the performance of a Sunday Cantata, in the performance of the Good Friday both sermon and performance went hand in hand to create an overall devotional experience with a clear homiletic message. In the absence of any surviving printed Passion sermons or sermon manuscripts, it is difficult to reconstruct this homiletic content with complete certainty. However, the records at St Nikolai do suggest that from at least 1694, and certainly from 1723, the sermon at Vespers on Good Friday centred on the burial of Christ.40 The fact that at Leipzig performances of the concerted Passion, the sermon was preached not at the end of the Passion but in the middle of the performance strongly suggests that the sermon was not,

37 Petzoldt (1993), p. 45: ‘Die Witwe des Goldschlägers und Juweliers Koppy stiftete ein Legat’. Rosts’ account, BD 2, no. 180, NBR, no. 114, is ambiguous as to whether Mrs Koppy’s legacy was intended in particular for the establishment of a Passion Vespers at St Nikolai or for the underwriting of the Passion Vespers in general: ‘In 1723 the Vespers were held for the first time at St Nikolai. The sermon was given by Superintendent Dr Deyling, beqeathed by Mrs Koppy’ (Anno 1723 ward zum ersten Mahl die Vesper zu St. Nicolai gehalten, die Predigt hielt H. Superintendent H.D. Deyling, welche Fr. Koppin gestiftet). Certainly, in 1724 the city council determined that the concerted Vespers in future be alternated between both principal Leipzig churches, see: BD 2, no. 179. 38 BD 2, no. 179, NBR, nos. 115–116. 39 BD 2, no. 180: ‘Wie vor diesem gebräuchlich’. In combination with his reference to the previous custom, Rost’s suggestion that ‘only hymns were sung’ (wurden nur Lieder gesungen) could well refer to Walter’s Passion setting reproduced in the Neu Leipziger Gesang- buch. 40 Nikolai-Archiv, Leipzig, Manuale des Gottesdienstes, 1721–50, MS I E 8–11. This is echoed by the liturgy reproduced in Leipziger Kirchen-Staat, p. 93, which has the text of Handl’s motet under the heading ‘Bey dem Begräbnis Christi’ (At the burial of Christ). bach’s stjohnpassion 77 in the first place, intended to comment on the narrative itself but rather was meant to provide a more general reflection on the Passion.41 Petzoldt explains that such a ‘detachment from an exclusively historical level of presentation and understanding … purposefully fostered the appropriation [of the narrative] by the listener’.42He rightly suggests that the same homiletical principle lies at the heart of the proclamatory concept of Bach’s concerted Passions.43 When he came to write his first Leipzig Passion for performance on Good Fri- day 1724, Bach drew on the structural model developed at the principal Leipzig Churches in the final year of Kuhnau’s cantorate.44 Kuhnau’s model for the Leipzig Passion was itself developed from both the ‘accustomed’ (gebräuch- lich) tradition of performing Walter’s responsorial Passion at St Thomas and St Nikolai,45 and in response to the successful performances of a summa Pas- sion at the New Church from 1717.46 However, in keeping with the ‘far greater commitment to the conservation of the tried and tested at the two principal Churches’, Kuhnau did not set to music a summa Passion, such as Brockes’ popular Der für die Sünden der Welt Gemarterte und Sterbende Jesus (Jesus, Suffering and Dying for the Sins of the World), as was the case at the New Church.47 Kuhnau’s successor, Johann Sebastian Bach, followed suit: for his St John Passion, Bach developed the mid-seventeenth-century responsorial Passion

41 Indeed, the position of the sermon varied according to each of the Passions performed: in Bach’s St John Passion it is preached after Jesus’ trial before the religious authorities, in the St Matthew Passion after the arrest in the garden, as it is in Kuhnau’s St Mark Passion. 42 Petzoldt (1993), p. 48: ‘Die Ablösung von einer ausschließlich historischen verstandenen Ebene der Darstellung … zum Zweck der Aneignung durch den Hörer’. 43 Petzoldt (1993), p. 48. 44 BD 2, no. 180, NBR, no. 114. 45 For Kuhnau’s Passion, see: Arnold Schering, Musikgeschichte Leipzigs, 2: Von 1650 bis 1723 (Leipzig: Teubner, 1926), pp. 23–25. 46 Andreas Glöckner, Die Musikpflege an der Leipziger Neukirche von 1699 bis 1761, Beiträge zur Bachforschung 9 (Leipzig: Nationale Forschungs- und Gedenkstätten Johann Sebastian Bach, 1990), p. 79, suggests that Telemann’s setting of Brockes’ libretto was performed under the direction of Johann Gottfried Vogler, director of music at the New Church from 1716–1720. 47 Petzoldt (1993), p. 52: ‘Die beiden Hauptkirchen die Verpflichtung zur Pflege des tradi- tionell erprobten in weiter stärkerem Maße’.Wolff (2001), p. 292, suggests that the ‘requirement of adhering to the Biblical Passion text’, rather than a poetical paraphrase such as Brockes’, may have been a requirement of the city’s consistory. 78 chapter 4 with its chanted and polyphonic setting of a single source Gospel narrative and choral intermedi. The resulting Passion libretto makes excellent use of the structural flexibility offered by his Church Cantatas, conveying John’s Passion narrative through the medium of recitatives and choruses, reflective arias and ariosos, and chorales. Even though the structure of his St John Passion is very different from the fashionable contemporary summa Passion, Bach’s libretto does acknowledge the popularity of the genre: six of his arias are adapted from Brockes’ summa Passion.48

3 The Libretto of Bach’s St John Passion

In his two-volume biography of Bach, Philipp Spitta argued that the St John Passion may well have been written in Köthen. The fact that the libretto was cobbled together from a variety of sources suggested to Spitta that, in the absence of a designated librettist, Bach himself compiled the text of the St John Passion, something for which ‘he was uniquely placed’, Spitta felt.49 He further claimed that the work was written in early 1723, during Bach’s application process for the cantorate at St Thomas’ Church, in the certain anticipation that his Leipzig appointment would be forthcoming:

We have every reason to believe that Bach wrote the St John Passion in Köthen once he had determined to apply for the post of Thomaskantor, believing that he would be appointed. His application was made towards the end of 1722. He would have calculated that he would be in post in Leipzig by Good Friday 1723, and wanted to be prepared for that even- tuality. The composition, therefore, would have taken during the first few months of 1723.50

48 For Brockes’ libretto, see: Elke Axmacher, ‘Aus Liebe will mein Heyland sterben’: Unter- suchungen zum Wandel des Passionsverständnisses im frühen 18. Jahrhundert, Beiträge zur theologischen Bachforschung 2 (Neuhausen-Stuttgart: Hänssler, 1984), pp. 116–142. 49 Spitta (1880), p. 349: ‘War er nur wie einer befähigt’. 50 Spitta (1880), p. 348: ‘Bach schrieb, wie wir allen Grund haben anzunehmen, die Johannes- Passion noch in Cöthen und zwar als er beschlossen hatte sich um das Thomascantorat zu bewerben, und voraussetzte, er werde die Stelle erhalten. Seine Bewerbung erfolgte am Ausgange des Jahres 1722. Er berechnete wohl, daß er zum Charfreitag 1723 schon zu Leipzig im Amte sein werde, und wollte für diesen Fall gerüstet sein. Die Composition würde demnach größtenteils in die ersten Monate des Jahres 1723 fallen’. bach’s stjohnpassion 79

Spitta’s theory hangs on the fact that both the second version of Bach’s St John Passion and his audition Cantata BWV 23 Du wahrer Gott und Davids Sohn (True God and Son of David) conclude with the German setting of the Agnus Dei, Christe du Lamm Gottes (Christ, you Lamb of God) as well as an— erroneous—dating of watermarks in the instrumental parts of the 1725 version of the Passion to the same period as the paper Bach used for the fair copy of his Leipzig audition Cantata.51 The assertion that the work was composed together with the audition Cantata in Köthen is at best tenuous. As has been shown above, the appointment process to the post of Thomaskantor by no means favoured Bach as the front-runner. Spitta’s initial theory that the St John Passion was composed in the final months of Bach’s tenure at the court of Prince Leopold of Anhalt is implau- sible on two counts: the fact that Bach could not presume to be selected as Thomaskantor and the fact that the watermarks of the two surviving scores are not, in fact, the same. His secondary theory, that Bach was in fact the librettist of his first surviving Passion, is equally unlikely. Spitta’s theory rests on the assumption that Bach had to complete the work in haste, together with his audition Cantata: ‘if the composer wanted to complete the work, speed was of the essence and so, due to the absence of a suitable poet in Köthen, he had to help himself regarding the text’.52 The fact, however, that there was no need for haste to complete the work for a premiere on Good Friday 1723 removes the need for Bach to compile his own libretto in the absence of suitable librettists in Köthen. Dürr explains:

Since there is no evidence of a single Cantata, Oratorio or Passion-libretto that can be shown to have been written by Bach … the authorship of an external librettist for the St John Passion needs to be assumed until such time as there is concrete evidence to the contrary.53

51 Spitta (1880), pp. 813–814. For a rejection of Spitta’s attribution of watermarks, see: Wisso Weiß, Katalog der Wasserzeichen in Bachs Originalhandschriften von Wisso Weiß unter musikwissenschaftlicher Mitarbeit von Yoshitake Kobayashi, Johann Sebastian Bach Neue Ausgabe Sämtlicher Werke, IX, 1/1 (Kassel: Bärenreiter, 1989), pp. 120–129, Dürr (1993), pp. 167–168. 52 Spitta (1880), pp. 348–349: ‘Wollte der Componist rechtzeitig fertig sein, so war Eile nöthig, und da ein geeigneter Dichter in Cöthen nicht existirte, so mußte er sich bezüglich des Textes selbst zu helfen suchen’. 53 Dürr (1993), p. 169: ‘[Da] kein einziger Kantaten-, Oratorien- oder Passionstext bekannt ist, der nachweislich von Bach gedichtet wurde … [muss] man vorderhand auch für die 80 chapter 4

For Dürr, the theological coherence of the libretto points ‘to a theologian as author’.54There is no doubt that Bach would have had the necessary theological expertise to compile his own libretto. However, even the realisation that the libretto for the St John Passion was probably not written by the composer but by an unknown librettist, does not denigrate Bach’s theological insights. On the contrary, his musical word-setting shows that he displayed great sensitivity in expressing significant theological concepts through music.

3.1 Textual Elements of the St John Passion: Biblical Text Much of the libretto of Bach’s St John Passion was determined by the traditional Passion recitation of John 18.1–19.42. In three of the four versions of the St John Passion (I, II and IV), John’s account of the suffering and death of Jesus is augmented by two Matthean verses: Matthew 26.75 tells of Peter’s reaction to the rooster’s call, and Matthew 27.51–52 of the dramatic earthquake at the time of Jesus’ death.55 Since John’s Gospel does not relate either episode, the libretto draws on Matthew’s account of the Passion, in line with Bugenhagen’s Passion Harmony.56 Wolff explains that Bach deliberately ‘set the Biblical texts in context and probably broadly independently from the madrigalic pieces and the chorales, which were added later on as substantial, but secondary, elements’.57 In this way, the evangelist’s recitatives, recitatival solo parts and choruses maintain their own structural and dramatic unity, which can be traced particularly well in the large-scale turbae choruses, or crowd scenes, in particular during Jesus’ trial before the Roman Prefect Pontius Pilate. This structure, first identified in

Johannes-Passion solange die Autorschaft eines fremden Dichters unterstellen … bis der Gegenbeweis erbracht ist’. 54 Dürr (1993), p. 169: ‘Auf einen Theologen als Textautor’. 55 The third version of Bach’s St John Passion (1732) leaves out the Matthean insertions. Wolff (2001), p. 294, suspects that, ‘having composed his St Matthew Passion … [Bach] now dropped the only two passages that were drawn from the Gospel of St Matthew’. The final version of libretto (1749, IV) restores the insertions from Matthew’s account of the Passion. 56 Bugenhagen (1526), p. E ir (Matthew 26.75) and p. G iir-v (Matthew 27.51–52). For much of the Passion harmony, Bugenhagen follows John’s narrative supplementing his text from Matthew’s account. 57 Christoph Wolff, ‘Die musikalischen Formen der Johannes-Passion’ in: Prinz (1993), pp. 128–141, p. 133: ‘Bach [komponierte] den Bibeltext im Zusammenhang und wohl weitge- hend unabhängig von den madrigalischen Stücken und Chorälen, … die dann als zwar wesentliche, doch sekundäre Glieder eingefügt wurden’. bach’s stjohnpassion 81

1926 in a groundbreaking hypothesis by Friedrich Smend, enables the composer to maintain a sense of dramatic unity throughout the entire work, in particular during the second part of the Passion.58 The overall motivation for creating a such a clear sense of structural unity in the Biblical sections of his St John Passion may well have been the composer’s hope to create a work that honours the sovereignty of the Gospel narrative.59 In this way, Bach’s St John Passion is

set apart from its later companion, the St Matthew Passion, in particular in that it remains more of a Passion historia than a Passion oratorio and therefore more remains closely commited to the original liturgical function of the Passion as a means of homiletic proclamation.60

John’s narrative is complemented by reflective madrigalic elements and chorales from a variety of textual sources, which are shaped into the following overall form by Bach’s unknown collaborator (see Table 4 below). The final version of the libretto (1749, IV) introduces small textual changes to the 1724 libretto, each of which are discussed in the commentary section, but retains the overall shape. A third version of the libretto (1732, III) excises the Matthean additions but retains the opening and closing chorales of the 1725 version and its variant and additional arias.

58 Friedrich Smend, ‘Die Johannes-Passion von Bach. Auf ihren Bau untersucht’, Bach-Jahr- buch 1926, pp. 105–128, see the diagram in the commentary section at movement 22. Dürr (2001), pp. 95–107, provides a thorough review of the reception, development and implications of such a structural plan. 59 Wolff (1993), p. 137: ‘Bach seeks to achieve musical unity by … safeguarding the relative sovereignty of the Gospel narrative’ (Bach strebt musikalische Vereinheitlichung an durch … Bewahrung der relativen Eigenständigkeit des Evangelienberichts). 60 Wolff (1993), p. 141: ‘Die sich von ihrem späteren Schwesterwerk Matthäus-Passion vor allem dadurch unterscheidet, daß sie weniger Oratorium als Historia sein will und damit enger der ursprünglich liturgischen Funktion der Passion verpflichtet bleibt’. 82 chapter 4

table 4 Libretto of Bach’s St John Passion as first performed in 1724 (I)

Madrigalic movements Johannine text Chorales

First Part (Parte Prima) 1 Herr, unser Herrscher 2 St John 18.1–8 3 O große Lieb 4 St John 18.9–11 5 Dein Will gescheh 6 St John 18.12–15 7 Von den Stricken (Brockes) 8 St John 18.15a 9 Ich folge dir (unknown librettist) 10 St John 18.15b–23 11 Wer hat dich so geschlagen? 12 St John 18.24–27 St Matthew 26.75 13 Ach, mein Sinn (Weise) 14 Petrus, der nicht denkt zurück

Sermon on the Burial of Christ Second Part (Parte Secunda) 15 Christus, der uns selig macht 16 St John 18.28–36 17 Ach großer König 18 St John 18.37–19.1 19 Betrachte (Brockes) 20 Erwäge (Brockes) 21 St John 19.2–12a 22 Durch dein Gefängnis (Postel) 23 St John 19.12b–17 24 Eilt (Brockes) 25 St John 19.18–22 26 In meines Herzens Grunde 27 St John 19.23–27a 28 Er nahm alles wohl in acht 29 St John 19.27b–30a 30 Es ist vollbracht (Postel) 31 St John 19.30b 32 Mein teurer Heiland (Brockes) 32 Jesu, der du warest tot 33 St Matthew 27.51–52 34 Mein Herz (Brockes) 35 Zerfließe (unknown librettist) 36 St John 19.31–37 37 O hilf Christe, Gottes Sohn 38 St John 19.38–42 39 Ruht wohl (unknown librettist) 40 Ach Herr, laß dein lieb Engelein bach’s stjohnpassion 83

table 5 Libretto of Bach’s St John Passion as performed in 1725 (II)

Madrigalic movements Johannine text Chorales

First Part (Parte Prima) 1 O Mensch, bewein dein Sünde 2 St John 18.1–8 3 O große Lieb 4 St John 18.9–11 5 Dein Will gescheh 6 St John 18.12–15 7 Von den Stricken (Brockes) 8 St John 18.15a 9 Ich folge dir (unknown librettist) 10 St John 18.15b–23 11 Wer hat dich so geschlagen? 11+ Himmel, reiße 12 St John 18.24–27 St Matthew 26.75 13II Zerschmettert mich (unknown) 14 Petrus, der nicht denkt zurück

Sermon on the Burial of Christ Second Part (Parte Secunda) 15 Christus, der uns selig macht 16 St John 18.28–36 17 Ach großer König 18 St John 18.37–19.1 19II Ach windet euch nicht (Postel?) 20 Erwäge (Brockes) 21 St John 19.2–12a 22 Durch dein Gefängnis (Postel) 23 St John 19.12b–17 24 Eilt (Brockes) 25 St John 19.18–22 26 In meines Herzens Grunde 27 St John 19.23–27a 28 Er nahm alles wohl in acht 29 St John 19.27b–30a 30 Es ist vollbracht (Postel) 31 St John 19.30b 32 Mein teurer Heiland (Brockes) 32 Jesu, der du warest tot 33 St Matthew 27.51–52 34 Mein Herz (Brockes) 35 Zerfließe (unknown librettist) 36 St John 19.31–37 37 O hilf Christe, Gottes Sohn 38 St John 19.38–42 39 Ruht wohl (unknown librettist) 40II Christe, du Lamm Gottes 84 chapter 4

3.2 Madrigalic Texts The fact that, in comparison with other Passions, there are very few—a total of only ten—madrigalic reflections, once more underlines the work’s genesis as a successor of the mid-seventeenth-century responsorial Passion with intermedi, rather than more contemporary summa Passionis settings. That there is a great degree of compositional unity in the free poetry sections is further evidence for Wolff’s suggestion that the madrigalic movements may well have been set to music separately from the Biblical text, that is as ‘a through- composed score independent of the chorales and contemplative arias, yet mindful of them’.61 The madrigalic movements of the St John Passion not only provide opportunities for personal reflection on the Biblical Passion story or underline its character as a liturgical work but formed an integral part of Bach’s carefully designed harmonic scheme. In particular in the second part of the Passion, from movement 16 to 27, chorales and arias provide a ‘strong, unifying and well-focused musical architecture by establishing a system of musical correlations’ expressed through increasingly sharp or flat key signatures.62 The intensity of sharp keys in the overall Passion culminates in the middle of the work with the setting of John 19.15b as a dramatic choral fugue in movement 23d Weg, weg mit dem, kreuzige (Away, away with him, crucify). Its four sharps mark the ‘maximum [number of sharps] in Bach’s vocal music’ and therefore represents one of the boldest Affekte in Bach’s range (Affekten-Palette).63 Wolff explains that in this rigorously planned system ‘the interjected chorales and arias function as pillars of harmonic stability [that] also enhance the intensity of expression reflected in the rapid sequence of flat and sharp keys’.64 At the same time, the free poetry maintains a deliberate distance from the narrative, as Butt suggests: ‘The free, meditative elements, particularly the arias, tend to

61 Wolff (1993), p. 133, p. 137. Wolff (2001), p. 292. 62 Wolff (2001), p. 292. Hans Joachim Moser, ‘Zum Bau von Bachs Johannespassion’, Bach- Jahrbuch 29 (1932), pp. 155–157, was one of the first to systematise this key sheme. Dürr (2000), pp. 98–101, provides an extensive assessment of the reception of Bach’s key-scheme from Moser onwards, including a rejection of Chafe’s reading of the scheme as an allegorical reference to the cross in: Eric Chafe, ‘Key Structure and Tonal Allegory in the Passions of Johann Sebastian Bach: An Introduction’, Current Musicology 21 (1981), pp. 39– 54. 63 Wolff (1993), p. 135: ‘Das Maximum in Bachs Vokalmusik’. As Wright observes in the Foreword to this work, ‘A sharp is of course two crosses superimposed’ (p. xvii), and therefore points to the telos of this journey. 64 Wolff (2001), p. 292. bach’s stjohnpassion 85 centrifugally scatter to the outer reaches of the piece, so as not to disturb the relentless events and arguments of the narrative’.65 For the madrigalic reflections of the St John Passion, Bach’s unknown librettist drew on three principal sources: seven movements derive from Hamburg librettist Barthold Heinrich Brockes’ 1712 Derfür dieSündender WeltGemarterte und Sterbende Jesus (Jesus, Suffering and Dying for the Sins of the World), one movement from Zittau schoolmaster Christian Weise’s 1675 Der grünen Jugend nothwendige Gedancken (Necessary Thoughts of a Simple Youth), and two movements from Passion poems by Hamburg lawyer turned librettist Christian Heinrich Postel.66 Both Brockes’Passion and Postel’s poems were the source of a number of popular contemporary summa Passionis libretti that, in the first three decades of the eighteenth century, were set to music by numerous other composers.67 However, even the movements that can with certainty be traced to other contemporary librettists such as Brockes, were significantly reworked by the librettist (see Table 6 below).68 The madrigalic texts that form the basis for arias and ariosos in Bach’s St John Passion provide an opportunity for introspective self-examination of the listener; a soliloquy or interior dialogue that frequently is articulated between a soloist and the chorus and that seeks to provide answers to the believers’ questions and encouragement in the light of their fears. At the same time, arias and ariosos also articulate the believers’ intention to enter into the way of discipleship by taking up their cross and following Jesus, as well as highlight the challenges that result from this commitment (see Table 7 below).

65 John Butt, Bach’s Dialogue with Modernity: Perspectives on the Passions (Cambridge: Uni- versity Press, 2010), p. 40. 66 Brockes (1715), pp. 299–320. Christian Weise, Der grünen Jugend Nothwendige Gedancken denen überflüßigen Gedancken entgegen gesetzt und zu gebührender Nachfolge so wol in gebundenen als ungebundenen Reden allen curiösen Gemüthern recommendiert, von Chris- tian Weisen (Leipzig: Fritsche, 1675). See the discussion in the Commentary Section, below. Although they share the same name, the Thomaspastor Christian Weise Senior and the Zittau schoolmaster are unrelated. 67 Brockes’ libretto was set to music, in turn, by Richard Keiser (1712), George Frederick Han- del (1716), Georg Philipp Telemann (1716), Johann Mattheson (1718), Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel (1725), Johann Friedrich Fasch (1723) and others. Christian Postel’s poems form part of Johann Mattheson’s Das Lied des Lammes (1723) and a St John Passion by the Dresden and Hamburg composer Christian Ritter (1645/5–1725). Glöckler (1977), pp. 114–119, documents that Bach owned copies of Keiser’s, Telemann’s and Handel’s settings of Brockes’ libretto and performed their works in Leipzig. 68 Wherever possible, the commentary section will comment on textual differences between Bach’s libretto and original textual sources. 86 chapter 4 table 6 Known and Unknown sources of Free Poetry in Bach’s St John Passion

Known sources

Barthold Heinrich Brockes 7 Von den Stricken meiner Sünden (From the cords of my sins) 19 Betrachte, meine Seel, mit ängstlichem Vergnügen (Consider, my soul, with anxious delectation) 20 Erwäge, wie sein blutgefärbter Rücken (Contemplate, how his blood-coloured back) 24 Eilt, ihr angefocht’nen Seelen (Hurry, you troubled souls) 32 Mein teurer Heiland, laß dich fragen (My dear Saviour, let me ask you) 34 Mein Herz, indem die ganze Welt (My heart, in whom the whole world) 35 Zerfließe, mein Herze, in Fluten der Zähren (Melt, my heart, in floods of brine)

Christian Weise 13 Ach, mein Sinn (Oh, my reason)

Christian Heinrich Postel 22 Durch dein Gefängnis (Through your prison) 30 Es ist vollbracht! (It is accomplished!)

Unknown Sources

1 Herr, unser Herrscher (Lord, our Lord) 9 Ich folge dir gleichfalls (I follow you equally) 39 Ruht wohl (Rest well)

3.3 Chorales The final layer of reflection in the libretto of Bach’s StJohnPassion is provided by a selection of Passion-tide Chorales that complement the narrative and madrigalic movements of the St John Passion. Ten chorale movements punctuate the libretto providing, as in a Cantata, opportunities for further reflection by the congregation on the events related in music. Axmacher explains the theological intention behind this carefully crafted relationship between Biblical narrative and reflective chorales:

The reflective purpose of the oratorical Passion corresponds to the reformation doctrine of the Word of God: … the Passion of Jesus is entirely contemperanous, and even determines the contemporary human lives in bach’s stjohnpassion 87 table 7 Consolation and Commitment in Arias and Ariosos of Bach’s St John Passion

7 Von den Stricken meiner Sünden (From the cords of my sin) Alto Aria: In order to unbind me, my salvation will be bound— Mich zu entbinden, wird mein Heil gebunden

9 Ich folge dir gleichfalls (I follow you equally) Soprano Aria: And will not let you go— Und lasse dich nicht Do not cease yourself to draw me, prod me, request me— Höre nicht auf, selbst an mir zu ziehen, zu schieben, zu bitten

19 Betrachte, meine Seel, mit ängstlichem Vergnügen (Consider, my soul, with anxious delectation) Bass Arioso: Consider … your highest good in Jesus’ pains— Betrachte … dein höchstes Gut in Jesu Schmerzen

20 Erwäge, wie sein blutgefärbter Rücken (Contemplate, how his blood-coloured back) Tenor Aria: Contemplate … a sign of God’s mercy— Erwäge … Gottes Gnadenzeichen

30 Es ist vollbracht! (It is accomplished!) Alto Aria: O consolation for the injured souls— O Trost vor die gekränkten Seelen

34 Mein Herz, indem die ganze Welt (My heart, in whom the whole world) Alto Arioso: What will you do in your place?— Was willst du deines Ortes tun?

35 Zerfließe, mein Herze, in Fluten der Zähren (Melt, my heart, in floods of brine) Soprano Aria: Melt, my heart, in floods of brine … your Jesus is dead!— Zerfließe, mein Herze, in Fluten der Zähren … dein Jesus ist tot! 88 chapter 4 table 8 Interior Questions and Answers in the Chorus Arias of Bach’s St John Passion

24 Eilt, ihr angefocht’nen Seelen (Hurry, you troubled souls) Bass Aria with Chorus: Fly—where to?—to the hill of the cross: your welfare blossoms there— Flieht—wohin?—zum Kreuzeshügel: eure Wohlfahrt blühet da

32 Mein teurer Heiland, laß dich fragen (My dear Saviour, let me ask you) Bass Aria with Chorus: Have I been set free from dying? … Indeed you bow your head and speak, tacitly: yes— Bin ich vom Sterben frei gemacht? … Doch neigest du das Haupt und sagst stillschweigend: ja.

such a way that all their thoughts and actions have to be understood in terms of participation in the Passion. The contemplative hearers of the Passion immediately understands Jesus’ question to the servant who, at his interrogation, strikes him on the cheek, Why do you strike me then? as addressed to themselves, and confesses: I, I and my sins … have provoked the distress that strikes you.69

Five of the chorales are given added significance through their position in the overall structure of the work. They mark the end of each of the five ‘acts’ of the Passion drama (see Table 8). The Latin titles used to divide the five stages or ‘acts’ (Actus) of St John’s Passion narrative in the table above are derived from ‘an old’ (alten) Latin hexametre cited by Johann Gerhard in his 1611 Erklährung der Histo-/ rien des Leidens vnnd Sterbens vnsers/ HErrn Christi Jesu nach den vier/ Evangelisten (Explanation of the Stories of the Suffering and Death of our LORD Christ Jesus according to the Four Evangelists) (see Table 9 below):70

69 Axmacher (1984), p. 154: ‘Dem reformatorischen Wortverständnis [korrespondiert] die betrachtende Haltung der oratorischen Passion. … Die Passion Jesu ist ganz gegenwärtig, sie bestimmt sogar die Gegenwart des Menschen in solchem Maße, daß all sein Denken und Tun als Teilnahme an ihr verstanden werden muß. Jesu Frage an den Knecht, der ihm beim Verhör einen Backenstreich gibt, Was schlägest Du mich, versteht der die Passion bedenkende Mensch als unmittelbar an sich gerichtet, und er muß bekennen: Ich, ich und meine Sünden … Die haben dir erreget/ Das Elend, das dich schläget’. 70 Johann Gerhard, Erklährung der Histo-/ rien des Leidens vnnd Sterbens vnsers/ HErrn bach’s stjohnpassion 89 table 9 Actus Chorales in Bach’s St John Passion

I Arrest in the Garden—Hortus: 5 Dein Will gescheh’ (Your will be done)

II Trial before the High Priests—Pontifices: 14 Petrus, der nicht denkt zurück (Peter, who does not think back)

III Trial before Pilate—Pilatus: 26 In meines Herzens Grunde (In the depths of my heart)

IV Crucifixion and death on the Cross—Crux: 37 O hilf Christe, Gottes Sohn (Oh help, Christ, God’s Son)

V Burial and Tomb—Sepulchrum: 40 Ach Herr, laß dein lieb Engelein (Oh Lord, let your lovely little angels)

When one divides the entire story into five different acts or chapters/ since Christ was first in the Garden or at the Mount of Olives/ Thereafter/ in the Palace of the High Priests/ thirdly/ the story took place in Pilate’s Court/ then, fourthly/ the story of the Crucifixion/ and fifthly/ follows the burial/ These five acts are incoporated in this little old verse: Hortus, Pontifices, Pilatus, cruxque, sepulchrum (Garden, Chief Priests, Pilate, and cross, tomb).71

Petzoldt suggests that the five Actus chorales were chosen not only to provide a clear structural division of the Passion into five ‘acts’, but also in order to introduce an opportunity for praise and thanksgiving of the Redeemer, again ‘in order to underline or support the character of worship of the St John

Christi Jesu nach den vier/ Evangelisten (Jena: Tobias Steinmann, 1611), p. b ijr. Gerhard probably refers to classical Aristotelian drama, rather than specifically Latin literature, which was also centred on five acts. 71 Gerhard (1611), p. b ijr: ‘Wenn man die gantze Historien abtheilet in fünff unterschiedliche Actus oder Heubthandlungen/ Als war Christo erstlich im Garten am Oelberge/ Vors ander/ im Pallast der Hohenpriester/ vnd vors dritte/ im Richthaus Pilati wiederfahren/ darauff vors vierdte/ die Histori von der Creutzigung/ vnd vors fünffte/ die Begräbnis folget/ wie denn solche fünff Actus in diesem alten Verslein begreiffen: Hortus, Pontifices, Pilatus, cruxque, sepulchrum’. 90 chapter 4 table 10 Petitions from Stockmann’s Passion Chorale in Bach’s St John Passion

Rühre mein Gewissen—Move my Conscience: 14 Petrus, der nicht denkt zurück (Peter, who does not think back) Actus chorale concluding Act II, the Trial before the High Priests section of the Passion

Mensch, mache Richtigkeit—Human, act with Righteousness: 28 Er nahm alles wohl in acht (He took care of everything)

Gib mir nur was du verdient—Give me only what you have deserved: 32 Jesu, der du warest tot (Jesus, you who were dead)

Dir Dankopfer schenken—Present a Thank-offering to you: 37 O hilf Christe, Gottes Sohn (Oh help, Christ, God’s Son) Actus chorale concluding Act IV, the Crucifixion section of the Passion

Passion’.72 Petzoldt terms this a ‘character of thankfulness’ which, while inherent in all five chorales, is made explicit in particular in the final of the five Actus chorales in which believers pray: Dafür, wiewohl arm und schwach/ Dir Dankopfer schenken! (For that, although poor and weak/ [We] present a thank- offering to you).73 Where the five Actus chorales concluding each ‘act’ of the Passion introduce a recurrent sense of thankfulness as the story of the suffering and death of Jesus progresses, the recurrent use of Paul Stockmann’s Jesu Leiden, Tod und Pein (Jesus’ suffering, death and pain), introduces a continued sense of prayer- fulness. Each of the four verses of Stockmann’s chorale used in Bach’s St John Passion introduce a specific petition: first believers ask for contrition, then they are enjoined to act with righteousness, then they pray for a share in Christ’s merits, and finally they ask to become living sacrifices. The fact that two of the three occurrences of Stockmann’s Passion chorale are also placed at the conclusion of each separate ‘act’ of the Passion drama, further underlines their significance (see Table 10). The use of the five Actus chorales and Stockmann’s Passion chorale in Bach’s St John Passion communicate a distinctive message. John’s Passion narrative

72 Petzoldt (1993), pp. 53: ‘Die gottesdienstliche Funktion der Johannes-Passion zu unterstre- ichen oder zu erhalten’. 73 Petzoldt (1993), p. 53: ‘Das Moment der Dankbarkeit’. bach’s stjohnpassion 91 demands a reaction in the lives of believers that, even when confronted with the death of the redeemer, offers grounds for thanksgiving the Actus chorales assure. The use of Stockmann’s petitions, in turn, signals how this thanksgiving can be lived out through metanoia: that is, an act of repentance that invites believers to change their lives in response to the death of Jesus. This radical change is accomplished in four stages: through contrition, by seeking reconcili- tion with God, by trust in God’s promise that all who believe merit redemption and, motivated by this belief and resulting from this metanoia, by leading lives that seek to be living sacrifices to God.

4 The Purpose and Message of Bach’s St John Passion

The separate three layers of reflection—Gospel story, free poetry and chorales —that make up the libretto of Bach’s St John Passion trace the journey of discipleship: John’s Passion narrative retells the historical journey of Jesus to the cross, while the libretto’s free poetry articulates existential questions about the challenges of contemporary discipleship. The chorales chosen by the unknown librettist, in turn, give voice to the believers’ sense of thanksgiving, both for the redemptive action of Jesus Christ, and the possibility of metanoia, of re-orientating the believers’ lives God-ward. Together, these three elements provide a contemporary framework for the historical events of the suffering and death of Jesus that sought to encourage contemporary listeners in Bach’s Leipzig to take ownership of their own shortcomings by recognising their own sinfulness in the actions of the protagonists of the Passion. The sufferings and spite inflicted on Jesus by historical religious and civic authorities, served as examplars of modern-day individual and, possibly, instutional shortcomings. They certainly encourage Bach’s listeners to seek and receive forgiveness for present wrongs. In this way, Jesus’ journey also becomes a journey of faith for Bach’s listening believer. The theological concept of Bach’s unknown librettist closely follows Luther’s own reflections on John’s Passion narrative set down in the 1528 Wochenpredigten über Johannes 16–20 (Weekly Sermons on John 16–20): by following Jesus on the way to the cross, contemporary believers are invited to reconsider the events of Calvary not as a tragic past event, but as a journey to be emulated.74 The libretto of Bach’s St John Passion invites hearers to

74 As numerous Lutheran preachers, including Martin Moller, SOLILOQVIA De Passione Iesu Christi. Wie ein jeder Christen Mensch/ das allerheyligste Leyden vnd Sterben vnsers HERRN 92 chapter 4 enter on the way of metanoia in two ways. Firstly, believers are asked to reframe the historical events of the Way of the Cross by regarding their own present- day shortcomings as the source of Jesus’ suffering.75 Secondly, believers are invited to reframe their own experience of suffering and hardship in the light of Jesus’ suffering; internalise it as an expression of entering into the way of the cross themselves.76 Those that are able to reframe their own experience in this way and change their behaviour accordingly, have accomplished metanoia, the libretto makes clear: they have turned from being listeners to believers who find in the cross the place of their redemption. There, at the foot of the cross, they are enabled to recognise the crucified Jesus as mein Heiland (my Saviour) and an instrument of torture and cruel death as mein Gnadenthron (my throne of mercy). Much of this theological concept is, of course, inherent in St John’s Gospel narrative. For the fourth evangelist the Passion completes the glorification of the incarnate Christ. This is expressed most forcefully in chapter 17 of the Gospel, only moments before Jesus leaves the place of the Last Supper for Gethsemane and the story of the Passion commences. In an extended prayer Jesus reflects how he had shared in the very glory of God (Herrlichkeit) in the Father’s presence ‘before all world existed’ (John 17.5). At the end of the prayer, Jesus asks God that his followers would behold him glorified (verherrlicht, John

Jesu Christ/ in seinem Hertzen bey sich selbst betrachten … sol (Görlitz: Rhambaw, 1587), pp. 5v–6r, make clear: ‘I will consider/ your sacred Cross and suffering … I will carry it in my heart/ for I wish daily/ and without ceasing to contemplate it’ (Da wil ich betrachten/ dein heyliges Creutze vnd Leyden … Ich wils in meinem Hertzen tragen/ Denn ich wil teglich/ vnd ohne vnterlaß daran gedencken). 75 Luther, Wochenpredigten über Johannes 16–20, 1528/29, WA 28: 391, 29–32: ‘Thus Christ is crucified and hangs on the cross as the worst offender, criminal, insurgent and murderer who has ever come to earth. And Christ, the innocent lamb, has to carry and pay for someone else’s guilt. For this is about us, it is our sin that are cast on him. We are such offenders, criminals, insurgents and murderer’ (So wird nun Christus gecreutziget und henget am Creutze als der ergeste Dieb, Schalck, Auffrührer und Mörder der je auff Erden komen ist. Und mus das unschuldige Lemlein Christus frembde Schuld tragen und bezalen. Denn es gilt uns, Es sind unsere Sünde, die ligen jm auff dem halse. Wir sind solche Sünder, Diebe, Schelke, Auffrhürer und Mörder). 76 WA 28: 384, 27–30: ‘Each one of us will need to carry their own cross. I have my gibbet. I carry my own cross. Another has their own gibbet and cross. In the same way Christ carries his own cross, and that cross no one can carry other than Jesus himself’ (Ein jeglicher wird das seine [Kreuz] tragen müssen, Ich habe meinen Galgen, Ich trage mein Creutz, Ein ander hat seinen Galgen und Creutz. Also treget auch Christus sein Creutz, und dasselb kan niemand tragen denn Christus alleine). bach’s stjohnpassion 93

17.24). The fulfilment of Jesus’ prayer is immediate: what ensues is the narrative of his arrest. Unlike human rulers, therefore, who would seek their glory in kingly splendour (Matthew 4.8), this ruler (Herrscher) inverts human values by being ‘enthroned’ on a cross, embracing willingly the greatest self-abasement (die größte Niedrigkeit) imaginable, not out of weakness but rather to reveal God’s power. The second aspect of the libretto’s theological concept, the call on believers to turn around their own lives and to live lives that are obedient to the will of God, also closely follows a principal theme in St John’s Gospel. There, the understanding that the glory of God is most closely revealed in Christ’s obedience to will of his Father, recurs frequently. On numerous occasions, Jesus claims that others sought glory for the purpose of self-aggrandisement (John 5.41, 8.50), but that he only ever sought the glory that came from the God who sent him and on whose behalf he acted (John 5.44). John is certain that, as the Son of God, Jesus fully shares in the eternal glory of the Creator (John 1.14) and that, following his ministry on earth, he will return to that glory (John 17.5). While this divine glory shines through in the signs he performs (for example in John 2.11), on earth Christ is glorified first of all by fulfilling the Father’s will (John 8.54), ‘the glory of Jesus is thus dependent upon both his essential relationship with God, and his obedience’.77 Likewise, for Jesus’ followers, obedience to the will of God is essential, the libretto of Bach’s St John Passion echoes the Johannine Gospel narrative: Gib uns Geduld in Leidenszeit/ gehorsam sein in Lieb und Leid (Give us patience in the time of suffering/ to be obedient in love and suffering). The libretto of Bach’s St John Passion articulates well John’s perception of glory as Jesus’ fulfilment of the Father’s will; a glorification that is most completely expressed in Jesus’ suffering and death. Jesus himself says that he will be glorified in his betrayal (John 13.31) and his death on the cross (John 12.23– 25). Consequently, when Jesus is ‘lifted up’ he is not exalted to the glory of the heavenly kingdom, but rather is subjected to an ignominious death (John 3.14 and 12.32f). It is precisely by fulfilling the will of the Father (John 8.28), who chose to give up his only Son (John 3.16), that the unique relationship between God and Christ is shown: by dying so that the world may be saved, Jesus is revealed to all as God’s only-begotten Son and, in turn, reveals God as a loving Father (John 1.14 and 3.16–17): ‘It is a death that achieves glorification, and the crucified Jesus is proclaimed as king in the principal languages of the

77 Charles Kingsley Barrett, The Gospel according to Saint John (London: SPCK, 1978), p. 166. 94 chapter 4 world’ (John 19.19–20).78 This glorification continued in the ascension of Jesus to the Father (John 20.17), which, for John, includes the resurrection. Again, the libretto of Bach’s St John Passion includes the post-resurrection dimension inherent in John’s Gospel narrative: in movement 32, Mein teurer Heiland (My dear Saviour), death, resurrection and the consequent possibility that believers may das Himmelreich ererben (the kingdom of heaven inherit), are skilfully intertwined. The libretto of Bach’s St John Passion not only gives voice to the evangelist’s theological concepts but to Luther’s reformation reception of the Gospel: the self-abasement of God through Christ stands at the heart of Luther’s Theology of the Cross. Luther further developed the Johannine concept of God’s glory as uniquely revealed in Christ’s suffering and death, by professing that the only way human beings can come to know God is through the cross. For Luther, God can never fully be discerned by human investigation of the physical world, not even by examining Scripture or divine laws. God is known in the ‘humility and shame of the Cross’, and revealed in the suffering face of Jesus Christ (John 14.9).79 Echoing this insight, in movement 26 of Bach’s St John Passion, the same suffering face is upheld as an image zu Trost in meiner Not (for consolation in my adversity) for each believer. John’s paradox that Jesus was glorified in his utter debasement formed the core of Luther’s theology: God’s divinity remains hidden in the crucifixion of Jesus. Just as God does not show his face in the divine revelations of the first covenant (for example when revealing himself to Moses in Exo- dus 33.23), so Luther believed God essentially to be a ‘hidden God’ (Deus absconditus), who can only ever be comprehend by our faith in Jesus Christ.80

78 Raymond E. Brown, The Gospel according to John: Introduction, Translation and Notes, Anchor Bible, 2 vols (London: Geoffrey Chapman, 1971), 2: XIII–XXI, p. 541. 79 Luther, Disputatio Heidelbergae habita, 1518, WA 1: 362, 11–14: ‘Thus it is never enough nor does it profit anyone who regards God in glory and majesty and does not recognise him in the humility and ignominy of the cross. In this way “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise etc.” [1Corinthians 1.19]. As Isaiah says: “Truly you are a hidden God” [Isaiah 45.15].’ (Ita ut nulli iam satis sit ac prosit, qui cognoscit Deum in gloria et maiestate, nisi cognoscat eundem in humilitate et ignominia crucis. Sic perdit sapientiam sapientum &c sicut Isaias dicit: Vere absconditus tu es Deus). Alister E. McGrath, Luther’s Theology of the Cross (Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1993), especially pp. 148–175, still provides one of the most insightful introductions on Luther’s Theology of the Cross in English. 80 WA 1: 357, 4: ‘We live in the absence of God, that is, only by faith in his mercy’ (Vivimus in absconditio Dei, id est, in nuda fiducia misericordiae eius). In a 1517 Sermon on St Matthias’s Day, Luther summed up this paradox, Sermo Die Sancti Matthiae Anno 1517, WA 1: 138, 13–15: ‘Man hides his own things in order to conceal them, God hides his own bach’s stjohnpassion 95

Alister McGrath attempts to explain the complexity at the heart of this doctrine:

This revelation must be regarded as indirect and concealed. This is one of the most difficult aspects of the theologia crucis (Theology of the Cross) to grasp: how can one speak of a concealed revelation? … The ‘friends of the cross’ know that beneath the humility and shame of the cross lie concealed the power and the glory of God—but to others, this insight is denied.81

Where human logic can grasp only with difficulty how divine power can be displayed in weakness, only faith can perceive that God deliberately chooses to be made known in the Passion and cross. For Martin Luther, ‘therefore, true theology and knowledge of God are found in Christ crucified’.82 In Bach’s libretto, this paradox is particularly well expressed in the imposing opening movement, juxtaposing the glorification of the Saviour auch in der größten Niedrigkeit (even in the deepest lowliness). By the time the libretto of Bach’s St John Passion was compiled, Luther’s core belief that God in Christ emptied himself in order to be known by the believer, first in the Incarnation and fully in his suffering and death, has become the central theme of numerous later Lutheran reflections on the Passion. Johann Jakob Rambach, a direct contemporary of Bach and a leading Piestist theologian, offers a reflection which, like the opening chorus of the St John Passion, takes the form of a prayer to the kenotoic, self-emptying, Christ:

O faithful and living Saviour, Lord Jesus Christ, praised be your fervent love beyond all human reason, which caused you to descend from your throne of glory— where you had been adored by all the angels, and worshipped by all the Cherubim and Seraphin— in order to exchange greatest glory for deepest lowliness, utmost bliss for greatest sorrow and highest pleasure for utmost pain.83

things in order to reveal them’ (Homo abscondit sua ut neget: Deus abscondit sua ut revelet). 81 McGrath (1993), pp. 149–150. 82 WA 1: 362, 18–19: ‘Ergo in Christo crucifixo est vera Theologia et cognitio Dei’. 83 Johann Jakob Rambach, Betrachtungen über die Sieben letzten Worte des gecreutzigten Jesu 96 chapter 4

The libretto of Bach’s St John Passion powerfully relates through music the Lutheran reception of the Johannine Passion narrative, as well as John’s understanding of the cross as the place of true glory, and suffering and humiliation as true glorification. John’s expectation that the reading and hearing of his Gospel story might bring about metanoia and conversion, ‘so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name’ (John 20.31), is clearly shared by the libretto of Bach’s Passion, and is expressed effectively through his music. Luther had foreseen that sermo et vox, word and voice together, could provide a profoundly moving means of proclamation the Gospel message.84 The libretto of Bach’s St John Passion and the composer’s detailed musical word-setting accomplished Luther’s vision, combining Lutheran homiletic skills and contemporary musical techniques, which themselves are ‘associated with the sorts of rhetorical device employed in sermons and therefore directly connected to theological purposes’, in order to amplify the preached Gospel message.85 The ensuing commentary provides a detailed analysis of the libretto and music of Bach’s St John Passion in order to offer further insights into how Bach’s music can serve as a fundamental vehicle to communicate John’s Passion story with the view to effect a personal response in the listener.

(Halle: Waisenhaus, 1732), p. 98: ‘Nun du treuer und lebendiger Heyland/ Herr Jesu Christe/ gelobet sey deine brünstige und allen Begriff übersteigende Liebe/ die dich bewogen hat/ von dem Thron deiner Herrlichkeit/ da du von allen Engeln verehret/ und von allen Cerubinen und Seraphinen angebettet wurdest/ und die höchste Ehre mit der tieffsten Schmach/ die höchste Freude mit der grösten Traurigkeit/ die höchste Vergnügung mit den äussersten Schmertzen/ zu verwechseln’. 84 Luther, Praefatio zu den Symphoniae Iucundae, 1538, WA 50: 732, 1. 85 Butt (2010), p. 40. part ii Commentary

∵

chapter 5 Introduction to the Commentary

Bach’s autograph score and Arthur Mendel’s 1973 Neue Bachausgabe Passio Secundum Johannem (BWV 245) form the textual and musical basis for this commentary; it is highly recommended that readers make use of the full score rather than the piano reduction when consulting this commentary.1 The autograph score and the editor’s Kritischer Bericht on the work have been consulted in conjunction with the score.2 The Kritischer Bericht provides a wealth of further background information on the development and transmission of the work. While reference is made to a number of the variants of the 1725 version (II) reproduced in the appendix to Mendel’s edition, on the whole the commentary is based on the more familiar 1724 version (I).

1 Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes-Passion BWV 245, ed. by Arthur Mendel, Neue Bach- Ausgabe Serie II: Messen, Passionen, oratorische Werke, 5 vols (Kassel: Bärenreiter, 1973), IV [cited as NBA 245]. 2 Herr unser Herrscher etc./ G m./ Passions-Oratorium nach dem Evangelisten Johannes/ für 4 Singst: mit Instrum./ von/ Johann Sebastian Bach./ Zum Theil eigenhändige Partitur, Staats- bibliothek Preußischer Kulturbesitz, Berlin, Mus. MS Bach P 28; idem, Johannes-Passion BWV 245, ed. by Arthur Mendel, Neue Bach-Ausgabe Serie II: Messen, Passionen, oratorische Werke, 5 vols (Kassel: Bärenreiter, 1974), IV: Kritischer Bericht von Arthur Mendel [cited as Kri- tischer Bericht].

Katherine Firth*

The libretto has been translated specially for this commentary by Dr Katherine Firth. Firth’s translation aims to be as close to the word choice, grammar, sequence and structure of the original libretto as possible, within the bounds of comprehensible English. The translated recitatives are loosely based on the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, but extensively revised both to maintain consistency of translation across the free verse and the Biblical texts, and to achieve a closer translation of Luther’s German (for instance in John 18.1b, where the NRSV’s ‘Kidron valley’ has been changed to ‘Kidron stream’ to reflect Luther’s Bach Kidron). It retains the German transliteration of Greek or Jewish names (for instance ‘Hannas’ instead of ‘Annas’, ‘Barrabas’ rather than ‘Barabbas’, and ‘Arimathia’ rather than ‘Arimathea’) except for central characters such as Caiaphas and Pilate. This should enable readers with little or no command of German to recognise words emphasised by the German poetry, such as rhyme words, ends of lines and repetitions. Wherever possible, the translation is line by line, to facilitate comparison between the libretto and the translation. Wherever Bach’s movements cut across Bible verse divisions, these have been subdivided. Bach’s unknown librettist and compositor probably adapted a 1707 edition of Martin Luther’s translation of the Bible to serve as the Scriptural basis for the work.1 Significant differences between Luther’s translation and the Johannine Greek (such as John 19.3, where Luther inserts lieber, ‘beloved’/‘dear’, to the soldiers’ mocking greeting, ‘Hail, King of the Jews’) have been highlighted in

* Dr Katherine Firth is is Visiting Research Fellow at Trinity College, the University of Mel- bourne and teaches at the University of Melbourne. She has published widely on twentieth- century poetry. Her commissioned libretti have been performed in the United Kingdom and Australia, including by the choirs of Trinity College, Cambridge; Westminster Abbey, London; Trinity College, Melbourne; and the Oriana Chorale, Canberra. 1 Martin Luther, tr., BIBLIA, Das ist: Die gantze Heilige Schrifft Altes und Neuen Testaments verteutscht durch D. Martin Luthern (Leipzig: N. Haas, 1707), see especially the discussion in Mendel (1974), pp. 157–160, p. 160: ‘the closest match is that of the 1707 edition’ (am nächsten steht er noch bei der Bibel von 1707).

© koninklijke brill nv, leiden, 2014 | doi: 10.1163/9789004272361_008 study translation 101 the commentary. The libretto varies from Luther’s original in a number of places (such as the omission auff Ostern, ‘at the Passover’,in John 18.39a). These variations might suggest that the librettist, or Bach himself, used multiple editions of the text, or that made simple ‘slips of the pen’ in copying the text, or that ‘in minor instances Bach presumably adapted the text of his source of his own accord’.2 The librettist seems to have been responding to, and consciously echoing, the Biblical texts in the free poetry of the arias and choruses, and in the selection and alterations of the chorales. Thus, where words are repeated, or are cognate variations, they are translated by the same English root word (for instance, Blicke and blickten are rendered ‘a look’ and ‘looked’ throughout the libretto). Where the librettist makes a distinction, that distinction is retained in the translation (for instance, Stricken and gebunden is rendered ‘cords’ and ‘bound’, rather than ‘bonds’ and ‘bound’). The translation therefore demonstrates that, although Bach composed the madrigalic texts seperately to the Biblical recitative, the librettist wrote or composited the text as a whole, because the librettist clusters words together through repeating words and cognates in both the free verse and the Biblical narrative. This clustering is used both in small sections across a few movements, and across the libretto as a whole; both for minor grammatical forms such as interjections like zwar (indeed) or O, and high level concepts such as Trost (consolation), thus building up layers and connections in meaning across the texts. This kind of translation therefore allows the reader to make those connections and distinctions across the libretto. For example, after the Crucifixion in the final nine movements of the Passion, the libretto uses two different words for ‘body’. Leichnam (corpse) is used once of the bodies of the all those crucified (John 19.31) and three times of Jesus’ body, specifically in his burial (John 19.38– 39). This underlines the emphasis in the free poetry that frames this moment, that Dein Jesus ist tot! (Your Jesus is dead!) (movements 32, Mein teurer Heiland, laß dich fragen; 34, Mein Herz, in dem die ganze Welt; 35, Zerfließe, mein Herze, in FlutenderZähren). Although there is an interposed response in MeinteurerHei- land, that ‘Jesu … Lebest nun ohne Ende’ (Jesus … you live now without end), this reference to Jesus’ ressurection is not repeated. On the other hand, in the inter- polated verses from Matthew’s Gospel, the Leiber der Heiligen (bodies of the

2 Kritischer Bericht, p. 160: ‘Wahrscheinlich änderte Bach auch den Text seiner Vorlage in Kleinigkeiten eigenmächtig’; ibid. ‘Presumably most of the presumed variants, if not all of them, are mere slips of the pen’ (Wahrscheinlich sind die meisten unter den mutmaßlichen Veränderungen, wenn nicht gar alle, bloße Flüchtigkeitsfehler). 102 firth saints) arise (Matthew 27.52). Leib (body) is used for these bodies and for the body of the faithful believer asleep in its casket awaiting the last day (in movement 40, AchHerr,laßdeinliebEngelein). Thus we can see that Leib is used of bodies that experience, or expect to experience, resurrection, but Leichnam is used for bodies that are expected to stay dead. This helps us to understand what Bach and his collaborators wanted to leave the audience at Good Friday at the end of the Passion performance. On the other hand, Stück (strip, piece) is used only twice in the libretto, seperated by a dozen movements. Once in movement 20, Erwäge, wie sein blutgefärbter Rücken, where each allen Stücken (every strip or stripe) of Jesus’ flogged back dem Himmel gleiche geht (goes equally, or straight, to Heaven); and once in the interpolation from Matthew 27.51 in movement 33, where the curtain in the Temple at the moment of Crucifixion is zerriß in zwei Stück (torn in two strips, or pieces). The curtain divides the Temple from the Holy of Holies where God dwells. Thus the repeated word creates a linguistic and theological parallel, where the destruction of Christ’s body enables the believer to access the home of God. In order to respect such patterning, the translation differentiates between seemingly small differences in words. For example, sagen (say or tell), sprechen (speak or declare) and reden (address), along with antworten (answer) and fragen (ask), are often translated interchangeably. However, by differentiating them, it becomes evident that things are ‘said’ or ‘told’ in conversation, ‘spoken’ more as a declaration, and ‘addressed’ to a defined audience. This underlines the way in which much of the dialogue in the Passion is actually just alternat- ing speeches before the crowd, particularly in the interchanges between Jesus and Pilate. In other places, particularly with reden, the distinctions seem to be less significant. However, by maintaining the distinctions in the translation, scholars who do not speak German are able to make that judgement for themselves. Firth’s translation endeavours to leave the language open to the multiple interpretations inherent in the German poetry, by preferring neutral translations. The libretto’s original poetry is designed to be open and rich with potential meanings which allows context, performance and musical setting to provide interpretation. The imperative blicke in chorale movement 14, Peter, der nicht denkt zurück, is translated as ‘look’ ( Jesu, blicke mich auch an—Jesus, also look at me). To translate blicke as ‘gaze’, ‘glance’ or ‘stare’ (as other translations have done) is to impose a singular meaning on a moment in the Passion that can have any one of those (or more) meanings depending on the interpretation or performance. Even when conceptual additions are strongly implied by allusion to Biblical or liturgical texts, the translation avoids incorporating these study translation 103 into the choice of words; this is left to the commentary. For instance, although the word Marterstraße clearly refers to the Via Dolorosa, or ‘way of suffering’, it is rendered ‘road of torture’ because the German libretto differentiates between torture (Marter) and suffering (Leiden) later in the strophe, and elsewhere in the libretto. Some of the seemingly awkward translations in fact mark discontinuities in the Biblical narrative, or strikingly awkward moments in the German texts. An example is the frequent use of aber (but) to mark transitions in the exchanges between Jesus, Pilate and the Jews, which are often translated in ways that create continuity and logical progression, such as ‘then’ and ‘since’. However, the German text uses aber (but) as a tag at, or near, the beginning of a sentence to show that what is reported next is not a natural progression, but sometimes an antagonistic response, sometimes a break (for example when the narrative cuts to another group of people, or to another location), or another dis- junction. For example, after Pilate has stated ‘What I have written, that I have written’ (John 19.22), and the chorus has reflected on the cross of Christ deep in their heart (movement 26, In meines Herzens Grunde), the next scene is a shocking transition, the division of Christ’s clothes by the mercenary (Roman foot) soldiers (John 19.23). This transition is therefore marked by aber. Else- where, the use of da (there) marks that the place of the action has moved or is significant; and denn (then) that the time of the speech or act is significant.3 The translation is extensively annotated to provide more detailed notes about possible multiple meanings in German and further explanation not contained in the commentary section. The translation focuses on the poetic language and meaning of the original text, rather than trying to render the English in a poetic or performative manner. For this reason, we believe this to be the most literal, scholarly and systematic version of the full libretto available in English to date.

3 The prepositions da and denn have a large semantic field beyond their use at the beginning of sentences. When not being used as a place tag, denn, for example, is translated ‘since’ where it signifies logical progression; and in other places it suggests ‘if’ or ‘than’. 104 firth

1. PRIMA PARTE EXORDIUM 1. Chorus Chorus (Flute I/II, Oboe I/II, Violin I/II, Viola, Continuo)

Herr, unser Herrscher,4 Lord, our Lord, dessen Ruhm5 in allen Landen herrlich6 ist! whose fame in all lands is noble! Zeig uns durch deine Passion, Show us through your Passion, daß du, der wahre Gottessohn, that you, the true Son of God, zu aller Zeit, for all time, auch in der größten Niedrigkeit,7 even in the deepest lowliness, verherrlicht8 worden bist. have been made noble.

I. HORTUS—JESUS IN THE GARDEN OF GETHSEMANE9 2a. Recitativo Recitative—Evangelist (tenor), Jesus (bass), Continuo

Evangelist Evangelist Johannes 18,1b Jesus ging mit seinen Jüngern John 18.1b Jesus went out with his disciples über den Bach10 Kidron, da war ein Garte[n], across the Kidron stream, there was a garden, darein ging Jesus und seine Jünger. into which went Jesus and his disciples.

4 Herr, Herrscher: Herrlich is the adjective, ‘noble’, verherrlicht, is the verb ‘to be ennobled’, unlike in English, where ‘lord’ can be title, position, adjective or verb. The poetry in the St John Passion plays on patterns, variations and repetitions of the same words. See also the use of Herr in movements 1, 5, 13, 26, 32 and 40. 5 Ruhm: ‘fame’ or ‘praise’. The German Ruhm has only positive connotations, and can also mean ‘glorification’. It is thus closer to the Greek kleos than the Latin, and double edged, fama, which can mean equally famous and infamous. 6 Herrlich is cognate with Herrscher and Herr. It suggests nobility, exaltedness, honour, glory. 7 Niedrigkeit with Herrlichkeit is one of the major pairings of the Passion lyrics: high and low, nobility and humility. It is based on the theological idea of kenosis, the self-emptying as the highest God stoops to the deepest lowliness. Niedrigkeit can suggest being ‘brought low’ or ‘humiliated’. 8 Verherrlicht is cognate with Herrscher, Herr, and herrlich. 9 For the Latin hexameter, ‘hortus, pontifices, Pilatus cruxque, sepulchrum’ (garden, priests, Pilate and cross, sepulchre), providing the structure of translation and commentary, see: Johann Gerhardt, Erklährung der Histo-/ rien des Leidens vnnd Sterbens vnsers/ HErrn Christi Jesu nach den vier/ Evangelisten (Jena: Tobias Steinmann, 1611), p. b ijr. 10 Bach means ‘stream’ and is the composer’s own name. study translation 105

18,2 Judas aber, der ihn verriet, wußte den Ort 18.2 Judas, who betrayed him, also knew the auch, denn Jesus versammelte sich oft daselbst place, since Jesus often met there with his mit seinen Jüngern. disciples.

18,3 Da nun Judas zu sich hatte genommen 18.3 Then, when Judas had brought the troops die Schar11 und der Hohenpriester12 und Pharisäer and the servants of the chief priests Diener, kommt er dahin mit Fackeln, Lampen and the Pharisees, he came there with und mit Waffen. lanterns, torches and with weapons.

18,4 Als nun Jesus wußte alles, was ihm begegnen 18.4 At that time, Jesus, knowing everything sollte, ging er hinaus und sprach zu ihnen: that should happen to him, went out and said to them:

Jesus Jesus Wen suchet ihr? Whom do you seek?

Evangelist Evangelist 18,5 Sie antworteten ihm: 18.5 They answered him:

2b. Coro Chorus (Flute I/II, Oboe I/II, Violin I/II, Viola, Continuo)

Johannes 18,5a Jesum von Nazareth. John 18.5a Jesus of Nazareth.

2c. Recitativo Evangelist—tenor, Jesus—bass, continuo

Evangelist Evangelist Johannes 18,5b Jesus spricht zu ihnen: John 18.5b Jesus said to them:

Jesus Jesus Ich bins. I am he.

Evangelist Evangelist Judas aber, der ihn verriet, But Judas, who betrayed him, stund auch bei ihnen. was also standing with them.

11 Schar: troops, used both of an informal group of armed men, a group of police and formal cohort of soldiers under an Oberhauptmann (captain). It is contrasted only with the Roman soldiers, Kriegesknechte. 12 Hohenpriester: ‘chief priests’, ‘high priests’. The translation distinguishes between the Hohenpriester (chief priests) and the Hohepriester (high priest). 106 firth

18,6 Als nun Jesus zu ihnen sprach: 18.6 When Jesus said to them: ‘Ich bins’, wichen13 sie zurücke ‘I am he’, they moved back und fielen zu Boden. and fell to the ground.

18,7 Da fragete er sie abermal: 18.7 There he asked them again:

Jesus Jesus Wen suchet ihr? Whom do you seek?

Evangelist Evangelist Sie aber sprachen: But they spoke:

2d. Coro e Recitativo Chorus and Recitative (Oboe I/II, Violin I/II, Viola, Continuo), Evangelist—tenor, Jesus—bass

Johannes 18,7b Jesum von Nazareth. John 18.7b Jesus of Nazareth.

Evangelist Evangelist 18,8 Jesus antwortete: 18.8 Jesus answered:

Jesus Jesus Ich habs euch gesagt, daß ichs sei, I have told you, that I am he, suchet ihr denn mich, so lasset diese gehen! If you are seeking me, then let these go!

3. Choral Chorale (Flutes I/II, Oboe I and Violin I with Sopranos; Oboe II, Violin II with Altos; Viola with Tenors; Continuo with Basses)

O große Lieb, o Lieb ohn alle Maße,14 O greater love, O love beyond all measure, die dich gebracht auf diese Marterstraße!15 that brought you to this road of torture!

13 Wichen: ‘moved’, ‘gave way’, ‘yielded’. 14 This chorale contains many of the key words used in the free poetry of the Passion. In particular, it sets up the Lieb and Leid (‘love’ and ‘suffering’) dichotomy. Here, Lieb and Leid are mirrored: the two words are very similar in spelling and speaking, ‘l’, a long diphthong and a plosive consonant. Yet, they have opposite meanings (which are paradoxically brought together in the cross of Christ). This choral also introduces the Marter and Freude (‘torture’ and ‘happiness’) dichotomy. 15 Marter: ‘intentionally inflicted suffering’. Straße: ‘road’, ‘path’. Marterstraße refers at once to the actual Via Dolorosa through Jerusalem, and the metaphorical pathway or Straße through the Passion narrative. study translation 107

Ich lebte mit der Welt in Lust16 und Freuden, I lived with the world in happiness and joy, und du mußt leiden.17 and you must suffer.

4. Recitativo Recitative—Evangelist (tenor), Jesus (bass), continuo

Evangelist Evangelist Johannes 18,9 Auf daß das Wort erfüllet würde, John 18.9 So that the words would be fulfilled welches er sagte: that he had spoken: ‘Ich habe der keine verloren, ‘I have lost none of those die du mir gegeben hast’. whom you gave me’.

18,10 Da hatte Simon Petrus ein Schwert 18.10 There Simon Peter had a sword, und zog es aus and drew it out, und schlug nach des Hohenpriesters Knecht and struck at the high priest’s slave, und hieb him sein recht Ohr ab; and took off his right ear. und der Knecht hieß Malchus. And the slave was called Malchus.

18,11 Da sprach Jesus zu Petro: 18.11 There Jesus spoke to Peter:

Jesus Jesus Stecke dein Schwert in die Scheide! Put your sword in its scabbard. Soll ich den Kelch nicht trinken, Shall I not drink the cup den mir mein Vater gegeben hat? that the Father has given me?

5. Choral Chorale (Flutes I/II, Oboe I and Violin I with Sopranos; Oboe II, Violin II with Altos; Viola with Tenors; Continuo with Basses)

Dein Will gescheh, Herr18 Gott, zugleich19 Your will be done, Lord God, equally auf Erden wie im Himmelreich, on earth as in the kingdom of heaven. Gib uns Geduld in Leidenszeit, Give us patience in the time of suffering, gehorsam sein in Lieb und Leid;20 to be obedient in love and suffering;

16 Lust: both ‘happiness’ and ‘that which I desire to do’, suggesting individual human desires and happiness, rather than the deeper joy of serving God. 17 Leiden: Leiden and Marter have similar meanings, but the lyricist uses different words. Compare their uses in movements 3, 5, 20 (1749 version IV), 28, 34 and 37. The verb tense changes here from the past (brought, lived) to the imperative present (must suffer). 18 For Herr: ‘Lord’, see movement 1. 19 Zugleich: ‘equally’, more exactly ‘just as in heaven’. 20 See movement 3. 108 firth wehr und steur21 allem Fleisch und Blut, defend and guide all flesh and blood, das wider deinen Willen tut!22 that acts against your will!

II. PONTIFICES—JESUS BEFORE THE CHIEF PRIESTS 6. Recitativo Recitative—Evangelist (tenor), continuo

Evangelist Evangelist Johannes 18,12 Die Schar aber und der John 18.12 But the troops, their captain, Oberhauptmann und die Diener der Jüden and the servants of the Jews nahmen Jesum und bunden ihn took Jesus and bound him

18,13 und führeten ihn aufs erste zu Hannas, 18.13 and led him first to Hannas, der war Kaiphas Schwäher, who was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, welcher des Jahres Hoherpriester war. who was the high priest that year.

18,14 Es war aber Kaiphas, der den Jüden riet, 18.14 But it was Caiaphas who had advised es wäre gut, daß ein Mensch würde the Jews that it were better that one umbracht23 für das Volk. person would be broken for the people.

7. Aria Alto (Oboe I/II, Continuo)

Von den Stricken24 meiner Sünden From the cords of my sins, mich zu entbinden,25 in order to unbind me, wird mein Heil26 gebunden.27 my salvation will be bound. Mich von allen Lasterbeulen From all the boils of vice, völlig zu heilen28 in order to fully heal me, läßt29 er sich verwunden. he lets himself be wounded.

21 Steur: ‘guide’, more exactly ‘steer’ or ‘helm a ship’. 22 Tut: ‘acts’, has the sense to work, perform, or to have dealings with. 23 Umbracht: to ‘break down’,to ‘plough up’ a field. Here it reflects both the execution of Jesus on the cross and the breaking of the bread in the Eucharist. 24 Stricken: ‘cords’ or ‘ropes’. 25 Entbinden: ‘unbind’. More often ‘released’, ‘delivered’, but cognate with ‘gebunden’. 26 Mein Heil: ‘my salvation’ indirectly refers to Christ as Saviour. Heil means both ‘salvation’ and ‘health’ or ‘healing’. 27 Mich zu entbinden/ wird mein Heil gebunden: ‘in order to unbind me/ my salvation will be bound’, may be confusing in this order but means, ‘in order to release me from sin/ my salvation will be tied up’. 28 Heilen: ‘heal’, cognate with Heil. 29 Läßt: ‘let’ means both ‘to allow oneself’ but and ‘to let go’ or ‘to set free’. Läßt is a homonym study translation 109

8. Recitativo Recitative—Evangelist (tenor), continuo

Evangelist Evangelist Johannes 18,15a Simon Petrus aber folgete Jesu John 18.15a But Simon Peter followed after nach und ein andrer Jünger. Jesus and another disciple.

9. Aria Sporano (Flute I/II, Continuo)

Ich folge dir gleichfalls30 mit freudigen31 Schritten I follow you equally with joyful steps und lasse32 dich nicht and will not let you go mein Leben, mein Licht. my life, my light. Befördre33 den Lauf Take me on the way und höre nicht auf and do not cease selbst34 an mir zu ziehen, zu schieben, zu bitten.35 yourself to draw me, prod me, request me.

10. Recitativo Recitative—Evangelist (tenor), Ancilla (soprano), Petrus (bass), Jesus (bass), Servus (tenor), continuo

Evangelist Evangelist Johannes 18,15b Derselbige Jünger war John 18.15b That same disciple was dem Hohenpriester bekannt known to the high priest und ging mit Jesu hinein and went with Jesus into in des Hohenpriesters Palast. the palace of the high priest.

18,16 Petrus aber stund draußen für der Tür. 18.16 But Peter was standing outside in front of the door. Da ging der andere Jünger, There the other disciple, der dem Hohenpriester bekannt war, who was known to the high priest,

with Laster, ‘vice’, ‘iniquity’. The mirroring here brings together human sin and sickness with Christ’s gracious willingness to take that sin on himself in order to bring healing. 30 Gleichfalls: ‘equally’ or ‘likewise’, similar to zugleich in chorale movement 5. See also movements 30, 32. 31 Freude: ‘joy’, see also movements 3, 9, 20 (1749 version IV), 40. 32 Lasse: ‘to let go’, ‘to set free’, see note 31 above. 33 Befördre: ‘transport’, ‘convey’, ‘carry’. 34 Selbst: ‘you yourself, O Christ, draw me, prod me, request me’. 35 Bitten: ‘to plead’, ‘to request’, ‘to entreat’. 110 firth hinaus und redete mit der Türhüterin36 went out and addressed the gatekeeper und führete Petrum hinein. and led Peter in.

18,17 Da sprach die Magd, die Türhüterin, zu Petro: 18.17 There the maid, the gatekeeper, said to Peter:

Ancilla Maid Bist du nicht dieses Menschen37 Are you not one of this person’s Jünger einer? disciples?

Evangelist Evangelist Er sprach: He said:

Petrus Peter Ich bins nicht. I am not.

Evangelist Evangelist 18,18 Es stunden aber die Knechte und Diener 18.18 But the slaves and servants standing und hatten ein Kohlfeu’r gemacht (denn es war kalt) there had made a charcoal fire (since it was und wärmeten sich. cold) and were warming themselves. Petrus aber stund bei ihnen But Peter stood with them, und wärmete sich. and was warming himself.

18,19 Aber der Hohepriester fragete 18.19 But the high priest asked Jesum um seine Jünger und um seine Lehre. Jesus about his disciples and about his teaching.

18,20 Jesus antwortete ihm: 18.20 Jesus answered him:

Jesus Jesus Ich habe frei, öffentlich geredet für der Welt. I have freely, openly addressed the world; Ich habe allezeit gelehret I have always taught in der Schule und in dem Tempel, in the synagogue and in the temple, da alle Juden zusammenkommen, where all the Jews come together, und habe nichts im Verborgnen38 geredt.39 and have spoken nothing in secret.

18,21 Was fragest du mich darum? 18.21 Why do you ask me therefore? Frage die darum, die gehöret haben, Ask therefore those who heard

36 In German, it is clear that the gatekeeper is female. 37 Menschen: ‘person’, ‘human’, ‘mankind’, ‘man’. 38 Verborgnen: ‘hiddenness’, ‘secret’, ‘concealment’. 39 Lit.: ‘made no address in concealment’. study translation 111 was ich zu ihnen geredet40 habe! what I addressed to them! Siehe, dieselbigen wissen, was ich gesaget habe. Behold, they know what I said.

Evangelist Evangelist 18,22 Als er aber solches redete, 18.22 But when he had made such an address, gab der Diener einer, die dabeistunden, one of the servants who was standing nearby Jesu einen Backenstreich und sprach: struck Jesus’ face, and spoke:

Servus Servant Solltest du dem Hohenpriester also antworten? Is that how you should answer the high priest?

Evangelist Evangelist 18,23 Jesus aber antwortete: 18.23 But Jesus answered:

Jesus Jesus Hab ich übel geredt.41 If I have addressed [him] wickedly, so beweise es, daß es böse sei, then prove it, that it is evil. hab ich aber recht geredt, but if I have addressed [him] rightly, was schlägest du mich? why do you strike me?

11. Choral Chorale (Flutes I/II, Oboe I and Violin I with Sopranos; Oboe II, Violin II with Altos; Viola with Tenors; Continuo with Basses)

Wer hat dich so42 geschlagen.43 Who had struck you so, mein Heil,44 und dich mit Plagen my salvation and with troubles so übel zugericht’?45 so battered you? Du bist ja nicht ein Sünder You are indeed not a sinner

40 Reden: ‘Talked’, ‘addressed’, ‘conversed’. In the libretto, it seems to function more like ‘sprachen’ (speak, make a speech) than like ‘sagen’ (said, talked). 41 In the libretto, reden usually suggests an address to a present or implied audience, who is identified (unlike sprachen which can be more generally used). 42 So: ‘in this manner’. 43 This stanza repeats words from the previous verse in the recitative: ‘schlägest’ and ‘geschlagen’ (to strike), ‘übel’ (wicked). 44 Heil: ‘salvation’, ‘healing’. As in movement 7, Heil is used to contrast both with penal imagery (binding, corporal punishment) where it suggests release; and with pain or sickness imagery (boils, wounds) where it suggests healing. 45 Übel zugericht’: ‘battered’, ‘ravaged’, ‘badly hit’. Übel suggests ‘wicked’ or ‘evil’, see the previous movement (John 18.23). 112 firth wie46 wir und unsre Kinder like us and our children, von Missetaten weißt du nicht. you do not know about transgressions.

Ich, ich und meine Sünden, I, I and my sins die sich wie Körnlein finden that are like little grains, that are to be found des Sandes an dem Meer, by the sea, of sand, die haben dir erreget47 they have provoked das Elend,48 das dich schläget, the distress that strikes you und das betrübte49 Marterheer.50 and the host of afflicting tortures.

12a. Recitativo Recitative—Evangelist (tenor), continuo

Evangelist Evangelist Johannes 18,24 Und Hannas sandte ihn John 18.24 And Hannas sent him gebunden51 zu dem Hohenpriester Kaiphas. bound to the high priest Caiaphas.

18,25 Simon Petrus stund draußen 18.25 Simon Peter was standing outside und wärmete sich, and warming himself, da sprachen sie zu ihm: there they spoke to him:

12b. Coro Chorus (Oboe I/II, Violin I/II, Viola, Continuo)

18,25 Bist du nicht seiner Jünger einer? 18.25 Are you not also one of his disciples?

12c. Recitativo Recitative—Evangelist (tenor), Petrus (bass), Servus (tenor), continuo

Evangelist Evangelist 18,25b Er leugnete aber und sprach: 18.25b But he denied it and said:

Petrus Peter 18,26 Ich bins nicht. 18.26 I am not.

46 Wie: introducing a simile. The meaning is, ‘we and our children are sinners, and you are not.’ 47 Erreget: ‘aroused’, ‘agitated’, ‘provoked’, ‘incurred’. 48 Elend: also ‘wretchedness’, ‘squalor’, ‘affliction’, ‘destitution’. 49 Betrübt: also ‘saddened’, ‘downcast’. 50 Marter: ‘intentionally inflicted suffering’, see note 17 above. Heer: ‘army’ or ‘host’. 51 See movement 7. study translation 113

Evangelist Evangelist Spricht des Hohenpriesters Knecht’ einer, One of the slaves of the high priest, ein Gefreundeter des, a friend of the man dem Petrus das Ohr abgehauen hatte: whose ear Peter had cut off, said:

Servus Servant Sahe ich dich nicht im Garten bei ihm? Did I not see you in the garden with him?

Evangelist Evangelist 18,27 Da verleugnete Petrus abermal, 18.27 There Peter denied it again, und alsobald krähete der Hahn. and at that moment the cock crowed. Matthäus 26,75 Da gedachte Petrus Matthew 26.75 There Peter remembered an die Worte Jesu the words of Jesus und ging hinaus und weinete bitterlich. and he went out and wept bitterly.

13. Aria Tenor (Violin I/II, Viola, Continuo)

Ach,52 mein Sinn,53 Oh, my reason, wo willt du endlich54 hin, where do you intend to go ultimately, wo soll ich mich erquicken? where shall I now revive myself?

Bleib ich hier, Do I stay here, oder wünsch ich mir or do I wish upon myself Berg und Hügel auf den Rücken? mountain and hill on my back?

Bei der Welt is gar kein Rat, In the world there is no guidance at all, und im Herzen and in my heart stehn die Schmerzen55 stay the pains meiner Missetat, of my transgression, weil der Knecht den Herrn verleugnet hat.56 because the slave has denied his lord.

52 Ach: ‘oh!’, but also ‘alas’, ‘ah!’ See also movements 13, 17, 20 (1749 IV) and 40. 53 Sinn: ‘will’, ‘reason’, ‘mind’. 54 Endlich: ‘ultimately’, ‘eventually’, ‘at the last’. 55 Schmerzen: ‘pains’ felt as a result of sinfulness, rather than the Leid, ‘suffering’ that tortures Christ. 56 Verleugnet: ‘disowned knowledge of’ rather than ‘refused’ or ‘refuted’. 114 firth

14. Choral Chorale (Flutes I/II, Oboe I and Violin I with Sopranos; Oboe II, Violin II with Altos; Viola with Tenors; Continuo with Basses)

Petrus, der nicht denkt zurück,57 Peter, who does not think back, seinen Gott verneinet,58 disowns his God, der doch auf ein ernsten Blick he, however, at a serious look bitterlichen weinet. bitterly weeps. Jesu, blicke mich auch an, Jesus, also look at me, wenn ich nicht will büßen; when I do not want to atone; wenn ich Böses hab getan, when I have done evil rühre mein Gewissen! move my conscience!

2. PARTE SECUNDA: NACH DER PREDIGT III. PILATUS—JESUS BEFORE PILATE 15. Choral Chorale (Flutes I/II, Oboe I and Violin I with Sopranos; Oboe II, Violin II with Altos; Viola with Tenors; Continuo with Basses)

Christus, der uns selig macht, Christ, who makes us blessed, kein Bös hat begangen, no evil has committed, der ward für uns in der Nacht, he was, for us, at night, als ein Dieb gefangen, as a thief, trapped, geführt für59 gottlose Leut, led before godless people, und fälschlich verklaget, and falsely accused, verlacht, verhöhnt und verspeit, laughed at, ridiculed, spat at, wie denn60 die Schrift saget. as it says in Scripture.

16a. Recitativo Recitative—Evangelist (tenor), Pilate (bass), continuo

Evangelist Evangelist Johannes 18,28a Da führeten sie Jesum von John 18.28a There they led Jesus from Kaiphas vor das Richthaus. Caiaphas before the courthouse.

18,28b Und es war frühe. 18.28b And it was early.

57 Denkt zurück: ‘remember’. Peter speaks forgetfully or unreflectively. 58 Verneinet: ‘disowns’, ‘refutes’, as opposed to verleugnet, ‘denied’, in arias 13. 59 Geƒührt für: ‘led before’, ‘brought before’ Pilate. 60 Denn: ‘since it says so in the Scriptures’. study translation 115

18,28c Und sie gingen nicht in das Richthaus, 18.28c And they did not go into the courthouse auf daß sie nicht unrein würden, so that they would not become unclean, sondern Ostern essen möchten. rather they wanted to eat the Passover.

18,29 Da ging Pilatus zu ihnen heraus 18.29 There Pilate went out to them and spoke: und sprach:

Pilatus Pilatus Was bringet ihr für Klage61 wider diesen Menschen? What accusation do you bring against this person?

Evangelist Evangelist 18,30a Sie antworteten und sprachen zu ihm: 18.30a They answered, and spoke to him:

16b. Coro Chorus—Flutes I/II, Oboe I/II, Violin I/II, Viola, Organ, Continuo

Johannes 18,30b Wäre dieser nicht ein Übeltäter,62 John 18.30b Were this not an evildoer, 30c wir hätten dir ihn nicht überantwortet. 30c we would not have handed him over to you.

16c. Recitativo Recitative—Evangelist (tenor), Pilate (bass), continuo

Evangelist Evangelist Johannes 18,31a Da sprach Pilatus zu ihnen: John 18.31a Then Pilate spoke to them:

Pilatus Pilate So nehmet ihr ihn hin und richtet ihn Then take him yourselves and judge him nach eurem Gesetze! according to your Laws!

Evangelist Evangelist 18,31b Da sprachen zu ihm: 18.31b Then they spoke to him:

16d. Coro Chorus—Flauto traverso I/II, Oboe I/II, Violin I/II, Viola, Organ, Continuo

Johannes 18,31c Wir dürfen niemand töten. John 18.31c We may not kill anyone.

61 See verklaget [movement 15]. 62 Übeltäter: ‘evildoer’, cognate with Übel, wickedness. 116 firth

16e. Recitativo Recitative—Evangelist (tenor), Pilate (bass), Jesus (bass), continuo

Evangelist Evangelist Johannes 18,32 Auf das erfüllet würde John 18.32 So that Jesus’ words would be das Wort Jesu, welches er sagte, da er fulfilled, which he spoke, when he deutete, welches Todes er sterben würde. indicated what death he would die.

18,33a Da ging Pilatus wieder hinein in das Richthaus 18.33a Then Pilate went again into the und rief Jesu und sprach zu ihm: courthouse and called Jesus, and spoke to him:

Pilatus Pilate 18,33b Bist du der Jüden König? 18.33b Are you the King of the Jews?

Evangelist Evangelist 18,34 Jesus antwortete: 18.34 Jesus answered:

Jesus Jesus Redest63 du das von dir selbst, Do you speak this for yourself, oder haben’s dir andere von mir gesagt.64 or did others tell you about me?

Evangelist Evangelist 18,35 Pilatus antwortete: 18.35 Pilate answered:

Pilatus Pilate Bin ich ein Jüde? Dein Volk65 Am I a Jew? Your people und die Hohenpriester haben dich mir and the chief priests have handed you überantwortet; was hast du getan? over to me; what have you done?

Evangelist Evangelist 18.36 Jesus antwortete: 18.36 Jesus answered:

Jesus Jesus Mein Reich ist nicht von dieser Welt; My kingdom is not from this world; wäre mein Reich von dieser Welt, if my kingdom were from this world, meine Diener würden darob kämpfen, my servants would therefore be fighting daß ich den Jüden nicht überantwortet würde; so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; aber nun ist mein Reich nicht von dannen. but now my kingdom is not from here.

63 Redest: more closely, ‘Do you make this address from your own authority or knowledge?’ 64 Gesagt: said. Sagen suggests ‘in conversation or discussion’. 65 Volk: ‘people’ in the sense of ‘nation’, ‘tribe’; distinct from Menschen, ‘people’ in the sense of ‘humans’. study translation 117

17. Choral Chorale (Flutes I/II, Oboe I and Violin I with Sopranos; Oboe II, Violin II with Altos; Viola with Tenors; Continuo with Basses)

Ach großer König, groß zu allen Zeiten, Oh great King, great for all time, Wie kann ich gnugsam diese Treu66 ausbreiten?67 How can I sufficiently broadcast this faithfulness? Keins Menschen Herze mag indes ausdenken, No person’s heart is able to imagine, however, Was dir zu schenken.68 What to give to you.

Ich kann’s mit meinen Sinnen nicht erreichen, I cannot grasp it with my senses Womit doch dein Erbarmen zu vergleichen.69 With what yet to compare your mercies. Wie kann ich dir denn deine Liebestaten70 How can I then, your loving deeds Im Werk erstatten? By works, repay you?

18a. Recitativo Recitative—Evangelist (tenor), Pilate (bass), Jesus (bass), continuo

Evangelist Evangelist Johannes 18,37a Da sprach Pilatus zu ihm: John 18.37a There Pilate spoke to him:

Pilatus Pilate So bist du dennoch ein König? So you are nevertheless a king?

Evangelist Evangelist 18,37b Jesus antwortete: 18.37b Jesus answered:

Jesus Jesus Du sagst’s, ich bin ein König. Ich bin dazu geboren You say it, I am a king. For this I was born und in die Welt kommen, daß ich and came into the world, that I die Wahrheit zeugen soll. should testify to the truth. Wer aus der Wahrheit ist, Whoever who belongs to the truth, der höret meine Stimme. listens to my voice.

Evangelist Evangelist 18,38a Spricht Pilatus zu ihm: 18.38a Spoke Pilate to him:

66 Treu: ‘loyalty’, ‘faithfulness’, ‘troth’. 67 Ausbreiten: ‘to publish abroad’, ‘to broadcast’. 68 Schenken: ‘to give as a gift’, ‘to present’. 69 Vergleichen: to compare, cognate with gleich (equal). 70 Liebestaten: ‘loving deeds’ in contrast to Missetaten, ‘transgressions’ or ‘misdeeds’ [movement 12]. No ‘charitable acts’ can ever repay Christ’s sacrifice. 118 firth

Pilatus Pilate Was ist Wahrheit?71 What is truth?

Evangelist Evangelist 18,38b Und da er das gesaget, ging er wieder 18.38b And after he had said this, he went hinaus zu den Jüden und spricht zu ihnen: out again to the Jews and spoke to them:

Pilatus Pilate Ich finde keine Schuld an ihm. I find no guilt in him.

18,39 Ihr habt aber eine Gewohnheit, 18.39 But you have a custom daß ich euch einen losgebe; that I let someone go for you; wollt ihr nun, daß ich euch do you therefore want me now to let go for you der Jüden König losgebe? the King of the Jews?

Evangelist Evangelist 18,40a Da schrieen72 sie wieder allesamt 18.40a There again they all shouted together und sprachen: and spoke:

18b. Chorus Chorus (Oboe II with Sopranos, Violin II with Altos, Viola with Tenors; Flutes I/II, Oboe I, Violin I, Organ and Continuo)

Johannes 18,40b Nicht diesen, sondern Barrabam! John 18.40b Not this one, rather Barabbas!

18c. Recitativo Recitative—Evangelist (tenor), continuo

Evangelist Evangelist Johannes 18,40c Barrabas aber war ein Mörder. John 18.40c But Barrabas was a murderer.

19,1 Da nahm Pilatus Jesum 19.1 Then Pilate took Jesus und geißelte ihn. and flogged him.

71 Compare movement 1. 72 Schrieen … und sprachen: this form is found three times in the recitative, always as the Jews’ response to Pilate; once schrieen is used alone. ‘Shouted’, ‘cried out’, ‘clamoured’. study translation 119

19. Arioso Tenor Arioso (Viola d’amore I/II, Lute continuo)

Betrachte, meine Seel, Consider, my soul, mit ängstlichem Vergnügen, with anxious delectation, Mit bittrer Lust With bitter happiness und halb beklemmtem Herzen and half anguished heart Dein höchstes Gut73 Your highest good in Jesu Schmerzen, in Jesus’ pains, Wie dir auf Dornen, As you on the thorns, so ihn stechen, that prick him, Die Himmelsschlüsselblumen74 blühn! The heaven-key-flowers blossom! Du kannst viel süße Frucht You can much sweet fruit von seiner Wermut brechen from his wormwood break Drum sieh ohn Unterlaß auf ihn! Therefore behold him without ceasing!

20. Aria Tenor Aria (Viola d’amore I/II, Organ and Viola da gamba)

Erwäge, wie sein blutgefärbter75 Rücken Contemplate, how his blood-coloured back In allen Stücken76 in each strip Dem Himmel gleiche77 geht, goes equally to heaven, Daran, nachdem die Wasserwogen78 On it, after the water-waves Von unsrer Sündflut sich verzogen, Of our sin-flood have receded, Der allerschönste Regenbogen79 The most beautiful rainbow of all Als Gottes Gnadenzeichen80 steht! Stands as a sign of God’s mercy!

73 Gut: ‘benefit’. 74 Himmelsschlüsselblumen: primula veris, cowslips, ‘Key of Heaven’. 75 Blutgefärbt: idiomatically, ‘blood-stained’. 76 Stücken: ‘slices’, ‘pieces’, ‘chunks’. Compare movement 33, where the rent curtain of the temple is also in zwei Stück (in two pieces); rather than Jesus’ clothes which are divided into vier Teilen (four portions or parts) and his robe which is nicht zerteilt (not apportioned) [movement 27, John 19.23–24]. 77 Gleiche in the free poetry generally suggests ‘equally’. Here is it is more like ‘in parallel lines’. 78 Wogen: ‘breakers’, ‘surge’, pointing to Sündflut, ‘sin-flood’, in the next line. 79 The coloured stripes of the rainbow are like the red-coloured strips of Jesus’ whipped back. 80 Zeichen: ‘sign’, ‘token’. 120 firth

21a. Recitativo Recitative—Evangelist (tenor), continuo

Evangelist Evangelist Johannes 19,2 Und die Kriegsknechte81 flochten John 19.2 And the mercenaries wove eine Krone von Dornen und satzten sie a crown of thorns and sat it auf sein Haupt und legten ihm on his head and laid on him ein Purpurkleid an a purple robe 19,3a und sprachen: 19.3a and spoke:

21b. Coro Chorus (Flutes I/II, Oboe I/II, Violin I/II, Organ, Continuo)

Johannes 19,3b Sei gegrüßet, lieber Jüdenkönig! John 19.3b Hail, beloved King of the Jews!

21c. Recitativo Recitative—Evangelist (tenor), Pilate (bass), continuo

Evangelist Evangelist Johannes 19,3c Und gaben ihm Backenstreiche. John 19.3c And gave him slaps in the face.

19,4 Da ging Pilatus wieder heraus 19.4 There Pilate again went out und sprach zu ihnen: and spoke to them:

Pilatus Pilate Sehet, ich führe ihn heraus zu euch, Behold, I am leading him out to you daß ihr erkennet, daß ich so you can recognise that I keine Schuld an ihm finde. find no guilt in him.

Evangelist Evangelist 19,5a Also ging Jesus heraus 19.5a Thus Jesus came out und trug eine Dornenkrone und Purpurkleid. and wore a crown of thorns and purple robe. Und er sprach zu ihnen: And he [Pilate] spoke to them:

Pilatus Pilate 19,5b Sehet, welch ein Mensch! 19.5b Behold, what a person!

81 Kriegesknecht: another term for the Landsknecht, fifteenth-century infantry mercenaries, ‘servants of the country’. The librettist differentiates between the Roman paid soldiers and the Jewish Schar or troops. The word is also used in the Brockes Passion. Related to Knecht, ‘slave’, ‘servant’, ‘bondsman’. study translation 121

Evangelist Evangelist 19,6a Da ihn die Hohenpriester 19.6a There the chief priests und die Diener sahen, schrieen sie and the servants saw him, they shouted und sprachen: and spoke:

21d. Coro Chorus (Oboe I with Sopranos; Oboe II with Altos; Flutes I/II with Tenors; Violin I/II, Viola, Organ, Continuo)

Johannes 19,6b Kreuzige, kreuzige! John 19.6b Crucify, crucify!

21e. Recitativo Recitative—Evangelist (tenor), Pilate (bass), continuo

Evangelist Evangelist Johannes 19,6c Pilatus sprach zu ihnen: John 19.6c Pilate spoke to them:

Pilatus Pilate Nehmet ihr ihn hin und kreuziget ihn; You take him yourselves and crucify him; denn ich finde keine Schuld an ihm! since I find no guilt in him!

Evangelist Evangelist 19,7a Die Jüden antworteten ihm: 19.7a The Jews answered him:

21f. Coro Chorus (Oboe I and Violin I with Sopranos; Oboe II and Violin II with Altos; Flutes I/II in octave and Viola with Tenors, Organ Continuo)

Johannes 19,7b Wir haben ein Gesetz, John 19.7b We have a law, und nach dem Gesetz soll er sterben; and according to that law he shall die; denn er hat sich selbst zu Gottes Sohn gemacht. since he has made himself the son of God.

21g. Recitativo Recitative—Evangelist (tenor), Pilate (bass), Jesus (bass), continuo

Evangelist Evangelist Johannes 19,8 Da Pilatus das Wort hörete, John 19.8 There Pilate heard the word, fürchtet’ er sich noch mehr he was yet more afraid,

19,9 und ging wieder hinein 19.9 and went into the courthouse again, in das Richthaus und spricht zu Jesu: and spoke to Jesus: 122 firth

Pilatus Pilate Von wannen bist du? Where are you from?

Evangelist Evangelist Aber Jesus gab ihm keine Antwort. But Jesus gave him no answer.

19,10 Da sprach Pilatus zu ihm: 19.10 Therefore Pilate spoke to him:

Pilatus Pilate Redest du nicht mit mir? Do you refuse to address me? Weißest du nicht, daß ich Macht habe, Do you not know that I have power dich zu kreuzigen, und Macht habe, to crucify you, and have power dich loszugeben? to let you go?

Evangelist Evangelist 19,11 Jesus antwortete: 19.11 Jesus answered:

Jesus Jesus Du hättest keine Macht über mich, You would have no power over me wenn sie dir nicht wäre von oben herab gegeben; if it had not been given you from above; darum, der mich dir überantwortet hat, therefore the one who handed me over to you der hat’s größ’re Sünde. he has the greater sin.

Evangelist Evangelist 19,12a Von dem an trachtete Pilatus, 19.12a From then on Pilate sought wie er ihn losließe. how to let him go.

22. Choral Chorale (Flutes I/II, Oboe I/II and Violin I with Sopranos; Violin II with Altos; Viola with Tenors; Continuo with Basses)

Durch dein Gefängnis, Gottes Sohn, Through your prison, Son of God, Muß uns die Freiheit kommen; Freedom must come to us. Dein Kerker ist der Gnadenthron, Your dungeon is the throne of mercy, Die Freistatt82 aller Frommen; The refuge of all the pious; Denn gingst du nicht die Knechtschaft83 ein, If you had not gone into slavery Müßt unsre Knechtschaft ewig sein. Our slavery must have been forever.

82 Freistatt: lit. ‘sanctuary’, ‘place of asylum’. 83 Knechtschaft: ‘servitude’, ‘slavery’, ‘serfdom’. study translation 123

23a. Recitativo Recitative—Evangelist (tenor), continuo

Evangelist Evangelist Johannes 19,12b Die Jüden aber schrieen John 19.12b But the Jews shouted und sprachen: and spoke:

23b. Coro Chorus—Oboe and Violin I with Sopranos, Oboe d’Amore and Violin II with Altos, Flutes I/II in octave and Viola with Tenors, organ, continuo

Johannes 19,12c Lässest du diesen los, John 19.12c If you let this one go, so bist du des Kaisers Freund nicht; then you are not the Emperor’s friend; denn wer sich zum Könige machet, since everyone who makes himself a king, der ist wider den Kaiser. he is against the Emperor.

23c. Recitativo Recitative—Evangelist (tenor), Pilate (bass), continuo

Evangelist Evangelist Johannes 19,13 Da Pilatus das Wort hörete, John 19.13 There Pilate heard the word, führete er Jesum heraus he led Jesus outside und satzte sich auf den Richtstuhl, and sat on the judgement seat, an der Stätte, die da heißet: Hochpflaster, at the site that is called: High Pavement, auf Ebräisch aber: Gabbatha. but in Hebrew: Gabbatha.

19,14 Es war aber der Rüsttag in Ostern But it was the Day of Preparation um die sechste Stunde, und er spricht for the Passover, about the sixth hour, zu den Jüden: and he spoke to the Jews:

Pilatus Pilate Sehet, das ist euer König! Behold, that is your King!

Evangelist Evangelist 19,15a Sie schrieen aber: But they shouted:

23d. Coro Chorus (Oboes I with Sopranos, Oboe d’amore with Altos, Flutes I/II in octave with Tenors), Violin I/II, Viola, Organ, Continuo

Johannes 19,15b Weg, weg mit dem, John 19.15b Away, away with him, kreuzige ihn! crucify him! 124 firth

23e. Recitativo Recitative—Evangelist (tenor), Pilate (bass), continuo

Evangelist Evangelist Johannes 19,15c Spricht Pilatus zu ihnen: John 19.15c Pilate spoke to them:

Pilatus Pilate Soll ich euren König kreuzigen? Shall I crucify your king?

Evangelist Evangelist Die Hohenpriester antworteten. The chief priests answered.

23f. Coro Chorus, Flutes I/II, Oboe with Violin I, Oboe d’amore with Violin II, Viola, Organ, Continuo

Johannes 19,15d Wir haben keinen König John 19.15d We have no king denn den Kaiser. but the Emperor.

23g. Recitativo Recitative—Evangelist (tenor), continuo

Evangelist Evangelist Johannes 19,16a Da überantwortete er ihn, John 19.16 There he handed him over, daß er gekreuziget würde. that he would be crucified.

19,16b Sie nahmen aber Jesum und führeten ihn hin. 19.16b But they took Jesus and led him away.

19,17 Und er trug sein Kreuz und ging hinaus zur 19.17 And he carried his cross and went out to Stätte, die da heißet Schädelstätt, welche heißet auf the site that is called The Site of the Scull, Ebräisch: Golgatha. which is called in Hebrew: Golgotha.

24. Aria Bass and Chorus (Violin I/II, Viola, Organ, Continuo)

Eilt,84 ihr angefochtnen Seelen, Hurry, you troubled souls, Geht aus euren Marterhöhlen, Come out of your torture chambers,

84 Eilt: ‘hasten’, ‘rush’. study translation 125

Eilt—Wohin?—nach Golgatha! Hurry—Where to?—to Golgotha! Nehmet an des Glaubens Flügel, Take on the wings of faith, Flieht—Wohin?—zum Kreuzeshügel, Fly—Where to?—to the hill of the cross, Eure Wohlfahrt blüht allda!85 Your welfare blossoms there.

25a. Recitativo Recitative—Evangelist (tenor), continuo

Johannes 19,18 Allda86 kreuzigten sie ihn, John 19.18 There they crucified him, und mit ihm zween andere zu beiden Seiten, and with him two others on either side, Jesum aber mitten inne. but Jesus amidst them.

19,19 Pilatus aber schrieb eine Überschrift und 19.19 But Pilate wrote an inscription and satzte sie auf das Kreuz, und war geschrieben: set it on the cross, and it was written: ‘Jesus von Nazareth, der Jüden König’. ‘Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews’.

19,20 Diese Überschrift lasen viele Jüden, 19.20 Many of the Jews read this inscription, denn die Stätte war nahe bei der Stadt, da Jesus since the site where Jesus was crucified was gekreuziget ist. Und es war geschrieben auf near the city. And it was written in the Hebrew, ebräische, griechische und lateinische Sprache. Greek and Latin languages.87

19,21a Da sprachen die Hohenpriester der Jüden 19.21a There the chief priests of the Jews zu Pilato. spoke to Pilate.

25b. Coro Chorus (Flutes I/II, Oboes I/II, Violin I/II, Viola, Organ and continuo)

Johannes 19,21b Schreibe nicht: John 19.21b: Do not write: der Jüden König, the King of the Jews, sondern daß er gesaget habe: but rather that he said: Ich bin der Jüden König. I am the King of the Jews.

85 The rhymes in this lyric tie together complementary ideas: ‘troubled souls’ and ‘torture chambers’; but also contrasting ideas which are brought together in the paradox of the crucifixion: ‘Golgotha’ and ‘welfare there’; ‘wings of faith’ and ‘hill of the cross’. 86 Note that the Aria ends with allda, and the recitative begins with the same word, empha- sizing the place. Allda is more emphatic, ‘at the same place’, than simply da. The place is therefore emphasised. 87 Sprache: ‘language’, ‘speech’; cognate with sprachen, speak. 126 firth

25c. Recitativo Recitative—Evangelist (tenor), Pilate (bass), continuo

Evangelist Evangelist Johannes 19,22 Pilatus antwortet: John 19.22 Pilate answered:

Pilatus Pilatus Was ich geschrieben habe, das habe ich geschrieben. What I have written, that I have written.

26. Choral Chorale (Flutes I/II, Oboe I/II and Violin I with Sopranos; Violin II with Altos; Viola with Tenors; Continuo with Basses)

In meines Herzens Grunde88 In the depths of my heart, Dein Nam und Kreuz allein Your name and cross alone Funkelt89 all Zeit und Stunde, Sparkles for all time and at all hours, Drauf90 kann ich fröhlich sein. Because of it I can be cheerful.91 Erschein mir in dem Bilde Appear to me in the picture Zu Trost92 in meiner Not, For consolation in my adversity Wie du, Herr Christ, so milde93 As you, Lord Christ, so charitable Dich hast geblut’ zu Tod! You have bled to death.

IV. CRUX—JESUS DIES ON THE CROSS 27a. Recitativo Recitative—Evangelist (tenor), continuo

Johannes 19,23 Die Kriegsknechte aber, John 19.23 But the mercenaries da sie Jesum gekreuziget hatten, there had crucified Jesus, nahmen seine Kleider und machten vier Teile, they took his clothes and made four portions, einem jeglichen Kriegesknechte sein Teil, one portion for each mercenary. dazu auch den Rock. They also took his tunic. Der Rock aber war ungenähet, von oben an But the tunic was seamless, gewürket durch und durch. woven in one piece from the top.

88 Im Grunde can also suggest ‘fundamentally’, ‘on the grounds of’ or, indeed, ‘from the bottom of my heart’. 89 Funkelt: ‘sparkles’, ‘glitters’, like a diamond with a myriad of lights. 90 Drauf: lit. ‘thereupon’. 91 Fröhlich: ‘happy’,‘merry’,‘cheerful’.Contrast Lust (happiness) and Freude (joy) (movement 3, O große Lieb). 92 Trost: ‘comfort’, also ‘consolation’, as in movement 30. 93 Milde: ‘clement’, ‘charitable’, ‘meek’. study translation 127

19,24a Da sprachen sie untereinander: 19.24a Then they spoke among themselves:

27b. Coro Chorus (Flutes I/II, Oboe I, Oboe d’amore, Violin I/II, Viola, Organ and Continuo)

Johannes 19,24b Lasset uns den nicht zerteilen, John 19.24b Let us not apportion it, sondern losen, wes er sein soll. but rather cast lots, to see whose it shall be.

27c. Recitativo Recitative—Evangelist (tenor), Jesus (bass), continuo

Evangelist Johannes 19,24c Auf daß erfüllet würde John 19.24c So that the Scripture would be die Schrift, die da saget: fulfilled, which says: Sie haben meine Kleider unter sich geteilet They have apportioned my clothes und haben über meinen Rock among themselves and for my tunic das Los geworfen. they cast the lot.

19,25a Solches taten die Kriegesknechte. 19.25a Such is what the mercenaries did.

19,25b Es stund aber bei dem Kreuze Jesu 19.25b But by the cross of Jesus stood seine Mutter und seiner Mutter Schwester, his mother, and his mother’s sister, Maria, Kleophas Weib, Mary, the wife of Cleophas, und Maria Magdalena. and Mary Magdalene.

19,26 Da nun Jesus seine Mutter sahe und 19.26 Now Jesus saw his mother there, and the den Jünger dabei stehen, den er lieb hatte, disciple standing by, whom he loved. spricht94 er zu seiner Mutter: he speaks to his mother:

Jesus Jesus Weib,95 siehe, das ist dein Sohn! Woman, behold, that is your son!

Evangelist Evangelist 19,27a Darnach spricht er zu dem Jünger: 19.27a After that he spoke to the disciple:

Jesus Jesus Siehe, das ist deine Mutter! Behold, that is your mother!

94 Spricht: a move into the present tense. 95 Weib: ‘woman’ or ‘wife’, possibly a form of address, like ‘ma’am’. 128 firth

28. Choral Chorale (Flutes I/II, Oboe I/II and Violin I with Sopranos; Violin II with Altos; Viola with Tenors; Continuo with Basses)

Er nahm alles wohl in acht He took care of everything, In der letzten Stunde, In the last hour, Seine Mutter noch bedacht, He yet thought of his mother, Setzt ihr ein’ Vormunde. And set for her a guardian. O Mensch, mache Richtigkeit, O person, act with righteousness, Gott und Menschen liebe, Love God and people. Stirb darauf ohn alles Leid, After that may you die without any pain Und dich nicht betrübe!96 And do not grieve!

29. Recitativo Recitative—Evangelist (tenor), Jesus (bass), continuo

Evangelist Evangelist Johannes 19,27b Und von Stund an nahm sie John 19.27b And from that hour on der Jünger zu sich. the disciple took her to himself.

19,28a Darnach, als Jesus wußte, daß schon alles 19.28 After this, when Jesus knew that all had vollbracht war already been accomplished,

19,28b daß die Schrift erfüllet würde, spricht er: 19.28b that the Scriptures would be fulfilled, he spoke:

Jesus Jesus Mich dürstet! I thirst!

Evangelist Evangelist 19,29 Da stund ein Gefäße voll Essigs. 19.29 A container full of vingear was standing there. Sie fülleten aber einen Schwamm mit Essig But they filled a sponge with vinegar und legten ihn um einen Isopen, and laid it on a branch of hyssop, und hielten es ihm dar zum Munde. and held it up to him to his mouth.

19,30a Da nun Jesus den Essig genommen hatte 19.30a When Jesus had taken the vinegar there, sprach er: he said:

Jesus Jesus Es ist vollbracht! It is accomplished!

96 Betrübe: ‘to grow sad’; one should neither grieve for oneself nor for one’s lot. study translation 129

30. Aria Alto Aria (Violin I/II, Viola, Viola da gamba, Organ, Continuo)

Es ist vollbracht! It is accomplished! O Trost vor die gekränkten Seelen! O consolation for the injured souls! Die Trauernacht The night of mourning Läßt97 nun die letzte Stunde zählen. May now count its last hour. Der Held aus Juda siegt mit Macht The hero of Judah triumphs with power Und schließt98 den Kampf.99 And concludes the conflict. Es ist vollbracht! It is accomplished!

31. Recitativo Recitative—Evangelist (tenor), continuo

Johannes 19,30b Und neiget das Haupt John 19.30b And bowed the head und verschied. and expired.

32. Aria e Coro Bass Aria and Chorale (Violin I with Sopranos; Violin II with Altos; Viola with Tenors)

Mein teurer100 Heiland, laß dich fragen, My dear Saviour, let me ask you Jesu, der du warest tot, Jesu, you who were dead, Da du nunmehr ans Kreuz geschlagen101 There you are now stricken on the Cross Und selbst gesagt: Es ist vollbracht, And you said yourself: it is accomplished! Lebest nun ohn Ende, Live now without end. Bin ich vom Sterben frei gemacht? Have I been set free from death? In der letzten Todesnot In the last adversity of death Nirgend mich hinwende I turn towards nowhere Kann ich durch deine Pein und Sterben Can I through your agony and death Das Himmelreich ererben? The kingdom of heaven inherit? Ist aller Welt Erlösung da? Is all the world’s redemption there? Als zu dir, der mich versühnt, As to you, who reconciles me. O du lieber Herre! O you beloved Lord! Du kannst vor Schmerzen zwar nichts sagen; In fact you cannot speak for the pains

97 Läßt: ‘allows’, ‘lets’, ‘permits’. See also movements 7 and 32. 98 Schließt: ‘concludes’, ‘locks’, ‘shuts down’. 99 Kampf: ‘conflict’, ‘battle’, ‘strife’, ‘contest’. 100 Teurer: ‘dear’, ‘darling’ but also ‘expensive’, ‘valuable’. The Saviour is therefore beloved, but the salvation has been bought at a great cost. 101 Geschlagen: ‘struck’, also ‘nailed to’. See also movement 11. 130 firth

Gib mir nur, was du verdient,102 Give me only what you deserved, Doch neigest du das Haupt Indeed you bow your head Und sprichst103 stillschweigend:104 ja. And speak tacitly: yes. Mehr ich nicht begehre! More I do not desire!

33. Recitativo Recitative—Evangelist (tenor), continuo

Evangelist Matthäus 27,51 Und siehe da, der Vorhang Matthew 27.51 And behold there, the curtain im Tempel zerriß in zwei Stück105 in the temple was torn in two strips, von oben an bis unten aus. from top to bottom. Und die Erde erbebete, und die Felsen zerrissen, And the earth quaked, and the rocks were torn,

27,52 und die Gräber täten sich auf, 27.52 and the tombs opened up, und stunden auf viel Leiber106 der Heiligen.107 and many of the bodies of the saints arose.

34. Arioso Tenor Arioso—Flutes I/II, Oboe da caccia I/II, Violins I/II, Viola, Organ, Continuo

Mein Herz,108 in dem die ganze Welt My heart, in whom the whole world Bei Jesu Leiden gleichfalls leidet, With Jesus’ suffering equally suffers, Die Sonne sich in Trauer kleidet, The sun dresses herself in mourning, Der Vorhang reißt, der Fels zerfällt, The curtain rips, the rocks crumble, Die Erde bebt, die Gräber spalten, The earth quakes, the graves split, Weil sie den Schöpfer sehn erkalten, Because they see the Creator grow cold, Was willst du109 deines Ortes tun?110 What will you do in your place?

102 Verdient: lit. ‘what you have earned’, ‘what you have merited’, that is, ‘give me what you deserve’ only, and nothing of what sinners deserve. 103 Here the sense of spricht, ‘declare’, rather than simply ‘speaks’ is predominant. 104 Includes still, ‘silent’. Christ speaks though he keeps silent; silently, without protest, by implication. 105 Stück: compare movement 20. 106 Leiber: ‘bodies’, used of resurrected (or to be resurrected) bodies here and in movement 40. 107 Heiligen: saints, holy ones. Cognate with Heil (healing), Heiland (Saviour) and heiligen (holy). 108 Mein Herz: ‘my heart’ here is personified, requiring ‘whom’ rather than ‘which’. 109 Addressing ‘you’, that is ‘my heart’ of the arioso’s first line. 110 Ortes: The only other time Ort (place, location) rather than Stätte (site, place), is used in the libretto is in movement 2a [John 18.2]. Thus the libretto moves towards its conclusion by restating language from the beginning. study translation 131

35. Aria Soprano Aria—Flutes I/II, Oboe da caccia I/II, Organ, Continuo

Zerfließe,111 mein Herze, in Fluten der Zähren Melt, my heart, in floods of brine Dem Höchsten zu Ehren! The Highest to honour! Erzähle der Welt und dem Himmel die Not:112 Tell the world and heaven the misery: Dein Jesus ist tot! Your Jesus is dead!

36. Recitativo Recitative—Evangelist (tenor), continuo

Evangelist Evangelist Johannes 19,31 Die Jüden aber, dieweil es John 19.31 But the Jews, because it was der Rüsttag war, daß nicht die Leichname the Day of Preparation, that the corpses am Kreuze blieben den Sabbath über would not stay on the crosses over the Sabbath (denn desselbigen Sabbaths Tag (since that particular Sabbath Day was very war sehr groß),113 baten sie Pilatum, daß ihre important) they petitioned Pilate, that their legs Beine gebrochen und sie abgenommen würden. would be broken and they would be taken down.

19,32 Da kamen die Kriegsknechte und brachen 19.32 There the mercenaries came and broke dem ersten die Beine und dem andern, the legs of the first and of the other der mit ihm gekreuziget war. who had been crucified with him.

19,33 Als sie aber zu Jesu kamen, da sie sahen, 19.33 But when they came to Jesus, there they daß er schon gestorben war, brachen sie ihm saw that he had already died, they did not die Beine nicht; break his legs;

19,34 sondern der Kriegsknechte einer eröffnete 19.34 rather, one of the mercenaries opened seine Seite mit einem Speer, und alsobald his side with a spear, and at once ging Blut und Wasser heraus. blood and water came out.

19,35 Und der das gesehen hat, der hat es bezeuget, 19.35 And he who saw that, he has testified to und sein Zeugnis ist wahr, und derselbige weiß, it, and his testimony is true, and the same one daß er die Wahrheit saget, auf daß ihr gläubet. knows that he tells the truth, so that you also may believe in that.

111 Zerfließe: ‘melt’ mirrors zerfallen in the previous movement, as stony hearts crumble. 112 Not: see also movements 20 (1749 IV), 32, 35 and 39. 113 Groß: ‘great’—a day of great solemnity, a high festival. 132 firth

19,36 Denn solches ist geschehen, auf daß 19.36 Then such things occurred so that die Schrift erfüllet würde: Ihr sollet ihm kein the Scripture would be fulfilled: They shall not Bein zerbrechen. break any of his bones.

19,37 Und abermal spricht eine andere Schrift: 19.37 And but again another Scripture says: Sie werden sehen, in welchen sie gestochen haben. They will behold, whom they have stabbed.

37. Chorale Chorale (Flutes I/II, Oboe I/II and Violin I with Sopranos; Violin II with Altos; Viola with Tenors; Continuo with Basses)

O hilf, Christe, Gottes Sohn, O help, Christ, God’s Son, Durch dein bitter Leiden, Through your bitter suffering, Daß wir dir stets untertan That we may, always obedient to you, All Untugend meiden, All wrongs avoid; Deinen Tod und sein Ursach Your death and its cause Fruchtbarlich114 bedenken, Think upon fruitfully; Dafür, wiewohl arm und schwach, for that, although poor and weak, Dir Dankopfer schenken! Present a thank-offering to you!

V. SEPULCHRUM—JESUS IS LAID IN THE TOMB 38. Recitativo Recitative—Evangelist (tenor), continuo

Evangelist Johannes 19,38 Darnach bat Pilatum John 19.38 After that, Joseph von Arimathia, der ein Jünger Jesu war Joseph of Arimathia, who was a disciple (doch heimlich aus Furcht vor den Jüden) of Jesus (yet secretly for fear of the Jews), daß er möchte abnehmen den Leichnam Jesu. petitioned Pilate that he wanted to take down Und Pilatus erlaubete es. Derowegen kam er the corpse of Jesus. And Pilate permitted it. und nahm den Leichnam115 Jesu herab. Therefore he came and took down the corpse of Jesus.

18,39 Es kam aber auch Nikodemus, der vormals 18.39 But Nicodemus also came, who had bei der Nacht zu Jesu kommen war, und brachte previously come to Jesus by night, and brought Myrrhen und Aloen untereinander, bei mixed myrrh and aloes, about hundert Pfunden. a hundred pounds.

114 Frucht: see also movement 19. 115 Leichnam (corpse). Contrast Leib (body), in movement 33 and 40. The use of the word Leichnam throughout section V Sepulchrum, underlines the disciples’ belief that Jesus was irrevocably dead—there is no reference in the Passion libretto to Jesus’ resurrection at Easter. study translation 133

18,40 Da nahmen sie den Leichnam Jesu und bunden 18.40 Then they took the corpse of Jesus and ihn in Leinen Tücher mit Spezereien, wie die Jüden wrapped it in linen cloths with spices, pflegen zu begraben. as the Jews take care for the burying.

18,41 Es war aber an der Stätte, da er gekreuziget 18.41 But there was at the place, ward, ein Garten, und im Garten ein neu Grab, there where he was crucified, a garden, and in welches niemand je geleget war. in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid.

18,42 Daselbst hin legten sie Jesum, um des Rüsttags 18.42 In that place they laid Jesus, willen der Jüden, dieweil das Grab nahe war. on account of the Jewish Day of Preparation, and because the tomb was nearby.

39. Coro Chorus (Flutes I/II, Oboe I/II, Violins I/II, Viola, Organ, Continuo)

Ruht wohl, ihr heiligen116 Gebeine, Rest well, you holy bones, Die ich nun weiter117 nicht beweine, I will now not weep for you any longer, Ruht wohl und bringt auch mich zur Ruh! Rest well, and bring me also to rest. Das Grab, so euch bestimmet ist The grave, so is destined for you Und ferner keine Not umschließt, And no futher misery surrounds, Macht mir den Himmel auf Makes Heaven open und schließt die Hölle zu. And Hell shut to me.

40. Chorale Chorale (Flute I, Oboe I and Violin I with Sopranos; Flute II, Oboe II and Violin II with Altos; Viola with Tenors; Continuo with Basses)

Ach Herr, laß dein lieb Engelein O Lord, let your lovely little angels Am letzten End die Seele mein at the last end, this soul of mine In Abrahams Schoß tragen, carry into Abraham’s bosom. Den Leib118 in seim Schlafkämmerlei The body in its little sleeping chamber Gar sanft ohn einge Qual und Pein gently without any torment or agony at all Ruhn bis am jüngsten Tage!119 Rest until the last day!

116 Heiligen: compare the bodies of the Heiligen in movement 33. 117 Weiter: ‘no longer (in time)’. Not the same as ferner, ‘further’ (in sequence). 118 Leib, the body with the potential for resurrection, is placed near lieb (lovely). This reverses the mirroring of Lieb (love) and Leid (suffering) in movement 3, O große Lieb, o Lieb ohn alle Maße. The great love and the great sufferring are complete, and now there is rest, loveliness and life. 119 Am jüngsten Tage: lit. ‘on the youngest day’, on Judgment Day. 134 firth

Alsdenn vom Tod erwecke mich, Thereupon from death awaken me, Daß meine Augen sehen dich that my eyes see you In aller Freud, o Gottes Sohn, in all joy, O Son of God, Mein Heiland und Genadenthron! My Saviour and throne of mercy Herr Jesu Christ, erhöre mich,120 Lord Jesus Christ, answer my [prayer], Ich will dich preisen ewiglich! I want to praise you forever!

120 Erhöre mich: ‘hear me’, ‘answer me’, used specifically for prayers. chapter 7 Commentaries and Sermon Collections Consulted in Preparation

The 1750 Specification of the Estate Left by the Late Mr Johann Sebastian Bach itemises the theological works Bach owned at the time of his death.1 An avid collector of books, Bach owned:2

15 volumes of the Altenburg edition of the works of Luther, a five-volume Bible commentary by Johann Olearius, the five-volume School of Piety by Johann Gerhard, as well as eight volumes of the Leipzig Hymn-Book and three volumes by Calov in addition to Calov’s three-volume commentated ‘Great German Bible’.3

While it is attractive to think of these works as a reference library or Hand- bibliothek consulted by the composer, it cannot be said with certainty which works Bach might have consulted, or how he might have received these texts. Examination of the libretto and music of the St John Passion, however, strongly suggests that Bach and his collaborating librettist or librettists made regular use of three works in his collection for the preparation of the libretto and setting of this work.4 Among them are Abraham Calov’s three-volume commentary, Johannes Olearius’ five-volume commentary, and Luther’s Weekly Sermons on St John’s Gospel.5

1 For the music manuscripts of Bach’s estate, see: NBR, nos. 286–301. 2 BD 1. 199, reproduces a manuscript account of Bach’s attendance at the book auction at which he purchased his Calov Bible, see: Hans Besch, ‘Eine Auktions-Quittung J.S. Bachs’, Festschrift für Friedrich Smend: Zum 70. Geburtstag dargebracht von Freunden und Schülern (Berlin: Merseburger, 1963), pp. 74–79, p. 75. 3 Andreas Loewe, ‘“God’s Capellmeister”: The Proclamation of Scripture in the Music of J.S. Bach’, Pacifica 24 (2011), pp. 141–171, p. 147. 4 For the works contained in Bach’s estate, see: Robin A. Leaver, Bachs theologische Biblio- thek: Eine kritische Bibliographie [cited as BB] (Neuhausen-Stuttgart: Hännsler, 1985). For the Lutheran theological works owned by Bach, see idem, ‘Bach und die Lutherschriften seiner Bibliothek’, in: Bach-Jahrbuch 61 (1975), pp. 124–132. 5 Abraham Calov, ed., I. N. J. Das Neue Testament/ verdeutschet durch D. Martin Luthern/ … fürgestellet/ durch/ D. Abraham Calovium (Wittenberg: Christian Schröter, 1682) [cited as CB 3], BB 46–51.

1 Abraham Calov’s ‘Great German Bible’ (1682)

The composer’s own copy of Calov’s ‘Great German Bible’ survives today in Concordia Seminary, St Louis, Missouri.6 Bach carefully annotated the work, in particular recording comments on music and music-making in the margins.7 The ‘explanation and exposition of the Evangelist St John’ from the third and final volume of Calov’s commentated Bible, covering the entire Greek Scrip- tures, has been extensively consulted in preparation for this commentary.8 Calov’s Bible significantly influenced the libretto, leading Bach and his collaborator to make adjustments to Luther’s Biblical text in the St John Passion. This is shown particularly well in movement 38: in his reflection on the John’s Gospel account of Jesus’ burial (John 19.38), Calov includes the Greek particle oun (therefore), omitted in Luther’s text, for which he provides a distinctive translation, derowegen.9 Calov explains: ‘in the Greek text follows: therefore (derowegen) he came/ and took down the body of Jesus. Which word is omitted in the current German translation of the Bible’.10 The fact that Bach’s libretto amends the text to adhere to Calov’s gloss strongly suggests that Calov’s work was consulted in the preparation of the text and the musical setting of the Johannine Passion narrative.

2 Johannes Olearius’Haupt Schlüßel (1681)

Another key Lutheran commentary on John’s Passion bequeathed by Bach in his estate, and consulted extensively in preparation for this commentary, is the final volume of Johannes Olearius’ five volume Haupt Schlüßel der Gantzen Heiligen Schrift, a detailed systematic commentary on the Hebrew and Greek

6 Leaver (1975), p. 128, and idem, ‘The Calov Bible from Bach’s Library’, in: Bach: The Journal of the Riemenschneider Bach Institute, 7/IV (1976), pp. 16–22. 7 For Bach’s ownership of the work, and the authenticity of his hand, see: Howard H. Cox, ed., The Calov Bible of J.S. Bach, Studies in Musicology 92 (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1985), pp. 6–7 and Christoph Trautmann, ‘“Calovii Schrifften. 3 Bände” aus Johann Sebastian Bachs Nachlaß und ihre Bedeutung für das Bild des lutherischen Kantors Bach’, Musik und Kirche 39 (1969), pp. 145–160; for Bach’s marginalia, see: Loewe (2011), pp. 149–154. 8 CB 3: 665–976: ‘Der Evangelist S. Johannes Erkläret und ausgeleget’. 9 CB 3: 954. 10 CB 3: 954: ‘Hierauf folget im Griechischen Text: Derowegen kam er/ und nahm den Leib JEsu herab. Welches Wort in ietziger deutschen Bibel ausgelassen sind’. commentaries and sermon collections consulted in preparation 137

figure 4 Frontispiece of Bach’s copy of Calov’s annotated New Testament from the Great German Bible 138 chapter 7

Scriptures.11 The fifth volume, Das gantze/ Neue Testament (The entire New Testament) is a valuable resource: based entirely on the Greek original, cross- referenced with parallel Biblical texts, Olearius not only provides many literal translations from the Greek and etymologies of notable Greek words, but a wealth of further information on Jewish and early Christian sources for his detailed commentary, or ‘necessary exposition’ (nothwendige Erklärung) on John’s Passion narrative.12 In addition, at the end of each section, Olearius provides first an ‘uplifting enumeration of the principal uses’ (Die erbauliche Anführung deß Haupt-Nutzes) of the Biblical text which he then matches with relevant selections from the work of the Church Fathers, ‘notable reminder of the Teachers of the Primitive Church’ (Die denckwürdige Erinnerung der alten Kirchen-Lehrer) as well as Luther’s works, ‘Luther’s spiritual encouragement’ (Die geistreiche Ermunterung Lutheri). Again, it is highly likely that Bach made use of this commentary in the preparation of the text: Bach’s musical rendition in movement 16a of frühe (early) in John 18.28b as a rooster call for instance suggests that he was fully aware of John’s Greek text: the Greek proi (early— frühe), given by Olearius in his Haupt Schlüßel, literally meant the hour after cockcrow and therefore lent itself well to such musical wordplay.13

3 Sermon Collections: Martin Luther (1528–1529)

It is highly likely that Bach and his collaborators also drew on a number of sermon collections contained in his estate in the preparation of this work. Among them most notably he would have had access to Martin Luther’s Weekly Sermons on St John, a series of detailed sermons on chapters 16–20 of St John’s Gospel.14 Leaver explains that the fact that Bach owned both the Altenburg and Jena editions of Luther’s works ‘means that after 1742 Bach’s library contained all key works of Luther in at least two, sometimes three and four, editions’.15

11 Johannes Olearius, Haupt Schlüßel der Gantzen Heiligen Schrift … Fünfter und letzter Teil/ Darinnen das gantze/ Neue/ Testament (Leipzig: Chr. Tarnoven, 1681) [cited as HS 5], BB 81–85. 12 HS 5: 774–792. 13 HS 5: 245, referring to the Roman division of hours ‘horas’, and 779. 14 Luther, Wochenpredigten über Johannes 16–20 (1528–1529), WA 28: 31–502. 15 BB 52–53, see also: Leaver (1975), p. 129: ‘Dies bedeutet, daß Bachs Bibliothek ab 1742 alle wesentlichen Lutherschriften in doppelter und zum Teil dreifacher, ja vierfacher Ausfertigung enthielt’, therefore implying that prior to 1742, he owned at least one or two such editions. commentaries and sermon collections consulted in preparation 139

figure 5 Mors: Olearius’ commentary on John’s account of the death of Jesus 140 chapter 7

Bach not only owned multiple editions of the work, but Luther’s sermons also form the mainstay of Calov’s commentary in his annotated Bible. chapter 8 Commentary

1. PRIMA PARTE EXORDIUM—PROLOGUE

Historic tradition arranged the Passion story, beginning with the Last Supper and ending with Jesus’ burial, in five distinctive scenes or acts: an Exordium (Prologue) introduces the Passion; Hortus (Garden) recalls Jesus’ betrayal and arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane; Pontifices (Priests) the trial before the Sanhedrin; Pilatus (Pilate) the interrogation before the Roman procurator, and Crux his agony and death on the cross. Sepulchrum (Sepulchre) closes the Passion drama. They provide the chapter headings for this commentary.1

1. Chorus Chorus (Flute I/II, Oboe I/II, Violin I/II, Viola, Continuo)

Herr, unser Herrscher, Lord, our Lord, dessen Ruhm in allen Landen herrlich ist! whose fame in all lands is noble! Zeig uns durch deine Passion, Show us through your Passion daß du, der wahre Gottessohn, that you, the true Son of God, zu aller Zeit, for all time, auch in der größten Niedrigkeit, even in the deepest lowliness, verherrlicht worden bist. have been made noble.

The 1725 version of Bach’s St John Passion opened with a setting of the first verse of Sebald Heyden’s 1525 Lenten Chorale O Mensch bewein dein Sünde groß (O man, bewail your sin so great), a setting Bach also used to conclude the first part of the St Matthew Passion. The 1749 version, on the other hand, commences with the magisterial chorus Herr,unser Herrscher (Lord, our Lord). The first two lines of the chorale derive from the refrain to Psalm 8, which extols God’s kingship over all nations: ‘O Lord, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth!’ (Psalm 8.1, 9), and frames a hymn in praise of God’s good creation and the women and men who are its crown (verses 2–8), which was, in fact, set as a chorale by a seventeenth-century predecessor of Bach, Thomaskantor

1 For the origin of the Latin headings for each ‘scene’ of the Passion, ‘hortus, pontifices, Pilatus cruxque, sepulchrum’ (garden, priests, Pilate and cross, sepulchre), see: pp. 88–89.

Johann Schein, and as a motet by Heinrich Schütz [SWV 449].2 The remainder of the chorus has been supplied by an unidentified author, who links the Psalm’s hymn of praise with the main theme of the Passion as told in the writings of St John: the glorification of the Son of God, Jesus Christ, in his suffering and death. Echoing St John’s understanding that Christ’s true glory lay in his being lifted up on a cross (John 3.14), the unidentified author of the chorus prays that Christ would now be revealed in the hidden glory of his Passion: zeig uns durch deine Passion … daß du … verherrlicht worden bist (show us through your Passion … that you … have been made noble). The chorus artfully juxtaposes Christ’s divinity and his humanity by a play on the word herrlich (noble): the root Herr (Lord) serves as an honorific title for both men and God. As the creative Word of the Father through whom all things came into being, Christ is truly in allen Landen herrlich (noble, in all lands). Yet he has been verherrlicht (made noble) zu aller Zeit (eternally) and uniquely in the Incarnation, when he humbled himself to be born as man (Philippians 2.5–11). Alfred Dürr provides a comprehensive musical analysis of the opening chorus and readers are in particular referred to his excellent structural analysis of the movement.3 The following provides a theological reading of the wealth of musical techniques employed by the composer in his careful construction of the first movement.

[bars 1–18:] Instrumental Introduction. The movement is set in G minor, characterised by one of Bach’s contemporaries as ‘probably the most beautiful key’ since it expressed both ‘moderate lament and tempered joy’.4 The opening introduces a restless sequence of cadences in the strings, driven along by a quaver motif in the continuo part which continues throughout the section [bars 1–32]. Throughout the opening bars, recurring dissonances in the woodwind introduce a ‘cross-motif’, the musical device Bach adopts to visualise a cross-

2 Johann Hermann Schein (1586–1630) was Cantor of St Thomas’ Leipzig from 1616–1630. His chorale, Herr, unser Herrscher (Lord, our Lord) provides a metrical setting of Psalm 8. 3 Alfred Dürr, Johann Sebastian Bach’s St John Passion: Genesis, Transmission and Meaning (Oxford: University Press, 2000), pp. 75–78; the structural analysis can be found on p. 77. 4 Johann Mattheson, Das Neu-eröffnete Orchestre (Hamburg: by the author, 1713), p. 237: ‘G moll ist fast der allerschönste Tohn, weil er … so wol zu … mäßigen Klagen und temperirter Fröhlichkeit bequem … ist’. For Mattheson (1681–1764), see: Wolfgang Hirschmann, Bernhard Jahn, eds., Johann Mattheson als Vermittler und Initiator: Wissenstransfer und die Etablierung neuer Diskurse in der ersten Hälfte des 18. Jahrhunderts (Hildesheim: Georg Olms, 2010) and idem, Johann Mattheson: Texte aus dem Nachlass (Hildesheim: Georg Olms, 2011). commentary 143 shape in the printed score that can frequently be perceived by the listener (see the discussion on movement 8, below). Without the need for words Bach suc- ceeds, at the very outset of his Passion, to make present the subject of this work: the revelation of God’s glory in Christ’s crucifixion.

[bars 19–58:] Primary Section. For his libretto the unknown author of the chorus adapted Luther’s translation of Psalm 8.1, wie herrlich ist dein Name in allen Landen (whose fame in all lands is noble), using a reading derived most probably from Johannes Olearius’ Bible commentary, a copy of which survived in Bach’s estate. Olearius couples God’s holy name with his Ruhm (glory,praise), herrlich ist dein Name und Ruhm (how glorious is your name and praise).5 In doing so, he parallels Psalm 48.10, Gott, so wie dein Name, so ist auch dein Ruhm bis an der Welt Ende (Your name, O God, like your glory, reaches to the ends of the earth), a verse Bach set to music in an eponymous New Year Cantata [BWV 171].6 The chorus opens with a threefold repetition of the word Herr (Lord), each punctuated by a crotchet’s rest in the vocal parts [bars 19–20a]: possibly a play on the Trinitarian understanding of God as three persons and three Lords. The vocal parts then begin to take up the energetic semiquaver movement of strings, introducing the words unser Herrscher (our Lord) [bars 20d–23a], before this choral material is reiterated in the approach to the dominant tonicisation at bar 31. In the reiteration of the opening choral material [bars 23d–27c], the choir’s threefold invocation Herr is shifted to the fourth and second— weaker—beats and thereby creates the effect of a syncopated echo.7 A coda on dessen Ruhm in allen Landen herrlich ist (whose fame in all lands is noble) [bars 27b–31a] completes the dominant tonicisation. One of the earliest commentators on the Passion, Philipp Spitta, explains how the vocal parts evoke in listeners ‘a forceful image of divine power and greatness’.8 On the other hand, the instrumental parts suggest human suffering by their ‘relentless dark, swelling semiquaver movement … [and] … unin- terrupted long plaintive woodwind lines’, alluding to the seventeenth-century

5 HS 3: 56. 6 Johann Sebastian Bach, Gott, so wie dein Name, so ist auch dein Ruhm bis an der Welt Ende [BWV 171], first performed on New Year’s Day 1729. 7 Eric T. Chafe, ‘Bach’s St John Passion: Theology and Musical Structure’, in: Don O. Franklin, ed., New Bach Studies (Cambridge: University Press, 1989), pp. 75–122, p. 78. 8 Philipp Spitta, Johann Sebastian Bach, 2 vols (Leipzig: Breitkopf und Härtel, 1873–1880), 2, p. 365: ‘Ein gewaltiges Bild göttlicher Macht und Größe’. 144 chapter 8 understanding that human life is tossed by ‘giant waves’.9 Bach’s compositional intention, Spitta suggests, is clear, ‘he intended to combine, in one image, the majesty and power of the Son of God as well as his deep humiliation’, and reiterates: ‘The vocal parts speak of the divine glory, while the instruments call to mind human suffering’.10 Spitta’s analysis, especially his insight that the opening chorus is not intended to instil a feeling of sorrow and contrition in the listener, as in the St Matthew Passion, but rather seeks to highlight the contrast ‘between the eternal power of the Son of God and his temporal humiliation’, has served as an interpretative model for many later commentators.11 In bar 33, the continuo takes over the strings’ semiquaver pattern accompanied by the descending scales in the woodwind which had reminded Spitta of the ‘storms of life’. A descending octave in the bass part introduces a canonic imitation of the opening text, Herr, unser Herrscher (Lord, our Lord) extending through all vocal parts, over a rhythmic staccato pattern in the strings [bars 33–36], providing a vibrant musical interpretation of the glory of God’s rule. The continuo returns to its quaver pattern, while basses and sopranos continue to weave the words Herr, unser Herrscher in canonic variation and the middle voices recall the opening section of the chorus by their Trinitarian call on the God of glory [bars 37c–40a]. A threefold set of block-chords on the weak beat provide a bridge [bars 40–41a] to an exact replication of the musical material contained in bars 20b–23 [bars 41b–44a]. The sopranos bring in a descending canonic imitation of the opening verse ending in a coda [bars 46d–49a]. Cascading canonic entries on dessen Ruhm in

9 Ibid: ‘Düster rauschende unablässige Sechzehntelbewegung … [und] … ohne Unterbre- chung sich fortspinnende lange Klagetöne der Blasinstrumente’; ‘Meereswogen … welche den Menschen zu überfluthen und hinabzuziehen drohen’. Bach certainly made good musical use of this image in previous works, for example in the 1714 Cantata Ich hatte viel Bekümmernis [BWV 21], and his 1724 Cantata Jesus schläft, was soll ich hoffen? [BWV 81], a work that is based on the Gospel account of Jesus’ stilling of a storm on Lake Galilee in Matthew 8.23–27 par. 10 Ibid: ‘Er wollte die Majestät und Gewalt des Gottessohnes und zugleich seine tiefe Ernie- drigung … in ein Bild zusammenfassen’; ‘Der göttlichen Herrlichkeit sollen die Singstim- men, dem menschlichen Leid die Instrumente Ausdruck verleihen’.Spitta points to similar instrumental textures in the two choral movements of Bach’s Cantata Herr, gehe nicht ins Gericht [BWV 105] in support of his view. 11 Spitta (1880), p. 366: ‘Den Gegensatz zwischen der ewigen Macht des Gottessohnes und seiner zeitlichen Erniedrigung’. See also: Elke Axmacher, ‘Aus Liebe will mein Heyland sterben’: Untersuchungen zum Wandel des Passionsverständnisses im frühen 18. Jahrhundert, Beiträge zur theologischen Bachforschung 2 (Neuhausen-Stuttgart: Hännsler, 1984), p. 163. commentary 145 allen Landen (whose fame in all lands is noble) are introduced by the altos, mirroring the chordal sequence approaching the first choral entry in bars 10–19a [bars 49–58a].12 Here Bach provides a structural link between the two parts of the movement, setting both dessen Ruhm in allen Landen (whose fame in all lands) and verherrlicht worden bist (have been made noble) in imitative fashion. A coda on herrlich ist (is noble) [bars 55b–58a] gives voice to Christ’s universal glory, and brings to an end the primary section.

[bars 58b–95]: Secondary Section. The shorter middle section of the movement is embedded between the initial and da capo (or repeated) statements of the primary section. Its placement is not only formal Baroque ternary-form convention, but another deliberate reminder of the theological message that the Son of God was glorified selbst in der größten Niedrigkeit (even in the deepest lowliness): Christ’s earthly debasement stands between his descent from the Father’s eternal glory and his return there.13 As with the mirroring phrase in the primary section [bars 33–37a], once again the basses present the altered theme with its canonic variations throughout all vocal parts, Zeig uns durch deine Passion (show us through your Pas- sion) [bars 58b–62]. Again, the theme sets out with a descending octave followed by an ascending scale motif. The petition that God would reveal—show (zeig)—his glorification by the Passion contrasts with the opening chorus of the St Matthew Passion, where listeners are invited to look instead on Christ’s innocent suffering, seht ihn (look upon him) and recognise in it their own sinfulness, seht auf unsre Schuld (look upon our guilt).14 The zeig uns-theme is developed when the tenors introduce the second half of the couplet, daß du, der wahre Gottessohn (that you, the true Son of God) [bars 62b–66a] by way of moving back towards the tonic G minor. The rising tonic arpeggio applied to Zu aller Zeit (for all times) in all parts points towards the heavenly eternity.

12 See Werner Neumann, J.S. Bachs Chorfuge: Ein Beitrag zur Kompositionstechnik Bachs (Leipzig: Breitkopf und Härtel, 1953), p. 11. 13 See for instance the schematic representation in Peter Kreyssig, ‘Die Passion Jesu aus der Sicht des Evangelisten Johannes’, in: Ulrich Prinz, ed., Johann Sebastian Bach: Johannes- Passion, BWV 245—Vorträge des Meisterkurses 1986 und der Sommerakademie J.S. Bach 1990, Schriftenreihe der internationalen Bachakademie Stuttgart, vol. 5 (Kassel: Bärenrei- ter, 1993), pp. 88–100, p. 93; Axmacher (1984), p. 163; Dürr (2000), p. 35, etc. 14 Johann Sebastian Bach, Matthäus-Passion BWV 244, ed. by Alfred Dürr, Neue Bach-Aus- gabe Serie II: Messen, Passionen, oratorische Werke, 5 vols (Kassel: Bärenreiter, 1974), V, movement 1, bars 27b–28, and 57–58, cf. Spitta (1880), p. 366. 146 chapter 8

The composer translates the words of his libretto into a melodic descent and hushed cadence on auch in der größten Niedrigkeit (even in the deepest lowliness) [bars 66a–69a], tracing musically the descent from divine glory to suffering and death. This theology is derived from the early Christian creedal hymn in Philippians 2.5–8:

Though Christ was in the form of God, he did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death— even death on a cross.

Yet St John, Luther and Bach strongly believe that God is shown to be glorified precisely in this humiliation. Again Bach finds musical ways of expressing this belief: the strings once again take up the semiquaver movement from the woodwind [bar 68 onwards] and provide a rhythmic and dynamic transition for the choir’s forte entry on verherrlicht worden bist (have been made noble) [bars 69d–78]. Echoing the Herrscher-theme in bars 20d–23a, Bach’s spirited musical construction lends further credence to the movement’s overall intention to serve as a musical reflection on John’s theology of glorification through the cross. The earlier invocation Zeig uns durch deine Passion, daß du der wahre Gottes- sohn (through your Passion show us that you, the true Son of God) [cf. bars 58b–65a] is replicated [bars 78c–82] and the earlier hushed cadance in bars 66a–69a is broadened further across bars 83b–86a. The triumphant exuber- ance of the final imitative section on verherrlicht worden bist (have been made noble) leaves little doubt that the God who is glorified in the life of his Son, will also be glorified in his death (John 12.27, 32–33). The secondary section comes to its conclusion in the dominant (D major).15 A da capo of the instrumental introduction [bars 1–18] and primary section [bars 19–57a] complete the movement.

15 Characterised by Mattheson (1713), p. 242 as ‘martial’ (kriegerisch). commentary 147

I. HORTUS—JESUS IN THE GARDEN OF GETHSEMANE 2a. Recitativo Recitative—Evangelist (tenor), Jesus (bass), Continuo

Johannes 18,1b Jesus ging mit seinen Jüngern John 18.1b Jesus went out with his disciples über den Bach Kidron, da war ein Garte[n], across the Kidron stream, there was a garden, darein ging Jesus und seine Jünger. into which went Jesus and his disciples.

18,2 Judas aber, der ihn verriet, wußte den Ort 18.2 Judas, who betrayed him, also knew the auch, denn Jesus versammelte sich oft daselbst place, because Jesus often met there with his mit seinen Jüngern. disciples.

18,3 Da nun Judas zu sich hatte genommen 18.3 Then, when Judas had brought the troops die Schar und der Hohenpriester und Pharisäer together with the servants of the chief priests Diener, kommt er dahin mit Fackeln, Lampen and the Pharisees, he came there with und mit Waffen. lanterns, torches and with weapons.

18,4 Als nun Jesus wußte alles, was ihm begegnen 18.4 At that time, Jesus, knowing all that sollte, ging er hinaus und sprach zu ihnen: should happen to him, went out and said to them:

Jesus Jesus Wen suchet ihr? Whom do you seek?

Evangelist Evangelist 18,5 Sie antworteten ihm: 18.5 They answered him:

John 18.1b [bars 1–4]: Having prayed to the Father ‘glorify your Son, so that the Son may glorify you’ (John 17.1b–2), repeated in the opening chorus of the Passion (Zeig uns durch deine Passion, daß du … in der größten Niedrigkeit verherrlicht worden bist), Jesus left the place of the Last Supper and crossed the Kidron stream, going to an orchard where he ‘often met with his disciples’ (John 18.2). Unlike the synoptic Gospels, which identify the place as the Garden Gethsemane, in John’s account the place of betrayal is not named.16 Luther’s translation Bach Kidron [bar 2] is a literal rendition of the Greek word cheimar- ros, a ‘winter-flowing stream’ like a wadi, as Olearius points out: ‘it has been given its name because of the confluence in winter, when the waters from the

16 The ‘synoptic’ Gospels comprise the Gospels of Mark, Matthew and Luke. They derive their name from the way in which the three texts can be arranged in a synopsis, that is, similar textual material arranged in parallel. 148 chapter 8 melting snow flow into the depth like a stream’.17 For Luther the Kidron was more than a ‘winter-flowing stream’; it was Jesus’ Rubicon:

The evangelist makes clear that Christ went across the very stream of darkness; I think he went across a black stream. He recalls this dark stream to … indicate the case of the imprisonment and death of Christ.18

For the composer, the Kidron stream provided a succinct pointer to himself in the very first verse of the narrative: the downward musical line on über den Bach (across the stream) [bar 2] may well have enabled the composer to take an active part in the events and to ‘lead’ Jesus and his disciples ‘across’ into the story of the Passion. Where, in the St Matthew Passion, Bach routinely adds strings to accompany the words of Jesus—as it were to create a musical ‘nimbus’—in the St John Passion, the Gospel narrative is brought alive by the musical contrasts in the melodic lines and underlying harmonies. This is clearly audible in the opening bars of this section: commencing in high register (on a minor triad over a continuo tonic) the evangelist’s vocal line suggests Jesus’ descent into the Kidron valley [bars 1–2]. A sudden change of harmony (to a second inversion diminished seventh chord, based on the natural seventh of F minor, which will be tonicised in bar 6c) and drop in register introduce Judas, the disciple who betrayed him [bar 5].

John 18.2–3 [bars 5–13]: At the Last Supper Judas had already been identified as Jesus’ betrayer. In John’s telling of the story, Judas had been an unexceptional disciple. However, his betrayal of Jesus to the religious authorities is an absolute although necessary evil. According to the evangelist this sudden change in Judas’ character was possible only because ‘the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas … to betray him’ (John 13.2). Immediately after sharing the bread of the Last Supper ‘Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, “Do quickly what you are going to do”.’ (John 13.27). Straightaway Judas went out ‘into

17 HS 5: 774: ‘Hat den Nahmen vom Zusammenfliessen im Winter, da von dem zerschmol- zenen Schnee das Wasser in der Tieffe zusammen fliesset als ein Bach’. 18 Martin Luther, Wochenpredigten über Johannes 16–20 (1528–1529), WA 28: 205, 25–36; CB 3: 912: ‘So wil nun der Evangelist sagen/ CHristus sey über den rechten finstern Bach gangen/ ich meine ja er sey über den schwartzen Bach gangen. Er … gedenckt dieses finstern Bachs/ als der sich am besten in dieser Sache der Gefängniß und Todes Christi reime’; HS 5: 774 schwartz’ (qadar, black) explaining the רַדָק ‘ helpfully supplies the Hebrew etymology for provenance of the ‘black stream’ in Luther’s sermon. commentary 149 the night’—Matthew’s ‘outer darkness’ (Matthew 25.30)—to arrange for Jesus’ arrest. As Judas was leaving the room of the Last Supper, Jesus told his disciples, ‘now the Son of Man has been glorified’ (John 13.31). Jesus’ glorification lies not in his signs of power but in his betrayal, arrest, suffering and death, a concept central to John’s narrative, and echoed closely in Martin Luther’s Theology of the Cross. Having made contact with the religious authorities and the temple police, Judas returned with a sizable detachment of soldiers and policemen. Olea- rius explains that the Greek word speira indicates a cohort—some 600 men. However, Luther’s translation Schar (troop) may suggest a smaller number [bar 10].19 Luther uses Kriegsknechte (mercenaries, a term used of professional foot soldiers) to refer to the Roman soldiers. Schar is used in conjunction with the Chief Priests and Pharisees, and thus suggests armed temple officials. The Ger- man definite article die implies that the cohort needs no further introduction [bar 9]. Throughout John’s Gospel, the chief priests are characterised as the official religious leadership and are attributed quasi-political powers. The chief priests and Pharisees, who had opposed Jesus’ teaching throughout, had previously sent a group of armed temple officials. Both had earlier on commissioned their officers to arrest Jesus, but the officers had been too stunned by his words to carry out the arrest (John 7.32 and 7.45). Luther’s der Hohenpriester und Pharisäer Diener (servants of the High Priest and the Pharisees) [bars 10–11] suggests a less formal body of men; servants and footmen rather than trained officers. This group of religious leaders and their officials arrived to arrest Jesus. The punctuated melody line in bars 12–13 (mit Fackeln, Lampen und mit Waffen— with torches, lanterns and with weapons) hammers home the point that they are over-equipped to arrest an unarmed suspect under a full moon, as Olearius points out:

The works of darkness are not aided by light, in particular at the time of the [Passover] full moon, when there was no need at all for any such concern [about visibility], as if the Lord would hide under the olive trees, fig or palm trees.20

John 18.4 [bars 13–17]: John emphasises that this arrest did not come as a surprise, but that Jesus was fully prepared for what lay ahead, ‘knowing all

19 HS 5: 775: ‘Speiran, … cohortem’. 20 HS 5: 775: ‘Die Werck der Finsterniß hilft kein Liecht/ sonderlich umb die Zeit des Voll- monden/ so war auch gar kein Bey-Sorge nötig/ als möchte sich der HERR unter den Oel-Bäumen/ Feigen/ oder Palm-Bäumen verbergen wollen’. 150 chapter 8

that should happen to him’, in fact, ‘he had himself previously proclaimed’ what would happen to him.21 This is supported by an ascending melody line (outlining B flat major, bars 13d–14c) and a major mood (B flat major/E flat major) in bars 13–15 (Als nun Jesus wußte alles, was ihm begegnen sollte—Then Jesus, knowing all that should happen to him). A second ascending melody line in bar 15 (ging er hinaus—he went out) takes the listener along with Jesus straight into the midst of his captors. Jesus gave himself up of his own free will, and knowingly took on what lay ahead of him. At a previous encounter in the forecourts of the temple Jesus had confronted his captors with the same authority, and sent them back empty-handed (John 7.45–47).22 Here again Jesus takes initiative: his opening words—Wen suchet ihr? (Whom do you seek?)—introduce the first crowd-scene (or turba) of the Passion [bars 16–17].

2b. Coro (compare with 2d, 16d, 18b and 23f) Chorus (Flute I/II, Oboe I/II, Violin I/II, Viola, Continuo)

Johannes 18,5a Jesum von Nazareth. John 18.5a Jesus of Nazareth.

John 18.5a [bars 18–20]: Apart from the inscription above the cross, which speaks of ‘Jesus of Nazareth, the king of the Jews’, this chorus (and the related chorus 2d) are the only occurrences of the words von Nazareth (of Nazareth) in the Passion. At the very beginning of the Gospel story, the disciple Nathanael had voiced his doubt whether ‘anything good can come out of Nazareth’ (John 1.46), and so here the term may also be used mockingly, not just describing Jesus’ provenance, a link made explicit by Olearius.23 This certainly is the case in Pilate’s inscription. Luther’s Jesum uses the Latin accusative historically applied in German to classical names ending in -us, and therefore answers Jesus’ question Wen suchet ihr? (Whom do you seek?, John 18.4b). This crowd-scene (turba) serves as a model for four other musically similar movements [2d, 16d, 18b and 23f]. They provide a musical and thematic link between Jesus’ first encounter with his captors and later confrontations that, ultimately, lead to the chief priests’ choice of a criminal to be liberated instead of Jesus (John 18.40). The instrumental frame for these crowd-scenes remains on the whole unchanged: the theme, set out in four bars, is interjected between recitatives; with upper instrumental parts in semiquaver figuration

21 HS 5: 775: ‘Er hatte es ja selbst zuvor verkündiget’. 22 An authority ascribed by Olearius, citing Athanasius, in HS 5: 775–776, to ‘miraculous grace’ (Wunderliche Güte). 23 HS 5: 776: ‘Da nichts guts herkömt’ (from whence comes no good thing). commentary 151

figure 6 Autograph Score, p. 11: Different Cross-motifs (1–3, 2–4 and 1–4, 2–3) on ‘Jesum von Nazareth’ over a figured bass-line. In this movement, the flutes and first violin provide the semiquaver figuration, while the continuo points out the harmony; an example of melodic and harmonic Fortspinnung (spinning-forth, or amplification of the motif). The underlying harmonic sequence comprises part of a descending circle of fifths, showing Bach’s musical and mathematical craftsmanship. This four-bar sequence forms a ritornello (recurring passage) which reoccurs later in the scene, providing a musical connection to movement 2d when the crowd again clamours for ‘Jesus of Nazareth’. This outer structure of flute, violin and continuo forms the framework for the inner voices, which move more freely in a quaver pattern, and are echoed by the chorus. In this movement, the chorus follows the oboes, second violin and viola in a cackle of strings and woodwind.24 This produces a tumultuous babble of voices, all shouting over each other, while the woodwind mocks Jesus.

24 See also Dürr (2000), pp. 65–66, p. 62. For earlier uses of such a motif, in particular in Hein- rich Schütz’s St John Passion, see: Tamsin D. Jones, Passions in Perspective: An Analytical Discussion of the three Passion Settings of Heinrich Schütz (1585–1672) against their Histori- calandStylisticBackgrounds (Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation: Birmingham University, 2000), p. 212 and p. 234. 152 chapter 8

In addition, Bach embeds the endpoint of the Passion journey in the bass- line, making use of an extraordinary musical device: a melodic line in the form of an x-shaped cross on the syllables Je-sum von Na-za-[reth] (Jesus of Nazareth) [bars 19 and 20]. The composer uses this ‘cross-motif’ again and again, increasingly so as the moment of the crucifixion approaches, which is itself marked by multiple crosses in the score [movement 25a, bars 1–3, see Fig- ure 6].

2c. Recitativo Evangelist—tenor, Jesus—bass, continuo

Evangelist Evangelist Johannes 18,5b Jesus spricht zu ihnen: John 18.5b Jesus replied:

Jesus Jesus Ich bins. I am he.

Evangelist Evangelist Judas aber, der ihn verriet, But Judas, who betrayed him, stund auch bei ihnen. was also standing with them.

18,6 Als nun Jesus zu ihnen sprach: 18.6 When Jesus said to them: ‘Ich bins’, wichen sie zurücke ‘I am he’, they moved back und fielen zu Boden. and fell to the ground.

18,7 Da fragete er sie abermal: 18.7 There he asked them again:

Jesus Jesus Wen suchet ihr? Whom do you seek?

Evangelist Evangelist Sie aber sprachen: But they spoke:

John 18.5b [bars 22–23]: Judas does not betray Jesus by a kiss in contrast with the synoptic Passion stories (Matthew 26.48 and synoptic parallels in Mark’s and Luke’s Gospels).25 Jesus remains standing among his disciples and, again in contrast with parallel accounts such as Matthew 26.50, no-one lays hands on him. Instead, Jesus gives himself up willingly by identifying himself to his opponents. Jesus did so by the words ich bins (I am he). They refer back to the

25 HS 5: 774: ‘The Judas-kiss to betray Jesus is mentioned in Matthew 26.48’ (von dem verrätherischen Judas-Kuß ist Nachricht Mat. 26/48). commentary 153 scene of the Last Supper, where Jesus predicted Judas’ betrayal: ‘The one who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me. I tell you this now, before it occurs, so that when it does occur, you may believe that I am he’ (John 13.18f).26 The phrase echoes earlier sayings where Jesus says ‘I am the good shepherd’ (John 10.11), ‘the resurrection and life’ (John 11.25), ‘the way, truth and life’ (John 14.6), and ‘the true vine’ (John 15.1) introduced by the same words. Olearius explains that Jesus’ proclamation ich bins (I am he) was ‘a universal word of power’ that referred to the Hebrew divine Name ‘I am who I am’ (Exodus 3.14): ‘The eternal, all-powerful Jehovah (Psalm 27.1, 1John 16.33), the conqueror, the more powerful (Luke 11) … the invincible fulminator, the Lord: el Shaddai (Genesis 28.35)’.27 As Jesus is about to be handed over, we encounter one of the many moments of the Johannine ‘glorification in debasement’ that make up John’s Passion narrative. A spark of Jesus’ divinity breaks through the darkness of the scene and reveals him to be the Son of God, ‘Almighty’.28 John’s theological understanding is made clear not only by Olearius but a number of other Lutheran interpreters on whose work Bach also drew regularly; the seventeenth-century theologian Johann Arndt, for instance, commented as follows on the passage in his Geistreiche Schrifften und Wercke:

Christ’s words I am he teach us in a wonderful way about his majesty, which he discarded in his debasement yet shines through at certain moments. Does not the same apply to his death—which is about to take place—while he sits enthroned at the right hand of God and has power over all things?29

John 18.6 [bars 25–28]: When Jesus identified himself, his captors wichen … zurückeundfielenzuBoden (moved back and fell to the ground) [bars 27b–28b].

26 Alluding to Psalm 41.8–9: ‘They think that a deadly thing has fastened on me, that I will not rise again from where I lie. Even my bosom friend in whom I trusted, who ate of my bread, has lifted the heel against me’. 27 HS 5: 776: ‘Ein allgewaltiges Macht-Wort’; ‘Der ewige allmächtige Jehovah. Psalm 27.1/ 1. Johan. 16/33, der Uberwinder/ der Stärckere Luc. 11 … der unüberwindliche Fulminator. Schaddai. 1. B. Mos. 28.c. 35/3)’. 28 WA 28: 235, 25: ‘Allmechtig’. 29 Johann Arndt, Geistreiche Schrifften und Wercke (Leipzig and Görlitz: J. Rambach, 1734), p. 508: ‘In Christi Wort “ich bin’s” haben wir … eine herrliche Lehr von der Majestät Christi, derer er sich zwar im Stande seiner Niedrigkeit geeussert, aber gleichwohl zu Zeiten herfür leuchten lassen. … Ist dergleichen bey seinem Sterben, was nun geschehen, da er sitzt zur Rechten Gottes, und über alles Gewalt hat’. 154 chapter 8

The evangelist’s melodic line here clearly traces their movement. Even at the time of his impending arrest Jesus remained fully in charge of the situation. He did not attempt to flee, nor did he endeavour to negotiate his release. As at his previous encounter with the temple authorities in the forecourt of the temple (John 7.45–47), his word is still sufficient to throw his opponents to the ground. The reaction of the soldiers and tenple authorities recalls other visions of divine: the prophet Daniel fell ‘face to the ground’ when hearing the word of God addressed to him (Daniel 10.9), just as Saul ‘fell to the ground’ on the Damascus Road in his encounter with the risen Christ (Acts 9.4), as Olearius explains.30 Heinrich Müller, a seventeenth-century Lutheran commentator, expounds the passage as follows:

The Saviour’s majesty has slain them like a flash of lightning. While he has emptied himself of his divine glory in this state of debasement, from time to time he did send forth—when his office required it—a ray of his glory.31

Arndt concludes, ‘here Christ reveals himself to be Almighty God and Lord’.32

John 18.7 [bars 28–30]: Jesus questions his would-be-captors once more. Ques- tion and answer are similar to bars 16d–18a and serve to emphasise the sovereignty of Jesus over his opponents by repetition. Although the Evangelist’s melody for Wen suchet ihr? (Whom do you seek?) is unchanged [bar 16d–17b], Bach’s harmony now leads to the sub-dominant (C) minor, rather than the tonic (G) minor as before; just as the key-change is unexpected so Jesus’ mastery of the situation is also completely unexpected by human standards.

30 HS 5: 776. 31 Heinrich Müller, Vom Leyden Christi—neun Predigten, in: idem, Geistreiche Paßions-Schule (Frankfurt/Main: Gensch, 1720), p. 261: ‘Die Majestät des Heylandes hat sie niedergeschla- gen wie ein Blitz. Denn ob er zwar im Stande der Erniedrigung sich seiner Göttlichen Herrlichkeit geäußert, hat er doch zuweilen wanns sein Ammt erforderte, einen Strahl derselben lassen hervor blicken’; HS 5: 776 adds in like vein: ‘They were suddenly slain by this almighty word of power/ as if by struck to the ground by thunder. That was a glance of the Divine Majesty and Glory’ (Sie wurden durch dieses allmächtige kräftige Wort plötz- lich/ als vom Donner/ darnieder geschlagen/ daß sie zur Erden fielen. Das war ein Blick der Göttlichen Majestät und Herrlichkeit). 32 Arndt (1734), p. 619: ‘[Allhie] erzeiget sich Christus als ein allmächtiger Gott und Herr’. commentary 155

figure 7 Autograph Score, p. 12: Cross-motifs (1–4, 2–3) on ‘Jesum von Nazareth’

2d. Coro e Recitativo (compare with 2b, 16d, 18b and 23f) Chorus and Recitative (Oboe I/II, Violin I/II, Viola, Continuo), Evangelist—tenor, Jesus—bass

Johannes 18,7b Jesum von Nazareth. John 18.7b Jesus of Nazareth.

Evangelist Evangelist 18,8 Jesus antwortete: 18.8 Jesus answered:

Jesus Jesus Ich habs euch gesagt, daß ichs sei, I have told you, that I am he, suchet ihr denn mich, so lasset diese gehen! So if you are seeking me, let these go!

John 18.7b–8 [bars 30–36]: The chorus mirrors 2b, both frame the self- revelation of Jesus as the divine Son in 2c, and help to accentuate the theo- phany. The first violin is not joined by the flutes in the semiquaver motive, which lessens the suggestion of mockery now that his opponents have been struck by his power and authority. Where in the previous chorus there are fewer occurences of the shape of a cross in music in calling for Jesus to identify himself [movement 2b, bars 19–20], in this movement all four voices share variants 156 chapter 8

on the cross-motif on Jesum von Na-[zareth] (Jesus of Nazareth) [bars 32–34: Figure 7]. Even at the moment of capture, the purpose of the Passion story gives shape to the musical material, pointing clearly to the inevitability of Jesus’ crucifixion. In the exchange that follows, Jesus allows himself to be captured to save the lives of his disciples. It is noteworthy that Jesus is not deserted by his disciples as in Mark’s Passion story (Mark 14.50). Rather, Jesus saves their lives and commands them to leave him at a time when he is about to fulfil his promise to them, ‘I lay down my life for the sheep’ (John 10.15).33

3. Choral Chorale (Flutes I/II, Oboe I and Violin I with Sopranos; Oboe II, Violin II with Altos; Viola with Tenors; Continuo with Basses)

O große Lieb, o Lieb ohn alle Maße, O greater love, O love beyond all measure, die dich gebracht auf diese Marterstraße! that brought you to this road of torture! Ich lebte mit der Welt in Lust und Freuden, I lived with the world in happiness and joy, und du mußt leiden. and you must suffer.

Verse 7 of Herzliebster Jesu, was hast du verbrochen [bars 1–11]: The Passion hymn Herzliebster Jesu, was hast du verbrochen (Oh dearest Jesus, what law have you broken) is based on Isaiah’s Fourth Servant Song (Isaiah 53) and a metrical version of Psalm 23 in the Geneva Psalter (1543).34 In the light of his own experience of the Thirty Years’ War of religion that ravaged Germany from 1618–1648, the Köben pastor Johann Heermann adapted both texts for his hymn, in which he recalls the sufferings borne by Christ in order to make atonement for human sin, a theme first set in Isaiah’s Servant Songs, ‘surely he has borne our griefs’ (Isaiah 53.4). Set to a melody from Johann Crüger’s Neues vollkömmliches Gesangbuch Augsburgischer Confession, the hymn was first published in his 1630 hymnal Herz- und Hausmusik. Bach may well have used the hymn to echo the traditional introit chorale at the Good Friday Vespers in St Thomas’ Church Da Jesus an dem Kreuze stund (As Jesus stood at the Cross). The Leipzig verger Christoph Rost recorded in

33 HS 5: 777: ‘Therefore let these sheep go’ (Darumb lasset diese Schaafe gehen). 34 Compiled by Guillaume Franc (c. 1505–1570), the reformed cantor of Saint-Pierre, Geneva, the Geneva Psalter served as the basis for a number of Protestant hymnals far beyond the French-speaking Reformed tradition. For the introduction of his Psalter, see: Daniel Trocmé-Latter, ‘The Psalms as a mark of Protestantism: The Introduction of liturgical Psalm-Singing in Geneva’, Plainsong and Medieval Music 20 (2011), pp. 145–163. commentary 157

1721: ‘The hymn As Jesus stood at the Cross was intoned from the choir gallery, introducing immediately the accompanied Passion which was half-way sung before the sermon’.35 Rather than begin the Passion with a chorale reflecting on the overall theme of the Passion, Bach chose this verse from Heermann’s hymn at a later part in the Passion in order to reflect specifically on Christ’s promise to his disciples that ‘the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep’ (John 10.11) emphasised in movement 2d. No wrong-doing of his own, only the boundless love for those entrusted to him, has led Jesus to diese Marterstraße (this road of torture) [bars 5–6]. His sufferings are the price paid for the believer’s life of Lust und Freuden (happiness and joy) [bars 8–9], a thoroughly Johannine theme: throughout his ministry Jesus encounters the hatred of the world because of his ceaseless reminder ‘that its works are evil’ (John 7.7). For the evangelist, the only way for humans to gain eternal life is to turn from ‘their life in this world’ (John 12.25) and instead to imitate the boundless love of Christ (see for instance John 15.12f). These theological statements are clearly underscored by the musical accompaniment. A solitary semiquaver movement in the alto line, doubled by the second oboe and violin in bar 9, as well as the unexpected major harmony with a cadence in the relative major (B flat) highlight Freuden (joy), whilst Du (you) is stressed by a sudden diminished seventh in bar 10, and a leap of a diminished fifth (or tritone) in the bass line in bar 10, underscores mußt leiden (must suffer).36

4. Recitativo Recitative—Evangelist (tenor), Jesus (bass), continuo

Evangelist Evangelist Johannes 18,9 Auf daß das Wort erfüllet würde, John 18.9 So that the words would be fulfilled welches er sagte: that he had spoken:

35 See Johann Christoph Rost, ‘Nachricht, Wie es, in der Kirchen zu St Thom allhier, mit dem Gottesdienst, Jährlichen sowohl an Hohen Feste, als anderen Tagen, pfleget gehalten zu werden, aufgezeichnet von Johann Christoph Rosten, Custode ad D. Thomae, anno 1716’, in: BD 2, pp. 140–141: ‘Wurd auf dem Chor, das Lied gesungen Da Jesus an dem Creütze stund etc, dann ging gleich die Musicirte Passion an, und ward vor der Predigt halb gesungen’. 36 In early modern and Baroque musical allegory the tritone, or diabolus in musica (‘devil in music’), denoted evil or intense conflict, see: Hans Jochaim Moser, ‘Diabolus in Musica’, Musikerziehung 6.3 (1953), pp. 131–147, and Reinhold Hammerstein, Diabolus in Musica: Studien zur Ikonographie der Musik im Mittelalter, Neue Heidelberger Studien zur Musik- wissenschaft 6 (Bern: Francke, 1974), p. 7. 158 chapter 8

‘Ich habe der keine verloren, ‘I have lost none of those die du mir gegeben hast’. whom you gave me’.

18,11 Da sprach Jesus zu Petro: 18.11 There Jesus spoke to Peter:

John 18.9 [bars 1–4]: In John 17.12, Jesus had prayed ‘while I was with [my disciples], I protected them in your name that you have given me. I guarded them, and not one of them was lost, except the one who was destined to be lost’. Here the evangelist reminds the listener that Jesus had foreseen his Passion and knew that his arrest would purchase not only the temporary freedom of his friends, but ultimately their salvation.37 Judas, who is referred to as ‘the one who was destined to be lost’ in John 17.12, is no longer mentioned—by his betrayal he has already crossed over into the ‘outer darkness’. Unlike Matthew, John does not refer to Judas’ suicide (Matthew 27.3–5) but instead speaks of his eternal condemnation.

John 18.10–11a [bars 5–12]: Simon Peter seeks to defend Jesus by a last, futile, gesture. He had promised to lay down his life for Jesus (John 13.37) and now confronted one of the slaves of the high priest, Malchus, cutting off his right ear in the process. Peter’s action in the face of a large crowd of armed officers is clearly preposterous. The underlying secondary dominant chord on Schwert (sword) provides an element of surprise [bar 7], while the evangelist’s ascending melody line zog es aus und schlug (and drew it out and struck) illustrates the drawing [bars 6–7] and the descending line the mutilation—hieb ihm sein recht Ohr ab (and took off his right ear) [bar 8]. The Lucan story tells of the healing of the slave’s ear by Jesus (Luke 22.51), but John omits this sign of compassion towards an adversary by a last miraculous cure. Instead, Jesus commands Peter to lay down his sword (Stecke dein Schwert in die Scheide) knowing that

37 HS 5: 777, also referring to John 17.12. commentary 159

no action on behalf of any of his friends can now hold back his Passion [bars 11–12]. Olearius suggests that this gesture was akin to his saying: ‘Do you seek to prevent my salvific, freely accepted suffering by your miserable powerlessness?’38

John 18.11b [bars 12–15]: Jesus’ final rebuttal of Peter Soll ich den Kelch nicht trinken, den mir mein Vater gegeben hat? (Am I not to drink the cup that the Father has given me?) [bars 12–14] is repeated in bars 14–15. Jesus’ question expects an affirmative answer, Olearius’ commentary explains.39 This is realised musically by a rising chromatic scale on the syllables ge-ben hat [bar 15], mirroring the rising voice. John does not recount Jesus’ anguish in Geth- semane and his anxious prayer, ‘if it is possible, let this cup pass from me’ (Matthew 26.39). Where in Matthew’s Gospel Jesus actively seeks the support of his friends and chides Peter, ‘could you not stay awake with me one hour?’ (Matthew 26.40), here he accepts the cup—the symbol of his Passion— willingly and rejects Peter’s help as human interference in God’s plan of salvation.40

5. Choral Chorale (Flutes I/II, Oboe I and Violin I with Sopranos; Oboe II, Violin II with Altos; Viola with Tenors; Continuo with Basses)

Dein Will gescheh, Herr Gott, zugleich Your will be done, Lord God, equally auf Erden wie im Himmelreich, on earth as in the kingdom of heaven. Gib uns Geduld in Leidenszeit, Give us patience in the time of suffering, gehorsam sein in Lieb und Leid; to be obedient in love and suffering; wehr und steur allem Fleisch und Blut, defend and guide all flesh and blood, das wider deinen Willen tut! that acts against your will!

Verse 4 of Vater unser im Himmelreich [bars 1–12]: Martin Luther’s 1539 metrical version of the Lord’s Prayer, Vater unser im Himmelreich (Our Father, who from heaven above) serves as a response to John 18.11b, Soll ich den Kelch nicht trinken, den mir mein Vater gegeben hat? (Am I not to drink the cup that the Father has given me?). Referring once again back to Jesus’ agony in Geth- semane, ‘My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done’

38 HS 5: 777: ‘Woltestu mein heylbringendes freywilliges Leiden mit deiner elenden Ohn- macht verwehren?’ 39 HS 5: 777: ‘It is a confirmatory question’ (Qvaestio confirmat). 40 HS 5: 777: ‘The cup of the cross’ (Den Creutz-Kelch). 160 chapter 8

(Matthew 26.42), an interchange that does not feature in John’s Gospel, this verse illustrates Jesus’ free submission to the will of God. Throughout the Pas- sion, Jesus is shown to be a model that believers should imitate. His costly acceptance of his Father’s will is to inspire believers—represented by the choir—to ‘go and do likewise’ (Luke 10.37), and themselves to join the prayer that Jesus taught them, Dein Will gescheh, Herr Gott, zugleich auf Erden wie im Himmelreich (Your will be done, Lord God, on earth as it is in the kingdom of heaven) [bars 1–4]. Framed by God’s will, Wille, in its various German declensions [bars 2 and 12], the entire chorale points to the believers’ full assent to God’s purposes. Jesus had told his friends that to follow God obediently would result in personal suffering (Matthew 16.24–26 and synoptic parallels). The believers’ prayer, Gib uns Geduld in Leidenszeit,/ gehorsam sein in Lieb und Leid (Give us patience in the time of suffering/ to be obedient in love and suffering) [bars 4–8], echoes the paradox that bad things happen to good people contained in Jesus’ charge to his followers to ‘deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me’ (Luke 9.23). The final petition of the chorale, wehr und steur allem Fleisch und Blut,/ das wider deinen Willen tut (defend and guide all flesh and blood,/ that acts against your will) [bars 8–12], provides a reference to Jesus’ exhortation of his disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane—not in John’s Gospel—‘pray that you may not come into the time of trial; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak’ (Matthew 26.41). In this paraphrase of the Lord’s Prayer, Luther made it clear that submission of the believers’ feeble ‘flesh and blood’ to God’s purposes is possible only with the help of God’s grace. God alone is able to shield the believer from sin. The inevitable harmonic resolution and implied rhythmic retardation on das wider deinen Willen tut (that acts against your will) [bars 10–12] supports this theological insight, by emphasising the inevitability of the authority of the will of God over human endeavour.

II. PONTIFICES—JESUS BEFORE THE CHIEF PRIESTS 6. Recitativo Recitative—Evangelist (tenor), continuo

Johannes 18,12 Die Schar aber und der John 18.12 But the troop, their captain, Oberhauptmann und die Diener der Jüden and the servants of the Jews nahmen Jesum und bunden ihn took Jesus and bound him

18,14 Es war aber Kaiphas, der den Jüden riet, 18.14 But it was Caiaphas who had advised es wäre gut, daß ein Mensch würde the Jews that it were better that one person umbracht für das Volk. would be broken for the people.

John 18.12 [bars 1–4]: Jesus was bound and taken by his captors—a coalition of Roman soldiers and Jewish temple officials (compare with John 18.2–3, movement 2a above)—led by a Roman officer. Luther’s translation Oberhauptmann is a direct translation of John’s chiliarchos, a specific military term meaning literally ‘captain of a thousand’ (tribunusmilitum), the leader of a Roman cohort.41 The binding of Jesus is interpreted theologically and musically in the alto aria that follows [see the discussion below, movement 7].

John 18.13 [bars 4–6]: The bound Jesus is then led to Hannas, himself a former high-priest, father of five high priests, and the influential father-in-law of the current high priest Caiaphas. John gives no reason why Jesus should first be led to the high priest’s father-in-law before being brought to Caiaphas himself (for the suggestion that this may have followed due rabbinical process, see the commentary on John 18.24, movement 12a below), particularly since Hannas had been removed from office by the Romans some fifteen years earlier.42 The fact that Hannas, as a past high priest, is also addressed as ‘high priest’ only adds to the confusion (see John 18.22, movement 10 below).43 John suggests that high priests were appointed annually (John 11.49, 18.13). In fact, the office was initially meant to be held for life. However, in the first three decades of the first century ce the Romans had taken upon themselves the appointment process of high priests, so that the reality very much reflected John’s impression, Luther explains, citing Josephus.44

41 HS 5: 775: ‘In John 19.12 [sic: Olearius means 18.12] their commanding officer is called Chiliarchos, officer over about a thousand men’ (Die sich auch wol an tausend erstreckt/ daher Johan. 19/12 ihr Haupt Chiliarchus genannt wird). 42 Hannas was removed from his high priestly office by the Roman procurator, Flavius Jose- phus, Jewish Antiquities, with an English Translation by Louis H. Feldman, Loeb Classical Library 411 (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1969) [cited as Ant.], 18: 26–35, who calls him ‘Ananus’, reports. For Bach’s ownership of Josephus’ works, see: BB 85–87. 43 Luther, WA 27: 270, 22–33, reflects on this confusion at length. 44 Luther, Wochenpredigten über Johannes 16–20, 1528/29, WA 28: 258, 21–24: ‘Josephus writes [Ant. 18: 35] that the two [high priests] Alexander and Simon shared their office, and cast lots about who would rule after the other, just as there are three mayors in any city, who rule one year after the other’ (Josephus schreibet, das die zweenen Alexander und Simon das Hohepriesteramt unter sich haben geteilet und darumb geloset, das einer umb den andern Hohepriester gewesen ist, wie in einer Stad drey Bürgermeister seien und regiren 162 chapter 8

John 18.14 [bars 6–11]: Caiaphas is identified as the high priest who den Jüden riet, es wäre gut, daß ein Mensch würde umbracht für das Volk (advised the Jews that it were better that one person would be broken for the people) [bars 8–11].45 John refers here to an earlier interchange between Caiaphas, the other chief priests and the Pharisees, which highlights their dilemma vis-à-vis Jesus (John 11.46–50). In response to their question, ‘What are we to do? This man is performing many signs. If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and destroy both our holy place and our nation’ (John 11.47–48), Caiaphas counselled them, ‘Youdo not understand that it is better for one man to die for the people than to have the whole nation destroyed’ (John 11.50). Here, John’s irony reaches its peak, Barrett suggests: ‘Jesus was put to death; and politically the people perished’.46 He died ‘for the people’ ( für das Volk) [bars 10–11], died instead of the people:47 those who followed Jesus did not perish but instead gained eternal life (John 3.16). A leap of a sixth on Mensch (one person) in the evangelist’s vocal line and a retardation on umbracht (broken) [bar 10] highlight musically the concept of one man’s death for the welfare of all people.

7. Aria Alto (Oboe I/II, Continuo)

Von den Stricken meiner Sünden From the cords of my sins, mich zu entbinden, in order to unbind me, wird mein Heil gebunden. my salvation will be bound. Mich von allen Lasterbeulen From all the boils of vice, völlig zu heilen in order to fully heal me, läßt er sich verwunden. he lets himself be wounded.

Opening Chorus of Brockes Passion [bars 1–115]: Barthold Heinrich Brockes’ Der für die Sünden der Welt Gemarterte und Sterbende Jesus (Jesus, Suffering and Dying for the Sins of the World) served as a textual basis for most of the free poetry in the Passion.48 Written by the Hamburg City Councillor Brockes

ein jar umb das ander). Josephus’ report of the eventual removal of Caiaphas from office in Ant. 18: 95 further confirms John’s impression. 45 For John’s use of ‘the Jews’, see the discussion in movement 16c, below. 46 Barrett (1978), p. 522. 47 HS 5: 710: ‘An dessen stelle’. 48 Barthold Heinrich Brockes, Verteutschter Bethlehemitischer Kinder-Mord des Ritters Ma- rino. Nebst etlichen von des Herrn Übersetzers Eigenen Gedichten (Cöln & Hamburg: Schiller, 1715), pp. 299–320. commentary 163 in 1712 and reworked a year later, the libretto was set to music respectively by Handel and Telemann, as well as two Hamburg composers, Keiser and Mattheson, among others.49 The libretto, a collection of poems that re-tells the story of Jesus’ arrest, suffering and death, was praised by Brockes’ contemporaries as an ideal basis for a Passion oratorio.50 Based on the orthodox Lutheran understanding that the believers’ sins are like the cords that bind Jesus, in his opening poem Brockes elaborated:51 Meine Laster sind die Stricke, seine Ketten meine Tücke,/ meine Sünden binden ihn (My vices are the ropes, his chains my malice,/ he is bound by my sin).52 In a sermon on Christ’s Passion the seventeenth-century Lutheran theologian Johann Gerhard elaborates this point further:

It is Christ alone whom we ought to thank that we have been saved from those dangerous bonds of devil, death and hell. He let himself be bound willingly on our behalf so that we could be spared the bounds of sin.53

By allowing himself to be bound by the ropes of sin, Jesus has overcome human sin and gave sinners the opportunity to enter into a right relationship with God. For Brockes this message stood at the beginning of his Passion; Bach used the same poem to comment on the willingness of Jesus to be umbracht für das Volk (broken for the people).54 This relationship created by Jesus’ free acceptance of mortality spans beyond death: just as Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead and exhorted his friends, ‘unbind him, and let him go!’ (John 11.44), here he unbinds (entbindet) sinners from sin and death by taking on their bonds himself. This theological insight is reflected clearly in the music. The basso ostinato continuo and oboes artfully ‘weave’ the bonds by which Jesus is bound. The

49 For other settings of Brockes’ text, see above, chapter 4,3.2. Madrigalic Texts. 50 See also Axmacher (1984), pp. 116–120. Bach certainly knew the Mattheson setting of Brockes’ Passion and may have owned Handel’s setting, Daniel R. Melamed: ‘Johann Sebastian Bach and Barthold Heinrich Brockes’, in: idem, ed., J.S. Bach and the Oratorio Tradition, Bach Perspectives 8 (Champaign: University of Illinois Press, 2011), pp. 13–42, pp. 15–16. 51 See for instance HS 5: 777. 52 Brockes (1715), p. 308. 53 Johann Gerhard, Erklärung der Historien des Leidens und Sterbens unseres Herrn Christi Jesu (Jena: Georg Sengenwald, 1652), p. 85: ‘Daß wir von diesen gefährlichen Banden des Teuffels Todtes und der Hellen können erlöset werden das haben wir allein Christo zu dancken welcher sich umb unseret willen so willig hat lassen binden daß wir möchten von den Sündenbanden errettet werden’. 54 HS 5: 777: ‘Sets us free from the bonds of sin’ (Macht uns frey von Sünden-Banden). 164 chapter 8

initial ritornello [bars 1–8] provides much of the thematic material that makes up the remainder of the aria. The oboes follow the continuo in canon to which meaning is added retrospectively by the alto soloist’s text—another subtle reflection on the theology underpinning the aria:

At the start of the first vocal section the ritornello acquires additional text- related significance, for the antithesis of canon and parallel voice-leading obviously corresponds to the concepts of ‘binden’ and ‘entbinden’ (‘bind’ and ‘unbind’).55

The alto voice here takes the part of the human soul and reflects on the sufferings of Christ as a result of human shortcomings, paralleling Brockes’ Chor gläubiger Seelen (Chorus of faithful souls). The Jena theologian Johann Michael Dilherr, an earlier contemporary of Bach and Brockes, emphasises: ‘In order for us sinners to be carried through, the one who is holy, innocent, unblemished, and without any sin, lets himself be bound’.56 The binding of Jesus not only frees sinners but unites them with Jesus in a common bond.57

8. Recitativo Recitative—Evangelist (tenor), continuo

Evangelist Evangelist Johannes 18,15a Simon Petrus aber folgete Jesu John 18.15a But Simon Peter followed after nach und ein andrer Jünger. Jesus and another disciple.

John 18.15 [bars 1–3]: This brief verse introduces a key theological concept; that of the cost of discipleship or Nachfolge, a theological term that can be derived from the wording of this verse: Peter ‘followed’ Jesus to the residence of Hannas ( folgete … nach), joined by another disciple. Tradition identifies the nameless disciple with the Galilean fisherman John, the son of Zebedee, although the close relationship with Hannas attributed to the disciple in the following verse (John 18.16, movement 10 below) might make this less probable.

55 Dürr (2000), p. 81; for a full discussion of the aria see pp. 79–83. 56 Johann Michael Dilherr, Buß- und Passions-Betrachtungen (Nürnberg: Endter, 1650), p. 278: ‘Damit nun wir Sünder erlediget würden läst sich derjenige binden, der da ist heilig, unschuldig, unbefleckt und von der Sünde abgesondert’. 57 HS 5: 777: ‘Jesus, your bonds of love/ are comfort to me in my state of adversity’ (JEsu deine Liebes-Bande/ Sind mein Trost im Unglücks-Stande). commentary 165

figure 8 Autograph Score, p. 17: Cross-motif (1–4, 2–3) on ‘Jesu nach und’

In an earlier interchange, Jesus had told Peter, ‘You cannot follow me now; but you will follow afterward’ (John 13.36), a veiled pointer towards Peter’s own subsequent martyrdom. Although Peter clearly did not comprehend the full implications, he promised to follow Jesus and to lay down his life for him there and then (John 13.37). Brockes reflected on his decision to follow his master in a poetic soliloquy:58

Nehmt mich mit Take me with you verzagte Schaaren you desperate band Hier ist Petrus ohne Schwerdt this is Peter without sword: Last Let all was Jesu wiederfährt that will befall Jesus Mir auch wiederfahren. Also befall me. Nehmt Mich mit. Take me with you.

Discipleship, Jesus had told his followers, is costly and in itself a way of the cross. This is expressed by Bach through another cross-motif [see the discussion on movements 2b and 2d, above]. Here the composer traces the cross on the syllables Je-su nach und (followed Jesus) [bar 2b–c, see Figure 8].

9. Aria Soprano (Flute I/II, Continuo)

Ich folge dir gleichfalls mit freudigen Schritten I follow you equally with joyful steps und lasse dich nicht and will not let you go mein Leben, mein Licht. my life, my light. Befördre den Lauf Take us on the way und höre nicht auf and do not cease selbst an mir zu ziehen, zu schieben, zu bitten. yourself to draw me, prod me, request me.

58 Brockes (1715), p. 304. 166 chapter 8

[bars 1–164]: An original poem written specifically to reflect on Peter’s decision to follow Jesus regardless of personal cost serves a similar purpose as the soliloquy introduced in Brockes’ Passion [see above, movement 8]: it is a prayer of the human soul in two parts. The first part [bars 1–40 and 116–156] reflects on Peter’s readiness to enter into the way of the cross. The believer is to emulate him.59 Jesus is identified as mein Leben, mein Licht (my life, my light) and therefore the life and light of the faithful [bars 30–32 passim]. A reference to Jesus’ earlier declarations, ‘as long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world’ (John 9.5) and ‘I am the resurrection and the life’ (John 11.25), both disclose key-attributes of Jesus’ divinity.60 A later version of the Passion (Version IV, 1749) stresses this theological point further, by providing an alternative text altogether:61

Ich folge dir gleichfalls, I follow you equally, mein Heiland, mit Freuden, my Saviour, with joy, und lasse dich nicht and will not let you go mein Heiland, mein Licht. my Saviour, my light. Mein sehnlicher Lauf My longing way hört nicht eher auf will no sooner cease bis daß du mich lehrest until you have taught me geduldig zu leiden. to suffer in patience.

In this aria, Jesus is not identified as the Son of God by reference to his divine attributes but clearly shown to be the Heiland (Saviour) of the faithful. Follow- ing the example of Peter, believers are also invited to follow Christ mit freudigen Schritten (with joyful steps), and not to let go of him even in times of difficulty. The variant reading elaborates further how Jesus’ suffering serves as an exemplar of patient endurance. Life will remain a sehnlicher Lauf (longing journey), and therefore incomplete, until by his own suffering and death Christ himself teaches the believer geduldig zu leiden (to suffer in patience).

59 Rudolf Wustmann, ‘Zu Bachs Texten der Johannes- und Matthäus-Passion’, Monatsschrift für Gottesdienst und kirchliche Kunst 15 (1910), pp. 126–131, p. 127, clarified: ‘The text of this aria does not really belong to Peter, but to the Christian soul that currently takes part in the Service of the Passion and identifies—for a time—with Peter and the other disciple, revealing thereby the desire to follow Christ most faithfully and seeking his assistance to do so’ (Der Text der Arie gehört ja nicht dem Petrus, sondern der gegenwärtig am Passions- gottesdienst teilnehmenden Christenseele, die sich nur vorübergehend mit Petrus und dem anderen Jünger vergleicht und dann ihren Wunsch nach treuester Anhänglichkeit an Christus und nach seiner Nachhilfe dabei zu erkennen gibt). 60 Ich bins (I am he) echoes the divine name (John 18.5b) [see above, movement 2c]. 61 NBA, p. 259. commentary 167

[bars 48–112]: The second part of the believers’ prayer is based on the understanding that since even Peter was not able to honour his commitment to follow Jesus unconditionally (see John 18.16, movement 10 below), contemporary disciples would find it even more difficult to do so. Made on behalf of all believers, the prayer addresses Jesus directly, asking him for grace to help: befördre den Lauf (take me on the way). The prayer next asks Jesus, höre nicht auf/ selbst an mirzu ziehen, zu schieben, zu bitten (do not cease/ yourself to draw me, prod me, request me); a reference to his earlier saying, ‘no one can come to me unless drawn by the Father’ (John 6.44). This process is emphasised musically by a staggered and staggering melodic minor then chromatic ascending scale on an mir zu ziehen, zu schieben (to draw me, prod me) [bars 61–64]. At the heart of this ‘musical journey of faith’ is a fugal (or mimetic) composition linking the soprano line—in Baroque musical allegory a symbol of human life and the prayers of each believer—with the flutes and the continuo.62 Just as the central theme [bars 1–3] is imitated in itself by the flutes, and later in canon by the Soprano and continuo, so believers are called to imitate Christ. Bach’s melody line and harmonies dwell on the joyous nature of that journey, allowing one of the earliest commentators in the St John Passion, Philipp Spitta, to censure this ‘aria of joy and faith [because] it emphasises a peripheral element [of the Passion] to the detriment of the whole work’.63 Throughout the Passion Bach’s purpose, however, is precisely the constant emphasis on the believers’ own participation in the narrative, bringing to life the events of Good Friday in the lives of contemporary listeners. As Butt explains, ‘the listener is invited to make connections and inferences’ and those listeners who hear the work within the Lutheran framework of a Passion-tide performance ‘will not fail to draw the “correct” spiritual and theological meanings from the work—no one can doubt their supreme significance for those who are attuned to music’.64 Axmacher goes as far as suggesting that ‘the Word itself remains a series of dead letters that can only be brought to life and filled with Spirit by human imaginative power’.65 Butt, in turn, suggests that while Bach’s music did, indeed, bring to life the Christian narrative of Good Friday, it also has the potential to create

62 Johann Saubert, DYODEKAS emblematum sacrorum: Der Dritte Theil (Nürnberg: Balthasar Caymoxen, 1625), 3r (Figure 11), ‘Suavissima Musica Christo: Aller Christen nothwendige Musik’: ‘DISCANTUM, preces referunt et vita’ (The descant refers to prayers and life). 63 Spitta (1880), p. 353: ‘Diese glaubensfreudige Arie, [weil in ihr] ein beiläufiges Moment [der Passion] zum Schaden des Total-Eindrucks hervorgehoben ist’. 64 Butt (2010), p. 32. 65 Axmacher (1984), p. 154: ‘Das Wort ist toter Buchstabe, der erst durch die imaginative Kraft des Menschen zu neuem Leben erweckt und mit Geist erfüllt werden kann’. 168 chapter 8

meaning for listeners that do not share, or ever will expect to share, Bach’s own cultural context, that ‘Bach was creating something that had the potential to adhere to many more contexts and cultural expectations than much previous music’.66

10. Recitativo Recitative—Evangelist (tenor), Ancilla (soprano), Petrus (bass), Jesus (bass), Servus (tenor), continuo

18,16 Petrus aber stund draußen für der Tür. 18.16 But Peter was standing outside. in front of the door. Da ging der andere Jünger, There the other disciple, der dem Hohenpriester bekannt war, who was known to the high priest, hinaus und redete mit der Türhüterin went out, spoke to the gatekeeper und führete Petrum hinein. and led Peter in.

18,17 Da sprach die Magd, die Türhüterin, zu Petro: 18.17 There the maid, the gatekeeper, said to Peter:

Ancilla Maid Bist du nicht dieses Menschen Are you not one of this person’s Jünger einer? disciples?

Evangelist Evangelist Er sprach: He said:

Petrus Peter Ich bins nicht. I am not.

Evangelist Evangelist 18,18 Es stunden aber die Knechte und Diener 18.18 But the slaves and servants standing there und hatten ein Kohlfeu’r gemacht (denn es war kalt) had made a charcoal fire (since it was cold) und wärmeten sich. and were warming themselves. Petrus aber stund bei ihnen But Peter stood with them, und wärmete sich. and was warming himself.

66 Butt (2010), p. 32. commentary 169

18,19 Aber der Hohepriester fragete 18.19 But the high priest asked Jesum um seine Jünger und um seine Lehre. Jesus about his disciples and about his teaching.

18,20 Jesus antwortete ihm: 18.20 Jesus answered him:

18,21 Was fragest du mich darum? 18.21 What do you ask me therefore? Frage die darum, die gehöret haben, Ask therefore those who heard was ich zu ihnen geredet habe! what I addressed to them! Siehe, dieselbigen wissen, was ich gesaget habe. Behold, they know what I said.

Servus Servant Solltest du dem Hohenpriester also antworten? Is that how you should answer the high priest?

Evangelist Evangelist 18,23 Jesus aber antwortete: 18.23 But Jesus answered:

Jesus Jesus Hab ich übel geredt, If I have addressed [him] wickely, so beweise es, daß es böse sei, then prove it, that it is evil. hab ich aber recht geredt, but if I have addressed [him] rightly was schlägest du mich? why do you strike me?

John 18.15b–16 [bars 1–10]: Peter’s companion was known to the high priest and therefore able to enter the high priest’s residence after Jesus, leaving Peter outside the gate. Peter’s exclusion from entry is musically underlined by an ascending fifth on draußen (outside) [bar 5] and a descending diminished seventh on hinaus (went out) [bar 8], suggestive of the fact that Peter, like Judas, is already on the verge of the ‘outer darkness’ of faith (Matthew 22.13). Because of his friendship with the high priest, the nameless disciple was able to negotiate Peter’s admission to the residence with the woman guarding the high priest’s gate (John 18.16). 170 chapter 8

John 18.17 [bars 10–14]: As he enters, Peter is recognised and immediately challenged by the guard. Luther’s die Türhüterin (the female gatekeeper) reflects John’s Greek thyrōrō closely [bars 11–12].67 Her question bistdunichtdiesesMen- schen Jünger einer? (are you not one of this person’s disciples?) is rhetorical and expects an affirmative answer, a point made by Olearius.68 Although the Ger- man dieses Menschen (this person’s) sets a slightly derogatory tone, it is above all inquisitive and not necessarily hostile [bar 13]. Peter’s denial is as resounding as Jesus’ earlier affirmation of his true identity and the underlying cadence intentionally echoes John 18.5 (see above, movement 2c, ich bins). The ornament on nicht (not) [bar 14] is unusual in the Passion. Similar ornamentations all point to the person of Jesus: in the preceding movement, a similar ornament emphasises the description of Jesus as mein Licht (my Light) [movement 9, bar 156]. In the aria Betrachte, meine Seel (Contemplate, my soul) the ornamentation is placed on ihn (him), as the soul is counselled drum seh ohn Unterlaß auf ihn (therefore contemplate him without ceasing) [movement 19, bar 15]. In Pilate’s assessment of the Man of Sorrows, sehet welch ein Men- sch (behold, what a person), an ornament on Mensch (man) underlines Jesus’ broken humanity [movement 21c, bar 26]; at the point of his condemnation, it points to the cross [movement 23g, bar 80]. Similar ornamentations also mark out Jesus’ last word vollbracht (accomplished) in the recitative describing his death [movement 29, bar 14] and in the ensuing eponymous aria [movement 30]. These parallel ornamentations suggest that it is in the rejection of Jesus’ divinity (ich bins) in the denial of his friend (ich bins nicht), that Christ’s work is accomplished: in utter darkness, betrayal and loneliness Christ is manifested as the Son of God and Light of the World. Bach reiterates the Johannine paradox at the heart of this Passion by the musical brokenness on the negative, nicht.69

John 18.18 [bars 15–21]: A charcoal fire had been made by the slaves and the servants of the temple authorities, and Peter joined them. There is no more mention of the other disciple. Luther’s translation Diener (servants) does not reflect the official nature suggested by John’s hupēretai (police); in John’s Gospel this

67 HS 5: 778: ‘Thür-Hüterin: thyroro’. 68 HS 5: 778: ‘Are you not: it is only too certain’ (Bist du nicht. Es ist ja allzu gewiß). 69 And not, as suggested by Michael Marissen, Lutheranism, Anti-Judaism, and Bach’s St John Passion, with an annotated literal translation of the Libretto (New York: Oxford University Press, 1998), p. 17, that the ‘ornamented music could convey … that [Peter’s] discipleship has not actually been called into question’. commentary 171 body certainly seems to have had powers of interrogation and arrest.70 Es war kalt (it was cold) is emphasised by parenthetical quaver rests; wärmeten sich (were warming themselves) by an elaborate and temperate ornamentation [bars 18–19], which is repeated at the moment of Peter’s denial [movement 12 a, bar 4]. Olearius provides the only possible explanation why Peter would have joined Jesus’ captors: ‘roundabout Passover the days in Jerusalem were very hot, but at night time it was bitterly cold’.71 Although Olearius provides the Greek word anthrakia (charcoal fire), he fails to mention that it features only twice in the New Testament, here and in Jesus’ final resurrection appearance at the Sea of Galilee in John 21.9, where Jesus cooks fish on an anthrakia to make breakfast for his disciples. Both Peter’s denial before the Passion and Jesus’ forgiveness and re-commissioning of Peter, ‘feed my sheep’ and ‘follow me’ after the resurrection (John 21.17–19), are linked by the charcoal fire. John need not comment any further on Peter’s reaction at the moment the rooster crows, forcing the librettist to borrow a verse from Matthew’s account of the Passion instead [see movement 12c, bars 31–38].

John 18.19 [bars 22–24]: The religious trial of Jesus does not, as in the synoptic Gospels, take place in public in the presence of the entire Sanhedrin (compare with Matthew 26.57–68 and synoptic parallels). Rather, it takes place in private, in the residence of the high priest. No evidence is collected, nor are witnesses cited against Jesus. Caiaphas, derHohepriester (the high priest), merely initiates a brief interrogation [bar 22]. The high priest’s questions neither concentrate on Jesus’ claims to be the Messiah nor on the accusation of blasphemy (compare with John 19.7, movement 21f below). Instead they concern his disciples and his doctrine, to ascertain ‘whether there might be any incitement to insur- gency hidden in his teaching … so that he might be condemned to death as a false prophet … as well as an insurgent’, Olearius suggests.72 Earlier on in John’s Gospel, the servants of the temple had provided Caiaphas with information on Jesus’ teaching (John 7.32 and 7.46–48). His interrogation of Jesus is an example of what the ‘secret’ disciple Nicodemus meant when he said in an earlier interchange in the Gospel, ‘our Law does not judge people without first giving them a hearing, does it?’ (John 7.51).

70 HS 5: 669. 71 HS 5: 778: ‘Daß zu Jerusalem umb Ostern am Tage eine grosse Hitze/ aber deß Nachts eine empfindliche Kälte sey von dem grossen Thau’. 72 HS 5: 778: ‘Ob etwan [sic] ein Aufruhr drunter verborgen … damit Er als ein falscher Prophet deß Todes würdig zu erklären 5. Mos 13/5 [Deut. 13.5] und zugleich als ein Aufrührer’. 172 chapter 8

John 18.20 [bars 25–31]: Jesus’ defence is centred on the fact that none of his teaching was im Verborgnen (in secret) [bar 30], although John does in fact report numerous occasions where Jesus ‘acts in secret’ (for example John 7.4 and 7.10). Bach emphasises the fact that the teaching for which Jesus stands on trial were common knowledge by inserting a quaver rest between frei (free) and öffentlich (publicly) [bar 25] which amplifies musically the textual comma. While Jesus had indeed spoken publicly für der Welt (to the world) [bar 26], symbolised in John’s Gospel by the temple wo alle Juden zusammenkommen (where all the Jews come together), he also had taught his disciples in private. Jesus’ words, ich habe allezeit gelehret in der Schule und in dem Tempel (I have always taught in synagogue and in the temple) [bars 27–29] point to his teaching in the temple portico at two principal Jewish feasts, Succoth and Hanukkah (John 7.10–24 and 10.22–39). Again, Bach inserts rests between in der Schule (in the synagogue) and und in dem Tempel (and in the Temple) [bar 27] to add further emphasis to the contention that Jesus’ teaching was public revelation. Teaching at Succoth in the Temple, Jesus had told the people: ‘Do not judge by appearances but judge with right judgement’ (John 10.24); a saying which could just as easily be attributed to the present examination by their religious leaders who, John suggests, base their examination entirely on appearance.

John 18.21 [bars 32–36]: Jesus’ exclamations, was fragest du mich darum? (why do you ask me therefore?) and, frage die darum, die gehöret haben (ask therefore those who heard), are not simply rebuttals of the high priest’s questions. They suggest that the interrogation in itself is flawed: Jewish law stipulated that no-one could be compelled to pronounce themselves guilty by their own witness.73 Rather, as is suggested by Matthew’s story of the trial (Matthew 26.57–62 and synoptic parallels), witnesses had to be called to provide their testimony ‘in order to thoroughly convict someone of any wrong-doing’.74 The call to ini- tiate legal proceedings by summoning witnesses, frage die, darum, die gehöret haben (ask therefore those who heard) is interpreted as impudence by one of the high priests’ servants.

John 18.22 [bars 37–42]: Jesus is struck by a nameless servant for answering back the high priest. In fact, Jesus probably had refused to incriminate himself:

73 Maimonides, on Sanhedrin 6.2: ‘Our true Torah does not inflict the penalty of death upon a sinner either by his own confession, or be the declaration of a prophet that the accused had done the deed’. 74 HS 5: 779: ‘Muß zuvor deß Unrechts gründlich überwiesen sein’. commentary 173

a constant characteristic of his trial. The continuo line in bars 38–39 leads up to the striking of Jesus. The evangelist’s melodic line in bars 39–40 is punctuated by rests to emphasise Backenstreich (strike to the face); the strike is interpreted theologically in the ensuing chorale [see the discussion of movement 11, below]. John might well have had in mind the striking in one of the Suffering Servant songs in Second Isaiah: there, God’s faithful servant points out, ‘I did not hide my face from insult and spitting’ (Isaiah 50.6).

John 18.23 [bars 42–46]: Jesus’ summons to his interrogator to establish his guilt, beweise es, daß es böse sei (prove it, that it is evil) is met by blows rather than a reasoned accusation. The rhetorical question was schlägest du mich? (why do you strike me?), emphasised musically in bar 46, receives no answer other than physical abuse. A number of eighteenth-century Lutheran theological works contained in Bach’s collection comment at length on the incident: Heinrich Müller condemns how ‘the servant struck the Master, the creature struck the creator with the hand that he himself created, striking the coun- tenance that is the joy and pleasure of all the angels and the elect’.75 Johann Jakob Rambach, in keeping with Pietist tradition, sees his own sinfulness in the events of the first Good Friday: ‘it is not reasonable simply to scold and blame this slave, that we accuse, curse him and speak evil of him. … Rather, we need to recall that our sins also contributed to this [act]’.76

11. Choral Chorale (Flutes I/II, Oboe I and Violin I with Sopranos; Oboe II, Violin II with Altos; Viola with Tenors; Continuo with Basses)

Wer hat dich so geschlagen, Who struck you so, mein Heil, und dich mit Plagen my salvation and with troubles so übel zugericht’? so battered you? Du bist ja nicht ein Sünder You are indeed not a sinner wie wir und unsre Kinder like us, and our children, von Missetaten weißt du nicht. you do not know about transgressions.

75 Müller (1700), p. 286: ‘Schrecklich ist’s, daß hie der Knecht den Herrn, die Creatur den Schöpffer, mit der Hand, die der Schöpffer selbst gemacht, schläget in das Angesicht, das aller Engel und Außerwählten Lust und Freude ist’. 76 Johann Jakob Rambach, Betrachtungen über das gantze Leiden Christi (Halle: Waisenhaus, 1732), p. 295: ‘Es ist aber nun keineswegs damit ausgerichtet, daß wir auf diesen Knecht schelten und losziehen, daß wir ihn anklagen, verfluchen und vermaledeyen … sondern wir müssen bedencken, daß unsere Sünden auch das ihrige dazu beygetragen haben’. 174 chapter 8

Ich, ich und meine Sünden, I, I and my sins, die sich wie Körnlein finden that like the little grains, that are to be found des Sandes an dem Meer, by the sea, of sand, die haben dir erreget they have provoked das Elend, das dich schläget, the distress that strikes you und das betrübte Marterheer. and the host of afflicting tortures.

Verses 3 and 4 of O Welt, sieh’ hier dein Leben [bars 1–13 and repeats]: it was in the last year of the Thirty Years’ War of religion that had destroyed much of central Germany that the Brandenburg pastor Paul Gerhardt (1607–1676) wrote his hymn O Welt, sieh hier dein Leben (Oh World, behold your Life).77 In his hymn he closely associated the bruised lives of his own people with the sufferings of Jesus. The sinless Jesus (du bist ja nicht ein Sünder) willingly took on the weight of human shortcomings and injustice and, in another verse, is seen to shoulder the burdens of a whole people: du nimmst auf deinen Rücken,/ dieLasten,diemichdrücken (you take upon your back/ the burdens that oppress me).78 Meine Sünden, die sich wie Körnlein finden/ des Sandes an dem Meer (my sins that like the little grains that are to be found/ by the sea, of sand) alludes to Manasseh’s contrite acknowledgement that ‘the sins I have committed are more in number than the sand of the sea’ (Prayer of Manasseh 1.9).79 Gerhardt emphasises that the sins of God’s people today are just as numerous, still causing Jesus das Elend, das dich schläget,/ und das betrübte Marterheer (the

77 Elke Axmacher, Praxis Evangeliorum: Theologie und Frömmigkeit bei Martin Moller (1547– 1606), Forschungen zur Kirchen- und Dogmengeschichte 43 (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck und Rupprecht, 1989), p. 181, shows well how Gerhardt’s hymn is in part dependent on the influential meditations on the Passion of Christ by Martin Moller (1547–1606), Cantor and Pastor in Löwenberg and Görlitz [see also the discussion of movement 40, below]. 78 Paul Gerhardt, O Welt, sieh hier dein Leben, verse 1: ‘The noble king of glory,/ willingly lets himself be weighed down,/ with scourges, scorn and great mockery’ (Der große Fürst der Ehren,/ läßt willig sich beschweren/ mit Schlägen, Hohn, und großem Spott), and verse 6: ‘You take upon your own back/ the burdens, that oppress me/ far heavier than a stone’ (Du nimmst auf deinen Rücken/ die Lasten, die mich drücken/ viel schwerer als ein Stein). 79 Heinrich Müller, Vermehrter und durchgehends verbesserter Himmlischer Liebes-Kuß/ Oder: Göttliche Liebes-Flamme/ Das ist: Aufmunterung zur Liebe GOttes: Durch Vorstellung dessen unendlichen Liebe gegen uns (Nürnberg: W.M. Endter, 1732), p. 466: ‘Kannst du auch den Sand am Meer zehlen? … So erfreue dich nun, daß du einen solchen GOtt hast, der dir alle deine Sünde vergiebt. Gleich wie im rothen Meer alle Egyptier ersoffen/ daß nicht einer davon kam: Also müssen im Blute Christi alle Sünden ersauffen und keine überbleiben’. commentary 175

distress that strikes you,/ and the host of afflicting tortures). Yet it is by this very affliction that individuals are saved, Johann Michael Dilherr explains in a Nürnberg Good Friday sermon: ‘We have been wounded by the injuries of the tempter, Satan, and were condemned by sin: but we are also healed by wounds, that is by the wounds of the Son of God’.80 Just as in the opening chorus of the St Matthew Passion, which invites listeners to contemplate the suffering of Christ and, by doing so, reflect on their own sins, so here the listeners are also called into personal dialogue with the stricken Christ. The twentieth-century German theologian Martin Dibelius reflects:

The importance of Christ’s suffering is approached subjectively: I, I and all my sins, and not for instance by way of the corporate faith of the Church as for example in Christoph Fischer’s hymn We give you thanks, Lord Jesus Christ, that you for us have bled and died.81

12a. Recitativo Recitative—Evangelist (tenor), continuo

Evangelist Evangelist Johannes 18,24 Und Hannas sandte ihn John 18.24 And Hannas sent him gebunden zu dem Hohenpriester Kaiphas. bound to the high priest Caiaphas.

18,25 Simon Petrus stund draußen 18.25 Simon Peter was standing und wärmete sich, and warming himself. da sprachen sie zu ihm: Then they spoke to him:

John 18.24 [bars 1–3]: As noted above (movement 6, John 18.13 and 15), John confusingly addressed both Hannas and Caiaphas as ‘the high priest’. It makes little sense that Jesus should be sent to Caiaphas if he had already been interrogated by ‘the high priest’ (John 18.20–22). However, since Rabbinic law

80 Johann Michael Dilherr, Heilige Karwochen (Nürnberg: Endter, 1653), p. 230: ‘Verwun- det waren wir, und zwar durch Beschädigung deß verführerischen Satans, und der ver- damlichen Sünde: werden aber auch widerum geheilt durch Wunden: und zwar durch die Wunden deß Sohns Gottes’. 81 Martin Dibelius, ‘Individualismus und Gemeindebewußtsein in J.S. Bachs Passionen’, in: Günther Bornkamm, ed., Martin Dibelius: Botschaft und Geschichte, Gesammelte Aufsätze, 2 vols (Tübingen: J.C.B. Mohr/Paul Siebeck), I: Zur Evangelienforschung, pp. 359–380, pp. 362–363: ‘Die Bedeutung seines [Christi] Leidens wird vom Subjekt her erfaßt: Ich, ich und meine Sünden, und nicht etwa vom Kirchenglauben aus, wie zum Beispiel in Christoph Fischers Lied Wir danken dir, Herr Jesu Christ, daß du für uns gestorben bist’. 176 chapter 8

stipulated the need for a second examination (bediqah), Jesus may well have first undergone a preliminary interrogation (haqirah) by Hannas, followed by a second hearing in front of Caiaphas.82 Jesus was bound once more and sent zu dem Hohenpriester Kaiphas (to the high priest Caiaphas). Neither the Ger- man zu dem (to the) nor, incidentally, the original Greek pros, necessarily imply movement to another place, such as another law-court, but simply mean that Jesus is now brought to meet the high priest. Barrett suggests that Jesus was taken to be presented at a meeting of the chief priests of the Sanhedrin con- vened by Caiaphas.83

John 18.24 [bars 4–5]: While Jesus is being taken to Caiaphas, Peter was still standing at the charcoal-fire that Jesus’ captors had made (see John 18.18). Unlike Luke’s account of the Passion story, which tells how Peter glanced at Jesus at the moment of his denial (Luke 22.61), here his final denial takes place in the absence of Jesus. Nonetheless, as Brown explains, ‘by making Peter’s denials simultaneous with Jesus’ defence … John has constructed a dramatic contrast wherein Jesus stands up to his questioners and denies nothing, while Peter cowers before his questioners and denies everything’.84 Bach reminds us of the context of Peter’s recognition by echoing the elab- oration on wärmete sich (was warming himself) [bar 4] in movement 10, bars 18–19, above. Spitta explains: ‘When the servants “were warming themselves” at the fire, Bach furnishes the phrase with a tonal figure … signifying pleasure; one could not deduce Bach’s intention were the same tonal figure not repeated as Peter is also “warming” himself’.85

12b. Coro Chorus (Oboe I/II, Violin I/II, Viola, Continuo)

Johannes 18.25 Bist du nicht seiner John 18.25 Are you not also one of his Jünger einer? disciples?

82 Chaya T. Halberstam, Law and Truth in Biblical and Rabbinal Literature (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2010), pp. 85–91 outlines the process of rabbinical criminal procedure. 83 Barrett (1978), p. 529. 84 Brown (1971), p. 842. 85 Spitta (1880), p. 360: ‘Wenn die Knechte sich am Feuer “wärmten”, setzt Bach auf dieses Wort eine Tonfigur, welche … die Empfindung des Behagens versinnlichen soll; man würde eine Absicht vielleicht nicht vermuthen, kehrte nicht diesselbe Tonfigur bei der Stelle, wo sich Petrus “wärmt”, wieder’. commentary 177

John 18.25 [bars 6–22]: In this evocative turba-scene, Bach paints an image of an inquisitive crowd, whispering among themselves as much as to Peter, Bist du nicht seiner Jünger einer? (Are you not also one of his disciples?) Their words recall the rhetorical question of the doorkeeper in John 18.17 (movement 10). Nicht (not) expects an answer in the affirmative. The initial bass line [bars 6–7] is imitated by the other voices breaking in, in stretto (presented in one voice and then taken up by the other voices), which helps to create a highly-charged atmosphere giving the impression of constant interrogation [bars 7–20]. The frequent use of staccato in the soprano line gives the movement a further impression of urgency. This short section concludes with a resounding final questioning, introduced by basses and tenors, Bist du nicht (are you not) [bar 21] and completed by all four voices at once, seiner Jünger einer? (one of his disciples?) [bar 22], conjuring up the image of a courtyard full of Jesus’ opponents grouped around Peter, pressing him to furnish them with an answer.

12c. Recitativo Recitative—Evangelist (tenor), Petrus (bass), Servus (tenor), continuo

Evangelist Evangelist Johannes 18,25b Er leugnete aber und sprach: John 18.25b But he denied it and said:

Petrus Peter 18,26 Ich bins nicht. 18.26 I am not.

Servus Servant Sahe ich dich nicht im Garten bei ihm? Did I not see you in the garden with him?

Evangelist Evangelist 18,27 Da verleugnete Petrus abermal, 18.27 There Peter denied it again, und alsobald krähete der Hahn. and at that moment the cock crowed.

Matthäus 26,75 Da gedachte Petrus Matthew 26.75 There Peter remembered an die Worte Jesu the words of Jesus und ging hinaus und weinete bitterlich. and he went out and wept bitterly.

John 18.25b–27 [bars 23–30]: Peter’s second denial in the courtyard of the high priest, ich bins nicht (I am not) [bar 24], replicates exactly the musical material 178 chapter 8

presented in movement 10 [bars 14–15], but transposed a tone higher. The words with which Peter disowns Jesus, once again are a direct negation of Jesus’ ich bins (I am he) in movement 2c [bars 23, 26–27], and therefore suggestive of a rejection of his divine Sonship (see the relevant discussions in movement 10, above). The disciple is again recognised, this time by a friend of the man he injured at the scene of the arrest (John 18.10–11a; movement 4, bars 7–9). Recalling the scene, Bach emphasises Ohr (ear) by a major sixth in the evangelist’s line [bar 27]. It is noteworthy that the evangelist does not include Peter’s answer to the servant’s question sahe ich dich nicht im Garten bei ihm? (did I not see you in the garden with him?) as direct speech. At the moment of his final denial, Peter (as a performer or actor in the drama) is silent, the Evangelist tells the story for him instead, and immediately the rooster crows. The signal with which Jesus predicted Peter’s disowning in John 13.38 is brought about by a flourish in the continuo line [bar 30] that bears little resemblance to a rooster’s crow, especially when compared to the evangelist’s line on und es war frühe (and it was the hour of the rooster’s call; in movement 16a, bar 3, below) which does reproduce the distinctive call of a rooster.

Matthew 26.75 [bars 31–38]: John does not recall Peter’s reaction but instead shifts the scene to the Roman governor’s headquarters (John 18.28). Linked by the ‘charcoal fire’ in John 18.18 (see the discussion above, movement 10) and John 21.9, he redeems Peter’s threefold denial by the apostle’s threefold confession of love for the risen Jesus (John 21.15–18). In order to provide a logical link to the ensuing aria and, equally importantly, the chorale Petrus, der nicht denkt zurück (Peter, who does not think back; movement 14), the libretto draws on parts of Matthew 26.75. Leaving the scene of the religious trial, Peter, like the disciples who denied Jesus by fleeing from the scene of his arrest, goes out into the darkness of the night ging hinaus (went out) [bars 32–33], und weinete bitterlich (and wept bitterly). Peter’s tears are a sign of genuine remorse, and the evangelist’s line recalls his bursts of tears with dramatic realism [bars 34–38].

13. Aria Tenor (Violin I/II, Viola, Continuo)

Ach, mein Sinn, Oh, my reason, wo willt du endlich hin, where do you intend to go ultimately, wo soll ich mich erquicken? where shall I now revive myself? commentary 179

Bleib ich hier, Do I stay here, oder wünsch ich mir or do I wish upon myself Berg und Hügel auf den Rücken? mountain and hill on my back?

Bei der Welt is gar kein Rat, In the world there is no guidance at all, und im Herzen and in my heart stehn die Schmerzen stay the pains meiner Missetat, of my transgression, weil der Knecht den Herrn verleugnet hat. because the servant has denied his Lord.

Verse 1 of Der weinende Petrus [bars 1–91]: Bach uses a poem by Zittau schoolmaster Christian Weise (1642–1708), Der weinende Petrus (The Weeping Peter).86 The libretto draws on the first of five stanzas of Weise’s expressive reflection of Peter’s emotions, replacing his 1725 Zerschmettert mich, ihr Felsen und ihr Hügel (Break me asunder, rocks and hills; movement 13 ii). The poet wrote that his madrigalic ode had been commissioned to fit ‘the moving intrada by Mr Sebastian Knüpfer [1632–1676], my exceptional and much revered friend’, one of Bach’s immediate predecessors as Thomaskantor.87 Just as Knüpfer’s composition would have served as an Intrada, an opening dance tune for a series of courtly dances, Bach’s aria is also based on a dance rhythm, the sarabande, and still retains the ornamented feel of this stately dance.88 Each of the three sections cover a part of Weise’s opening verse,

86 Christian Weise, Der grünen Jugend Nothwendige Gedancken denen überflüßigen Gedan- cken entgegen gesetzt und zu gebührender Nachfolge so wol in gebundenen als ungebundenen Reden allen curiösen Gemüthern recommendiert, von Christian Weisen (Leipzig: Fritsche, 1675). 87 Weise (1675), p. 350: ‘Auff die bewegliche Intrade Herrn Sebastian Knüpfers, meines son- derbaren und hochgehalten Freundes’. Dürr’s claim, in: idem (2000), p. 43, that Knüpfer’s intrada has been ‘impossible to locate’, needs to be somewhat qualified. In his work Weise reproduces the opening section as follows:

figure 9 Johannes-Passion BWV 245, ed. by Arthur Mendel, Neue Bach-Ausgabe Serie II: Messen, Passionen, oratorische Werke, 5 vols (Kassel: Bärenreiter, 1974), IV: Kritischer Bericht von Arthur Mendel, p. 165.

88 Meredith Little, Natalie Jenne, Dances and the Music of J.S. Bach (Bloomington: University of Indiana Press, 2001), p. 102: ‘Bach wrote more sarabandes than any other dance types’. Philipp Spitta, ‘Die Arie “Ach mein Sinn” aus J.S. Bachs Johannes-Passion’, in: Vierteljahres- schrift für Musikwissenschaft, 4 (1888), pp. 471–478, p. 474f. explained: ‘Throughout the 180 chapter 8 separated above. The opening instrumental ritornello [bars 1–16] is repeated in numerous variations throughout the aria [bars 17–31, bars 32–51, bars 52–62, bars 63–73, bars 74 onwards, etc]. It introduces the first section [bars 17–47a], and Peter’s realisation—expressed by the tenor soloist—that his tortured reason (Sinn) can turn nowhere for succour, wo willt du endlich hin, wo soll ich mich erquicken (where do you intend to go ultimately,/ where shall I now revive myself?). The fifth stanza of Weise’s poem Der weinende Petrus (The Weeping Peter) has Peter pray that Jesus would come to take his place (tritt an meinen Ort); an act of substitution.89 Rather than make use of Weise’s fifth stanza to make this point explicit, Bach provides a musical allusion to a subsequent movement: the exposed leap of a sixth on wohin (where) [bar 41] provides a direct musical link with the aria Eilt, ihr angefochtnen Seelen (Hurry, you troubled souls) [movement 24, especially bar 173]. There the Chor gläubiger Seelen (Chorus of faithful souls) shares Peter’s acute lack of direction, and is told to turn nach Golgotha (to Golgotha). Reconciliation for individual sin could only be found at the place of crucifixion, the ultimate goal of the human journey of faith: eure Wohlfahrt blühet da (your welfare blossoms there).90 The second part of the poem [bars 47–61] further expresses Peter’s uncer- tainty: Bleib ich hier, oder wünsch ich mir Berg und Hügel auf den Rücken? (Do I stay here, or do I wish upon myself / mountain and hill on my back?), with an octave leap bringing to mind the mountain’s ascent [bar 50]. The poet is here alluding to Jesus’ rebuke of the women of Jerusalem on his way to Golgotha in Luke’s Gospel, ‘Then they will say to the mountains, “Fall on us”; and to the hills, “Cover us”.’ (Luke 23.30). In a collection of sermons, Johann Heermann, the author of Herzliebster Jesu, was hast du verbrochen (Oh dearest Jesus, what law have you broken; see movement 3, above) provides an allegorical reflection,

seventeenth century, providing vocal settings for dance rhythms was very popular in Ger- many. … Just how skilfully Weise was able to accomplish such tasks, has also been shown in other instances, for example in his Curiöse Gedancken von Deutschen Versen’ (Tänze für Gesang einzurichten, war durch das ganze 17. Jahrhundert in Deutschland beliebt. … Wie gewandt Weise solche Aufgaben zu lösen wußte, hat er auch in anderen Fällen bewiesen. Man sehe Curiöse Gedancken von Deutschen Versen). 89 Weise (1675), p. 350ff. 90 Another, albeit less probable, musical connection may be found in the opening chorus of the StMatthewPassion,sehtwohin,aufunsreSchuld (look, where, on our sins) [for instance movement 1, bar 68]. Rather than point to the place of reconciliation for sin, the chorus issues an invitation to the listener to reflect on the occasions when they, through their own shortcomings, have ‘renounced’ Jesus. commentary 181

which he links with Judas’ betrayal: ‘Ah, how will I ever, and for all eternity, be able to bear this responsibility? Oh mountains, fall on me. Oh hills, cover me’.91 The final part [bars 61–91] emphasises how the world, which throughout John’s Gospel narrative has been shown to have failed to understand or accept Christ (John 3.19 or 16.33), certainly cannot offer any guidance now (bei der Welt ist gar kein Rat). Bach’s libretto here differs from Weise’s original, Außen find ich keinen Rath (Outside or beyond I find no guidance). While the variation between the two lines may well be due to a copy error, as suggested by Spitta, it is just as likely a deliberate reflection on the part the librettist, contrasting John’s world, the cosmos, with the believers’ inner ‘life in Christ, which alone can bring peace’.92 Although the use of the tenor voice for Peter—and not, as in the recitative sections, the bass—does suggest that the sentiments expressed in this aria might apply as much to the individual listener as to the apostle, Peter’s very personal share in this Missetat (transgression) is recalled by an elongated meiner (my) [bar 70]. The rhythmic pattern on verleugnet (renounced) might remind listeners of the evangelist’s account of the apostle’s tears in the previous movement [bars 34–38].

14. Choral Chorale (Flutes I/II, Oboe I and Violin I with Sopranos; Oboe II, Violin II with Altos; Viola with Tenors; Continuo with Basses)

Petrus, der nicht denkt zurück, Peter, who does not think back, seinen Gott verneinet, disowns his God, der doch auf ein ernsten Blick he, however, at a serious look, bitterlichen weinet. bitterly weeps. Jesu, blicke mich auch an, Jesus, also look at me, wenn ich nicht will büßen; when I do not want to atone; wenn ich Böses hab getan, when I have done evil rühre mein Gewissen! move my conscience!

91 Johann Heermann, Sepulchrum Christi, die schmertzliche und trawrige Marter-Woche, unsers hochverdienten Heylandes Jesu Christi … In 11 lehr- und trostreichen Predigten erkläret durchJohannemHermannum (Braunschweig: Zillinger, 1653), sermon IV,p. 114: ‘Ach wie wil ichs immer und ewig verantworten? O ihr Berge fallet über mich/ O ihr Hügel bedecked mich’. 92 Spitta (1888), p. 475: ‘Fast ausnahmslos sind diese Abweichungen Verschlechterungen, und wir haben keinen Grund zu dem Verdachte, daß Bach seine Vorlage behilfs musikalischer Benutzung muthwilling entstellt haben sollte’. Mendel (1974), p. 165 and Dürr (2000), p. 43 document the variants as well; Spitta (1888), p. 476: ‘dem allein Friede bringenden Leben in Christo’. 182 chapter 8

Verse 10 of JesuLeiden,PeinundTod [bars 1–16]: Paul Stockmann’s (1603–1636) Jesu Leiden, Pein und Tod (Jesus’ Suffering, Pain and Death) was an integral part of Lutheran Good Friday Vespers, during which the congregation would sing ‘rhymed Passion paraphrases’.93 Among the most popular were Sebald Heyden’s O Mensch bewein dein Sünde groß (O man, bewail your grievous Sin), and Stockmann’s 1633 hymn. In the course of this Passion, Bach also provides settings for verses 20 Er nahm alles wohl in acht (He took care of everything, movement 28) and 34 Jesu, der du warest tot (Jesus, you who were dead, movement 32) of the hymn. All serve as congregational reflections on the Gospel narrative and encouragement to the hearers to change their lives in the light of the Passion story.94 Petrus, der nicht denkt zurück (Peter, who does not think back) [bars 1–2] can mean either that Peter denied Jesus unwittingly, ‘without thinking’, or that he did not recall, ‘think back to’, the words of Jesus in John 13.38: ‘Very truly, I tell you, before the cock crows, you will have denied me three times’. Der doch auf ein ernsten Blick (however, at a serious look) [bars 5–6] refers to Luke’s account of the Passion, in which Jesus turned and looked at Peter at the moment of denial (Luke 22.61). The ornamentation on bitterlichen weinet (he weeps bitterly) [bars 7–8] recalls the bouts of tears in the evangelist’s part in movement 12, above [bars 33–38]. In this chorale, Peter serves as an exemplar for the congregation, inviting listeners to reflect on their own sinfulness. While the first part of the verse speaks of Peter’s sin, the second half of the couplet takes the form of a prayer. The faithful pray that Jesus would look on them, wennichnichtwillbüßen (when I do not want to atone) [bars 11–12]. Elsewhere the believer is called to look on Jesus (for example in movement 19, Drum sieh ohn Unterlaß auf ihn, So behold him without ceasing) and recognise the suffering Christ as the ground for his salvation. But here Jesus is invited to behold the believer in his sinful state. The Rostock superintendent Heinrich Müller (1631–1675) called this Christ’s Gnaden-Blick (gaze of grace), and elaborated in a Passion sermon:

93 Paul Stockmann, Der Christen Leib-Stücke/ Oder Historia von dem Leiden Christi/ Also auffgesetzet und abgefasset/ daß ein iedes Gesetz einen Theil von der Historien und desselben Theils Nutzen zugleich in sich begreifft (Leipzig: Henning Köler, 1641), p. A iiijr; Christoph Wolff, Johann Sebastian Bach: The Learned Musician (Oxford: University Press, 2001), p. 290. 94 Bach made frequent use of this hymn outside the context of the Passions, using the penultimate verse of the hymn in his Cantata Himmelsköning, sei wilkommen [BWV 182/7] and his Cantata Sehet, wir gehn hinauf nach Jerusalem [BWV 159]. commentary 183

The Lord did not want to leave Peter in such torment, instead he turned and looked down from the great hall, perhaps looking through a window or an open door in the high priest’s palace. He gave Peter a friendly glance, and looked at him. The Saviour’s gaze was like the sun warming Peter’s cold heart. This gaze was to kindle the extinguished lamp of faith. By his gaze, Christ might have spoken directly to Peter’s heart, saying: ‘Ah, Peter, what have you done? … But fear not, the door of grace is still open to you. I, who bear the sins of all humanity, carry your sin, too. … Look at me, my son, and give me your heart’.95

Just as Jesus looks with compassion on Peter, he also gazes on the believer, Müller says. He encourages his Good Friday congregation: ‘Fear not: There is the Lord, gazing at me in grace. He said: “Peter, I prayed for you that you might not lose your faith”. He bears my sin, too, just as he bears the sins of all’.96 It is Christ’s ‘gaze of grace’ that stirs the heart of the believer to contrition, wenn ich Böses hab getan,/ rühre mein Gewissen (when I have done evil,/ move my conscience) [bars 13–14].97 A sermon on the burial of Christ would have followed this chorale.98 This would have given the preacher an opportunity, like Müller, to draw out the parallels between the lives of his congregation and the Passion of Christ: by their presence at the performance of the Passion in the context of Good Friday devotions, the congregation would have become witnesses to the events of the Cross; not only in the pages of the Gospel story, or the music of the Passion, but in their own lives.

95 Müller (1720), p. 307: ‘Der Herr wollte Petrum in solchem Elend nicht stecken lassen, darum wandte er sich um blickte vom hohen Saal herabwerts, etwa durch ein Fenster oder durch eine offene Thür im Pallast des Hohenpriesters, gab Petro ein freundliches Auge und sahe ihn an. Der Blick des Heylandes war gleichsam die Sonne, die das kalte Hertz in Petro erwärmete. Dieser Blick muste das erloschene Glaubens-Töchtlein wieder auffblasen. In diesem Blicke hat Christus Petro vielleicht so ins Hertz geredet: Ach! Petre, was hast du gethan? … Aber sey unverzagt, noch steht dir die Gnaden-Thür offen. Ich, der aller Menschen Sünden büsse, büsse auf deine Sünde … Schaue mich an, mein Sohn, und gib mir dein Hertz’. 96 Müller (1720), p. 307: ‘Doch unverzagt: Da steht der Herr, der mir so einen Gnaden-Blick gibt. Der hat gesagt, Petre, ich habe auch für dich gebeten, daß dein Glaube nicht auffhöre. Der trägt meine Sünde auch, gleichwie er aller Menschen Sünden trägt’. 97 HS 5: 243. 98 Nikolai-Archiv, Leipzig, Manuale des Gottesdienstes, 1721–50, MS I E 8–11. See chapter 4,2. The Liturgical and Homiletic Context of Bach’s St John Passion. 184 chapter 8

Christus, der uns selig macht, Christ, who makes us blessed, kein Bös hat begangen, no evil has committed, der ward für uns in der Nacht, he was, for us, at night, als ein Dieb gefangen, as a thief, trapped, geführt für gottlose Leut, led before godless people, und fälschlich verklaget, and falsely accused, verlacht, verhöhnt und verspeit, laughed at, ridiculed, spat at, wie denn die Schrift saget. as it says in Scripture.

Verse 1 of Christus, der uns selig macht [bars 1–17]: The first verse of Michael Weisse’s Chorale Christus, der uns selig macht opens the second part of the Pas- sion. A Fransciscan Friar in Breslau, Weisse converted to Protestantism in 1518, a year after the publication of Luther’s Ninety-Five Theses, and became a pastor of the Brethren congregation in Landskron where he ministered until his death in 1534.99 His hymns are among the first-generation vernacular hymns written in response to Luther’s appeal to German poets and hymn writers to provide liturgical texts in German.100 Following Luther’s guidance that setting Ger- man words to Latin plainchant melodies ‘neither sounded nice nor sounded right’, Weisse frequently set his translations of traditional Latin and Czech late- medieval hymns and responsories to contemporary folk tunes.101 His Christus, der uns selig macht is a scanning translation of the late- medieval Latin Patris Sapientia. Written for the Hours of the Holy Cross, the Latin hymn immediately preceded the versicle Adoramus te Christe, et benedi- camus tibi (We adore you O Christ, and we bless you).102 Sung a verse at a time,

99 For Weisse (1487–1534), see: Klaus Appel, ‘Weisse, Michael’, BBKL 13: cols. 690–691. 100 Luther, Formulae Missae et Communionis pro Ecclesiae Vuittembergensis, 1523, WA 12: 218, 31–32: ‘Si qui sunt poetae germanici, extimulentur et nobis poemata pietatis endant’ (If there are any German poets, let them come forward and write for us spiritual poems). 101 Luther, Wider die himmlischen Propheten 1525, WA 18: 123, 22: ‘Es laut nicht ertig noch rechtschaffen’; see also: Formula Missae et Communionis, 1523, WA 12: 218, 17–20: ‘Possent vero ista cantica … ut vel simul post latinas cantiones, vel per vices dierum nunc latine, nunc vernacular cantarentur’. 102 ‘Horae de Sancta Cruce’, in: Horae ad Usum Romanum, Copenhagen: Det Kongelike Bib- liothek, MS GKS 1607 4o, f. 14r. commentary 185

at each choir office (monastic sung Services of the Word) the hymn provided a chronological journey through the events of Good Friday, from the arrest in the Garden at Mattins-tide to the entombment at Compline. The first verse, used here, would have been sung at the first choir office of the day, Mattins, before sunrise: hence the reference in der Nacht (at night).103 Weisse’s rendering of the Latin text is clearly Protestant, introducing a deliberate reference to die Schrift (Scripture) in the final part of the verse. The ‘Scripture’ referred to is Jesus’ second prediction of his suffering in Luke’s Gospel, in which he told his disciples that ‘the Son of Man will be handed over to the Gentiles; and he will be mocked and insulted and spat upon. After they have flogged him, they will kill him, and on the third day he will rise again’ (Luke 18.32– 33). Sung immediately after the Passion sermon, Weisse’s chorale is used here to provide a musical link back to the beginning of the Passion story as well as to set the scene for the ensuing trial before Caiaphas. The first half of the hymn [bars 1–8] takes the hearers back to the Garden of Gethsemane and Jesus’ arrest für uns in der Nacht/ als ein Dieb gefangen (for us, at night/ as a thief, trapped). The second part [bars 9–17] sets the scene for Jesus’ trial, at which he will be fälschlich verklaget/ verlacht, verhöhnt und verspeit (falsely accused/ laughed at, ridiculed, spat at). Bach’s musical setting leaves little doubt as to what he thinks of the nature of Jesus’ trial: a ‘false’ chord progression on und fälschlich (falsely) [bar 11], produced by continuo chromatic step-wise motion, traces an almost devious path to the G major tonicisation on verklaget (accused) [bar 12]. In the same way, the accusers’ derisive laughter and mockery in bar 13 also would have sounded false to German ears: Bach’s setting means that the emphases on verlacht, verhöhnt (laughed at, ridiculed) naturally fall on the first syllable, ‘ver-’, rather than the second as they would in spoken German.

16a. Recitativo Recitative—Evangelist (tenor), Pilate (bass), continuo

Evangelist Evangelist Johannes 18,28a Da führeten sie Jesum von John 18.28a There they led Jesus from Kaiphas vor das Richthaus. Caiaphas before the courthouse.

103 The original Latin, f. 14r, makes the link with the monastic ‘Mattins hour’ explicit: ‘The Father’s wisdom, divine truth/ Man and God was captured at the Mattins hour’ (Patris sapientia veritas divina/ Deus homo captus est hora matutina). 186 chapter 8

18,28b Und es war frühe. 18.28b And it was early.

18,29 Da ging Pilatus zu ihnen heraus 18.29 There Pilate went out to them and spoke: und sprach:

Pilatus Pilatus Was bringet ihr für Klage wider diesen Menschen? What accusation do you bring against this person?

Evangelist Evangelist 18,30a Sie antworteten und sprachen zu ihm: 18.30a They answered, and spoke to him:

John 18.28a [bars 1–3]: Jesus is led from the high priest’s residence to the Richthaus (courthouse), the Roman Praetorium. John’s Greek is a simple transliteration of the Latin term (praitorion), the Greek is also provided by Olear- ius.104 While Luther rendered the Greek as Richthaus (courthouse) the Praeto- rium was more than that: it also contained the military headquarters, parade ground and barracks of the Roman occupying forces, as well as the residence of the Roman Prefect of Judea and Samaria, Pontius Pilate. Two sites are possible locations of Pilate’s Jerusalem Praetorium: the Antonia Fortress to the north-east of the Temple and King Herod’s former palace on the site of today’s Citadel of David.105 At the time of Jesus, the Romans controlled both fortresses, Josephus attests (Ant., 17: 93, War, 2: 438–440).106 As in movement 2a [bars 1–3], Bach’s recitative traces the journey von Kaipha vor das Richthaus (from Caiaphas before [i.e. the place in front of] the courthouse) in music [bars 1– 3].107

104 HS 5: 779: ‘Richt-Hauß. praetorion’. 105 Jerome Murphy-O’Connor, The Holy Land: An Archaeological Guide from earliest times to 1700 (Oxford: University Press, 2008), p. 37, explains that from the Middle Ages, Christian opinion was divided as to the exact location of the Praetorium, ‘one group located the Praetorium and the palace of the high priest on Mount Sion; the other placed both north of the Temple’. O’Connor himself, p. 23, opts for the Citadel of David, on Mount Zion, as the most likely location. 106 Flavius Josephus, The Jewish War, with an English Translation by H. St. J. Thackeray, Loeb Classical Library 203 (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1967) [cited as War]. 107 For similar uses of ascending lines to signify movement in earlier German Passions, see: Jones (2000), p. 241. commentary 187

John 18.28b [bar 3]: Jesus’ trial before Pilate takes place at the same time as the discovery of the empty tomb in John 20.1: it was frühe (early). The Johannine text is more specific, Olearius explains: it was proi, the hour after cockcrow (alektorophonia), and therefore the end of the last nightwatch from 3am-6am, daybreak.108 Bach not only had access to Olearius’ exhaustive commentary on John’s Greek but, as a student in Lüneburg, had studied the Gospels in their original language: it is highly likely that the musical resemblance of und es war frühe [bar 3] to the crowing of a rooster is intentional, and therefore deliberately marking the conclusion of the hour after cockcrow and the beginning of a new part in the trial of Jesus.109

John 18.28c [bars 3–6]: The party of priests did not enter the headquarters of the Roman Prefect, auf daß sie nicht unrein würden (so that they would not become [ritually] unclean). Olearius provides the relevant injunction from Numbers 9.6–12.110 For observant Jews the complex of buildings within the Roman fortress obviously constituted a gentile dwelling, and was therefore ritually unclean under the laws of purity outlined in Tractate Ohalot (Tents, and therefore by extension, Dwellings) 18, Mishnah 7.4.111 The same law goes on to explain that open air spaces, such as courtyards or colonnades, are not subject to the laws of ritual purity and therefore safe to enter (Ohalot 18, Mishnah 8.1), enabling the Temple hierarchy to enter the courtyard with their prisoner without risking ritual defilement the day before Passover. Luther’s Ostern (Passover) is a direct translation of the Greek pascha, as Olearius notes.112 Luther’s Weekly Sermons on St John was in Bach’s library and also liberally cited in the Calov Bible. In them, Luther commented on the ‘narrow conscience’ of the chief priests:113 they were more concerned about maintaining ritual purity than the fact that they were about to hand over

108 HS 5: 779, see also HS 5: 245. 109 Loewe (2011), p. 143, see also: Martin Petzoldt, ‘“Ut probus et doctus reddar”: Zum Anteil der Theologie bei der Schulausbildung Johann Sebastian Bachs in Eisenach, Ohrdruf und Lüneburg’, Bach-Jahrbuch (1985), pp. 7–42. 110 HS 5: 779: Numbers 9.6–12 specifies that ‘certain people who were unclean through touch- ing a corpse, so that they could not keep the Passover’ were to keep the festival a month later (9.11). 111 Tractate Ohalot, Mishnah 7.4: ‘The dwelling-places of non-Jews are unclean’. 112 HS 5: 779: ‘Ostern. Pascha’. 113 Luther, Wochenpredigten über Johannes 16–20 (1528–1529), WA 28: 292, 17: ‘enge gewissen’. Wherever the Calov Bible cites Luther’s Wochenpredigten, reference is made to the relevant parallel passage. 188 chapter 8 an innocent man, Luther claimed, ‘but that they crucify the Son of God for them is no sin, only holiness’.114 At the same time, in his Weekly Sermons Luther translated the Passion narrative for a reformation audience by using the chief priests’ reluctance to enter the Prefect’s headquarters to launch a theological attack on hypocrisy (schande) among ‘our own high priests and elders: the bishops and princes’.115 Bach provides a second translation in his musical retelling of the Passion: by highlighting the actions of Jesus’ opponents through music, Bach invites his audience to betrachte (consider) their own sinfulness rather than historical events as the cause of Jesus’ suffering, and to erwäge (contemplate) the fruit of his Passion for their own lives [see the discussion on movements 19 and 20]. The rooster’s call on es war frühe concludes the last hour of the night and the hurried religious trial of Jesus. Now Bach sets to music the trial before Pilate. In only three notes, he sums up the true nature of the place where that trial is about to take place: the dissonant augmented fourth [d-g#] or tritone on das Richthaus [bar 4] was known in Baroque music aesthetics as diabolus in musica (the devil in music), connoting evil or oppression.116 Bach’s musical instinct that Pilate’s justice was diabolical is corrobated by the first- century Jewish historian Josephus, a copy of whose Jewish Antiquities and Wars Bach owned.117 Twice, Josephus describes how Pilate brutally quashed two religiously-motivated uprisings in the open courtyard of the Praetorium (Ant. 18: 56–62, War 2: 172–177), in which ‘large numbers of the Jews perished, some from the blows which they received, others trodden to death by their compan- ions in the ensuing flight’ (War 2: 177).

John 18.29 [bars 7–10]: Since the Jewish chief priests did not enter the Roman Prefect’s residence, Pilate came out of his Richthaus to hear them in the open courtyard of the Praetorium. Bach traces the Prefect’s movement zu ihnen heraus (went out to them) in the evangelist’s melodic line [bars 7–8]. Facing the Jerusalem hierarchy, the Prefect instructs the chief priests to make known their charge against their prisoner: Was bringet ihr für Klage wider diesen Menschen (What accusation do you bring against this person?).

114 WA 28: 292, 17: ‘Aber das sie Gottes Son creutzigen, das ist bey jnen keine Sünde, sondern lauter heiligkeit’. 115 WA 28: 295, 27–28, CB 3: 922: ‘Das ist geschrieben zur schande unsern Hohenpriestern und Eltesten, Bischoven und Fürsten’. 116 Mattheson (1713), p. 49; Johann Gottfried Walther, Musicalisches Lexicon/ oder/ Musicali- sche Bibliothec (Leipzig, Wolffgang Deer: 1732), p. 618. 117 BB 85–87. commentary 189

16b. Coro Chorus—Flutes I/II, Oboe I/II, Violin I/II, Viola, Organ, Continuo

Johannes 18,30b Wäre dieser nicht ein Übeltäter, John 18.30b Were this one not an evildoer, 18,30c wir hätten dir ihn nicht überantwortet. 18.30c we would not have handed him over to you.

John 18.30b [bars 1–23]: While the turbae choruses or dramatic crowd scenes in the St John Passion all share similar musical material, in each Bach gives voice to very different emotions.118 In this movement we encounter a group of up to 70 religious leaders, described by the Jewish historian Josephus as ‘men of the highest standing among us’ (Ant. 18: 64). This was a hierarchy that knew well that they operated only under suffrance of the Roman authorities, Josephus explains: the Romans policed Jewish religious life to such an extent that the occupiers not only appointed the high priests (Ant. 18: 95), but even controlled access to their vestments (Ant. 18: 90–95). The group of chief priests assembled in Pilate’s courtyard would have also been acutely aware of Pilate’s contempt for their faith and their leadership and his unpredictable ire. On the same flagstones on which they were gathered that daybreak, Pilate had executed—in cold blood—a group of Jews who protested against his misappropriation of temple funds for building an aqueduct (Ant. 18: 60, War 2: 175). Indeed, Olearius suggests that Pilate turned to the chief priests and ‘spoke to them with wrath’.119 Their response to Pilate’s instruction to bring a charge against Jesus is equiv- ocal and most probably indignant: Wäre dieser nicht ein Übeltäter, wir hätten ihn dir nicht überantwortet (If this one were not a evildoer, we would not have handed him over to you). In his setting, Bach successfully conveys the sense of a group of people talking at the same time. He uses a Baroque figure, named Schwärmer by Johann Gottfried Walher because it suggests a swarm of insects or, in this case, the hum of multiple speakers.120 The ‘four rapid notes on one pitch’ on wäre dieser (if this one were) [bars 11 seq] are a textbook trope that successfully conveys the sense of multiple speakers.121

118 Dürr (2000), p. 65: ‘Bach links the movements [2b, 2d, 16d, 18b, 13f] in two ways: (a) by means of a model instrumental passage that serves a number of choruses as an (in principle) unchanging frame into which to fit the respective choral passages; (b) by means of parallels between the vocal pairs of choral movements, which are often made possible by similarities in the biblical text [e.g. ‘Jüden König’ and ‘der Jüden König’], but are not exclusively determined by them’. 119 HS 5: 780: ‘Sprach Pilatus mit Zorn’. 120 Walther (1732), p. 103. 121 Walther (1732), p. 103: ‘Vier geschwinden Noten’. 190 chapter 8

Bach’s chromatic ascending lines on Übeltäter (evildoer) [bars 13–23] introduce a more sinister subtext to the hierarchy’s rather bland indictment of Jesus. The close resemblance of the melodic line on Übeltäter (evildoer) to that on töten (kill) in movement 16d [bars 40–55] suggest that the act of bringing Jesus to Pilate was in fact an expression of Caiaphas’ resolution, es wäre gut, daß ein Mensch würde umbracht für das Volk (that it were better that one person would be broken for the people; John 18.14, see the discussion on movement 6, above). Bach’s word setting also puts strong emphasis on -täter (doer), rather than the natural German pronunciation, with its emphasis on Übel- (evil). Throughout St John’s Gospel, the hierarchy had expressed concerns about the signs Jesus performed; in fact his ‘doing of signs’ was one of the chief motivations for Caiaphas’ resolution to have Jesus ‘die for the people than to have the whole nation destroyed’ (John 11.49). From now on, the only sign that Jesus will give is the sign of being lifted up on a cross (John 3.14, 12.32).

John 30c [bars 35–37]: In his Weekly Sermons, Luther particularly emphasised the hierarchy’s sense of indignation at the Prefect’s instruction to bring their charge against Jesus:

It is as if they were saying: ‘Do have a good look at what kind of people we are. Do you truly think that we holy fathers, High Priests and elders would unjustly condemn this man or any other man? By no means. We are not such people’.122

In his setting Bach expresses that sense of indignation among the religious leaders well. Brown’s suggestion of the chief priests’ ‘insolence’ is an overstatement: the hierarchy knew well that the success of this case and any future capital punishment trial depended on maintaining their fragile modus operandi with the Roman occupiers.123 Here, they therefore assert strongly that their own judgement of Jesus, while rushed, had nevertheless been a proper investigation into severe breaches of religious law by the highest religious court in the land. Olear- ius suggest that they might have reasoned with the Prefect as follows: ‘Execute him without any further concerns/ and do what is required by your office as

122 Luther, Wochenpredigten, WA 28: 301, 30–35, CB 3: 923: ‘Als solten sie sagen: sihe uns recht an, was fur Leute wir sind, Meinstu, das wir heiligen veter, Hohenpriester, Schriftgelehrten diesen oder einen andern unrecht beschuldigen oder verdammen wollten? Mit nichte, Wir sind nicht solche Leute’. 123 Brown (1970), p. 848. commentary 191

judge’.124 Bach’s four block-chords on nicht (not) [bars 35–37] certainly make for a robust, and unified, response by the chief priests.

16c. Recitativo Recitative—Evangelist (tenor), Pilate (bass), continuo

Evangelist Evangelist Johannes 18,31a Da sprach Pilatus zu ihnen: John 18.31a Then Pilate said to them:

Pilatus Pilate So nehmet ihr ihn hin und richtet ihn Then take him yourselves and judge him nach eurem Gesetze! according to your Laws!

Evangelist Evangelist 18,31b Da sprachen die Jüden zu ihm: 18.31b Then the Jews spoke to him:

John 18.31a [bars 38–41]: Pilate evidently remained unmoved by the early- morning visitation of Jewish hierarchs seeking endorsement for their own capital sentence. His brusque interjection, So nehmet ihr ihn hin und richtet ihn nach eurem Gesetze (then take him yourselves and judge him according to your Laws) [bars 39–40], is an attempt to dismiss both the assembled group of chief priests and religious leaders, and their prisoner.125 Luther’s sermons on John’s Passion certainly saw the Prefect’s terse statement as an attempt to prevent any Roman legal procedings:

That is put in Roman terms as if he had said: ‘If you seek to be judges, then also be his executioners. Take him yourselves, since you know the accusation and reason for his death-sentence. And since you have your own law, that law will show you how to deal with such cases’.126

124 HS 5: 780: ‘Exeqvire nur ohne Bedencken/ und verrichte/ was dein Richter-Ammt erfordert’. Olearius associates the chief priests’ assurances with the false assurances for the safe conduct of the Czech reformer Jan Hus given by the Catholic hierarchy at the Council of Constance. Like Luther, therefore, he uses this interchange to make an anti-Catholic— rather than an anti-Jewish—point. 125 HS 5: 780: ‘Pilate replied angrily: ‘If you have done the business without me/ then you may also execute him without me, with yourselves as judges’ (Habt ihr den Handel ohne mich gerichtet/ so möget ihr auch als Richter ohne mich exeqviren). 126 WA 28: 302, 14–17, CB 3: 923: ‘Das ist auff Römisch geredt als solt er sagen: So jr wollet Richter sein, so seid auch Hencker uber jn, nemet jr jn hin, weil jr die Klag und ursach des Todes wisset und dazu ewer Gesetz habt, so euch leret, wie jr in solchen Sachen faren sollet’. 192 chapter 8

Pilate’s lack of engagement with the Jewish religious leaders is well documented by Josephus who emphasised that the Prefect consistently underesti- mated the ‘intense religious zeal’ of the people of Jerusalem (War 2: 174). This case was no different: Pilate’s statement either suggests that he was ignorant of the Roman statutes preventing Jewish religious courts to execute a sentence of capital punishment, or that he did not accept the accusations of the chief priests as valid. The former is unlikely, since powers of capital punishment had been been vested with the Roman occupiers for more than a decade, as Olearius explains.127 The ensuing interrogation of Jesus by Pilate strongly suggests that the latter was true: Pilate did not regard the chief priests’ accusation as valid and sought to dismiss the accusers. Bach certainly highlights Pilate’s dismissal und richtet ihn (and judge him) by an impressive leap of a seventh [bar 40].

John 18.31b [bars 41–42]: Da sprachen die Jüden zu ihm (Then the Jews spoke to him): as in the remainder of the trial of Jesus, die Jüden (the Jews) here mean the assembled chief priests, a group of up to 70 clerics, their troops and their servants. The debate on what John may have meant by ‘the Jews’ is extensive and ongoing.128 In this case, the chief priests were not suddenly joined by a larger group of ‘other’ Jews to witness their early morning efforts to bring formal legal proceedings against Jesus. On the contrary, John 11.48–53 makes clear that it would have been in the interest of the religious authorities to keep the trial of Jesus as private as possible: Jesus was popular among his fellow-believers, many of whom already believed in him as Messiah (John 10.42, 11.45, 12.11 etc.). The hierarchy’s fear that ‘everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and destroy both our holy place and our nation’ (John 11.48), meant actively preventing Jesus from having contact with the crowds who believed in him, which, incidentally, was also the key motivator for putting in motion the process of having him executed (John 11.53).

127 HS 5: 780, citing Josephus who records that since the death of the ethnarch Archelaus in 18ce only the Romans exercised capital punishment in Judea (War 2: 117–118). 128 See: Reinhold Leistner, Antijudaismus im Johannesevangelium? Darstellung des Problems in der neueren Auslegungsgeschichte und Untersuchung der Leidensgeschichte, Theologie und Wirklichkeit, Beiträge aus den Fachbereichen Religionswissenschaften der Johann Wolfgang Goethe Universität Frankfurt am Main und der Justus Liebig-Universität Giessen, 3 (Bern: Herbert Lang, 1974), Bibliography; Urban von Wahlde, ‘The Johannine “Jews”: A survey’, New Testament Studies 28 (1982), pp. 33–55; Reimund Bieringer, Didier Pollefeyt, Frederique Vandecasteele-Vanneuville, eds., Anti-Judaismand theFourthGospel: Papers of the Leuven Colloquium (Assen: Royal van Gorcum, 2001), pp. 549–570. commentary 193

Martin Luther adopted the narrative of the Jews who believed in Jesus in spite of a remote hierarchy that sought to maintain its powerbase by appeasing the secular rulers for his movement of evangelical Christians. In his Weekly Ser- mons on St John, he firmly applied the Johannine narrative to his Reformation context:

Jew means: confessor, someone who gives thanks and praise. They are people who give thanks for the good things they have received. When we confess Christ, laud and praise him, proclaim his wisdom, holiness, righteousness and power, and regard as nothing our own works, wisdom, holiness, righteousness and powers, we are genuine Jews. And Christ is King over such Jews who do not justify themselves by works.129

Rather than refer to the Jewish nation as a whole, or even the Jews who believed in Jesus as Messiah, in this context the term die Jüden (the Jews) seeks to distinguish the Jews who are present in the courtyard from the non-Jewish garrison soldiers. Interestingly, the musical grammar of Bach’s crowd scenes turbae does not distinguish at all between the Jewish and non-Jewish opponents of Jesus: many of the musical tropes used in his choruses refer back to the first turba in movement 2b. For the composer therefore, the crowd scenes are first and fore- most expressions of the ‘arguments of the party opposing Jesus’, regardless of whether that party is represented by Jewish high priests or Roman soldiers or, as at Jesus’ arrest and crucifixion, both.130

16d. Coro Chorus—Flauto traverso I/II, Oboe I/II, Violin I/II, Viola, Organ, Continuo

Johannes 18,31c Wir dürfen niemand töten. John 18.31c We may not kill anyone.

The priest-judges’ reminder to the Prefect that the right to enforce capital punishment had been removed from the Jewish authorities is clearly a continua-

129 WA 28: 394, 15–21: ‘Jüde heisst ein Bekenner, Dancksager, Lober. Das ist sölcher Mensch der da bekennet was er guts empfangen hat. Wenn wir nu zu Christum bekennen, loben und preisen, Seine Werck, seine Weißheit, Heiligkeit, Gerechtigkeit und Krafft rhümen, Und uns selbs mit unsern Wercken, Weißheit, Heiligkeit, Gerechtigkeit und Krefften für nichts halten, So sind wir rechte Jüden. Und uber solche Jüden, die sich durch jre eigne Wercke nicht rechtfertigen … ist Christus König’. 130 Werner Breig, ‘Zu den Turba-Chören von Bachs Johannespassion’, Hamburger Jahrbuch für Musikwissenschaft 8 (1985), pp. 65–96, p. 88: ‘Reden der Gegenpartei’. 194 chapter 8

tion of the previous chorus [16b]. The composer again employs the Schwärmer- figure on dürfen niemand (may not … anyone) [bars 43 and subsequent entries throughout the movement] to suggest multiple speakers. Bach’s setting relent- lessly repeats niemand (not anyone) to underline that the religious courts had no authority to put anyone to death, a fact highlighted by Olearius.131 However, for Bach the prohibition not to put anyone to death does not derive from the Romans: it is a God-given commandment. The composer was fond of representing numbers through music.132 The ascending chromatic line on töten (kill), with its five rising semitones on the diphthong is a good example of this: it emphasises the number five, and may well allude to the Fifth Commandment ‘Youshall not murder’ (Exodus 20.13, Deuteronomy 5.17).133 The ultimate means of execution is revealed through Augenmusik by the relentless cross-motifs in the flute and first violin part [bars 42–57], leading into a final cadenza and resolution on niemand töten (not kill anyone) [bars 57–58].

16e. Recitativo Recitative—Evangelist (tenor), Pilate (bass), Jesus (bass), continuo

18,33a Da ging Pilatus wieder hinein in das Richthaus 18.33a Then Pilate went into the courthouse, und rief Jesu und sprach zu ihm: again and called Jesus, and spoke to him:

Pilatus Pilate 18,33b Bist du der Jüden König? 18.33b Are you the King of the Jews?

131 HS 5: 780: ‘We may, ouk exesti, non licet, … because we are subservient to the Romans’ (Wir dürffen. uk exesti. non licet … weil wir den Römern unterworffen). 132 For Bach’s interest in numerology, see: Ruth Tatlow, Bach and the Riddle of the Number Alphabet (Cambridge: University Press, 1991). Bach certainly owned a number of works on numerology in Scripture, for instance Caspar Heunisch, Haupt-Schlüssel über die hohe Offenbahrung S. Johannis/ Welcher durch Erklärung aller und jeder Zahlen/ die darinnen vorkommen/ und eine gewisse Zeit bedeuten/ zu dem eigentlichen und richtigen Verstand Oeffnung thut (Schleusingen: Sebastian Göbel, 1684), BB 135. 133 Martin Jansen, ‘Bachs Zahlensymbolik, an seinen Passionen untersucht’, Bach-Jahrbuch 34 (1937), pp. 96–117, p. 99: ‘The five chromatically ascending notes refer to the Fifth Commandment’ (Die fünf in chromatischer Folge aufsteigenden Töne nennen das fünfte Gebot). commentary 195

Evangelist Evangelist 18,34 Jesus antwortete: 18.34 Jesus answered:

Jesus Jesus Redest du das von dir selbst, Do you speak this for yourself, oder haben’s dir andere von mir gesagt. or did others tell you about me?

Evangelist Evangelist 18,35 Pilatus antwortete: 18.35 Pilate answered:

Pilatus Pilate Bin ich ein Jüde? Dein Volk Am I a Jew? Your people und die Hohenpriester haben dich mir and the chief priests have handed you überantwortet; was hast du getan? over to me; what have you done?

Evangelist Evangelist 18.36 Jesus antwortete: 18.36 Jesus answered:

John 18.32 [bars 59b–62]: Where Olearius’s commentary from Bach’s book collection explains that St John’s text refers back to an earlier saying of Jesus (John 12.32–33), Bach’s music points to the crucifixion itself: the elaborate melsisma on Todes er sterben würde (kind of death he was to die) [bar 62] is based on a cross-motif.134 In his interpretation of the passage in the Weekly Sermons on St John, abstracted in Bach’s Calov Bible, Martin Luther made reference to another suitable synoptic parallel (Luke 18.32–33), to confirm that the death of Jesus took place at the hands of non-Jews:135

For the Son of Man will be handed over to the Gentiles; and he will be mocked and insulted and spat upon. After they have flogged him, they will kill him and on the third day he will rise again.

134 HS 5: 780. 135 Olearius also makes this point, HS 5: 780: ‘That they would hand him over to the Gentiles to be crucified’ (Daß sie Ihn überantworten würden, den Heyden/ zu creutzigen). 196 chapter 8

Luther and, citing him, Calov leave no doubt at all that both the religious and secular leadership in equal measure shared the responsibility for the death of Jesus:

The Jews … capture Jesus and hand him over to death, the Gentiles mock and despise him, spit on him, bind and kill him. … They both do evil and murder the innocent Jesus: the Jews betray him; the Gentiles are his executioners.136

John 18.33a [bars 63–65]: Leaving the Jewish religious leaders outside in the courtyard or colonnades of the Prefect’s headquarters, Pilate returned to the Richthaus (courthouse). As in movement 16a, Bach again highlights the Jeru- salem Praetorium as a place of flawed Roman justice by an augmented fourth, the diabolus in musica, on das Richthaus [bar 64, see also above, movement 16a]. Pilate summons Jesus and begins his interrogation.

John 18.33b [bars 66–67a]: The question of the kingship of Jesus is central to the trial before Pilate. If Jesus were a rival claimant to the vacant throne of Judea and Samaria, then he would automatically be guilty of insurrection against the Roman overlords. However, Pilate’s Bist du der Jüden König (Are you the King of the Jews) is ambiguous: the question can refer either to the claimant to the territory of Judea, or to the claimant to a religious kingship over the Jews, or both.137 Josephus certainly used the title tōn Ioudaíōn basilèus (the King of the Jews) interchangeably. He used it to refer to both to the earlier Hasmonean (Maccabean) dynasty of high priest kings (Ant. 16: 36) and to the Herodian ethnarchs of Judea (Ant. 16: 311) who replaced them in the Hellenstic period. At the end of the reign of the ethnarchs, in 18ce, only fifteen years before the events of the Passion, Judea was subsumed as the province of Judea and Samaria into the Roman Empire (War 2: 117–118).

136 WA 28: 303, 19–20, 35–36, CB 3: 924: ‘Die Jüden … fahen Jhesum und uberantworten jn zum tode, die Heiden verspotten, verschmehen, verspeien, geisseln und tödten jn. … Sie sind allzumal Schelcke und Möderer an dem Unschuldigen Jhesu. Die Jüden sind seine Verrheter. Die Heiden sind seine Hencker’. 137 For the ambiguity and multiple meanings of the term ‘the Jews’ in John’s Gospel and in contemporary writers like Josephus, see: Malcolm Lowe, ‘Who were the ΙΟΥΔΑΙΟΙ?’, Novum Testamentum 18.2 (1976), pp. 101–130, pp. 104–105, and John Ashton’s response to Lowe’s article, ‘The Identity and Function of the ΙΟΥΔΑΙΟΙ in John’, Novum Testamentum 27.1 (1985), pp. 40–75. commentary 197

In his translation of the Bible Luther does not clear up this ambiguity as to what tōn Ioudaíōn (of the Jews) might refer to, either: as in John’s Greek, in Luther’s German the terms die Jüden (the Jews) or jüdisch (Jewish) can also refer both to the Jewish people and to the people of Judea: this ambiguity is reflected well in his translation of ‘the land of Judea’ as das jüdische Land.138 While it may be possible to interpret Pilate’s question both as referring to a spiritual and a physical kingship, in his Weekly Sermons on St John, however, Luther clearly suggests that Pilate expected a rival claimant to the Hasmonean throne, a reaction much like Herod’s when confronted with the news of the birth of Jesus in Matthew 2.2.139 For Luther and subsequent Lutheran interpreters, the charge that the Prefect brings against Jesus, therefore, is insurrection: ‘For the charge is that Jesus is an insurgent against the emperor, which is why he needs to carry both the title [the King of the Jews] and the guilt’.140 In his commentated Bible, Calov follows Luther’s reading entirely: before the Prefect, Jesus stands not as a religious king or Messiah, but as a pretender to a vacant throne, and therefore someone accused of insurrection against the Roman rulers.141

John 18.24 [bars 67–70a]: Jesus does not give a straight answer to the Prefect’s question, Bist du der Jüden König (Are you the King of the Jews). Instead he responds with his own counter-question: Redest du das von dir selbst (Do you speak this for yourself?) [bars 67–68a]. For John, Luther and Bach it is clear who really is in charge of this trial. Bach’s setting of Jesus’ carefully crafted responses make clear that it really is Jesus who interrogated Pilate to ascertain his motives. Olearius amplifies Jesus’ response to suggest that Pilate’s security briefings were flawed: ‘if I were a rebel, then you should have been briefed more carefully. If others have told you, you should not believe it so readily, for you see no such guilt in me’.142 Luther, in turn, believed that Jesus’ first

138 WA DB John 3.22: ‘in das Jüdischeland’. Unfortunately, Luther does not use das jüdische Land as an exclusive translation of John’s Ioudaía either, but sometimes renders the term as das land Judea, for instance in John 4.3, 4.47 and 4.54. 139 Olearius echoes this, HS 5: 780: ‘A king, v. 37, basileus, as your accusers say … who were so violently opposed to the Royal Progress and the Hosannas’ (König. V. 37. Basileus. wie deine Ankläger sagen … welchen der Königliche Einzug und das Hosianna so heftig entgegen war.) 140 WA 28: 304, 21–24, CB 3: 924: ‘Es ist aber die Anklage, das Jhesus sey ein Auffrührer wider den Keiser, den titel und die Schuld mus er tragen’. 141 CB 3: 924: ‘JESUS sey ein Auffrhürer wieder [sic] den Käyser’. 142 HS 5: 780: ‘Wäre ich ein Rebell/ so möchtest du wol dich zuvor gründlicher berichten 198 chapter 8 counter-question redest du das von dir selbst was the equivalent of a legal oath:

[The Lord says:] You, Pilate, ask of me whether I am the King of the Jews, that is to say that I am an insurgent against the emperor. I, in turn, put your own conscience under oath whether you find me guilty on your own or not?143

[bars 68b–70a]: Jesus adds a second question: oder haben’s dir andere von mir gesagt (or did others tell you about me?). Bach punctuates the two parts of Jesus’ question to the Prefect by two carefully placed quaver rests [bar 68]. The composer highlights andere (others) [bar 69] by three repeated notes (d) which, echoed by three repeated notes, a third lower, on Hohenpriester (chief priests) in the Prefect’s response [bars 70–71], provides a musical answer to Jesus’ question: the Prefect’s interest in Jesus’ kingship is based on the previous judgement by the high priests. For Luther and for Bach, therefore, it seems that Jesus is tried on a charge of insurrection.

John 18.35 [bars 70–73]: While he evidently accepted the high priests’ charge that Jesus might be a rival claimant to the Judean throne, Pilate neither is interested in the Jewish faith nor does he really understand the relevance of Jewish ritual law (Ant. 18: 59). Josephus reports that Pilate consistently misunderstood or deliberately chose not to understand the demands of the Jewish faith (War 2: 169–178). His brutality in quashing popular religious movements and Jewish sects, for instance the Samaritans, is well documented and ultimately led to his recall to Rome ‘to give the emperor his account’ (Ant. 18: 87–90). This combination of ignorance and disdain explains the Prefect’s dismissive question, Bin ich ein Jüde? (Am I a Jew?) [bars 70–71]. Bach carefully punctuates Pilate’s subsequent observation from his dismissal of the Jewish faith with a quaver rest [bar 71]. The statement dein Volk und die Hohenpriester haben dich mir überantwortet (your people and the chief priests have handed you over to me) [bars 71–73a] outlines the legal basis for his continued interrogation of his prisoner. In Bach’s setting the Prefect immediately returns to his investigation of the charge, instructing Jesus to respond to the charge of insurrection: Washas

lassen. Andere/ so soltest du nicht so bald es glauben/ denn du siehest an mir gar nichts dergleichen’. 143 WA28: 307, 16, CB 3: 925: ‘[Der Herr spricht:] Du Pilate fragest mich, ob ich der Jüden König sey, das ist so viel, ob ich ein Auffrührer bin wider den Keiser. Ich zihe widerumb dein eigen Gewissen zum Zeugnis an, ob du das von dir selber mir schuld gebest oder nicht’. commentary 199 du getan (What have you done) [bar 73]. Luther explained what Pilate might have implied by his words:

I neither know of your Jewish laws and customs, nor do I know whether you aspire to become a king or not. I do not ask these things of my own accord, but because you have been thus charged before me. Therefore tell me how it can be that you wish to be a king against the emperor.144

John 18.36 [bars 73b–80]: Jesus answers Pilate’s initial question, bist du der Jüden König (are you the King of the Jews) [bars 66–67] by an affirmation of a kingship that ist nicht von dieser Welt (is not of this world) [bars 74–75]. Pilate and the chief priests are not the first to misunderstand the nature of Jesus’ kingship: earlier in the Gospel, after the feeding of the five thousand, the gathered crowds ‘were about to come and take him by force to make him king’ (John 6.16). At his entry to Jerusalem, the crowds again hailed Jesus as ‘the king of Israel’ (John 12.13). On both occasions, they sought to make Jesus their king because of the miracles he performed (John 12.18). In setting Jesus’ own reflection on the true nature of his kingship to music, Bach clearly contrasts mein Reich (my kingdom) [bar 74] from dieser Welt (this world) [bar 75] by a descending melodic line: Jesus’ kingdom is above this world, similar to Olearius’ suggestion that ‘although it can be perceived in this world, it is a heavenly kingdom’.145 Were his kingdom a physical entity, Jesus responds, meine Diener würden darob kämpfen, daß ich den Jüden nicht überant- wortet würde (my servants would therefore be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews) [bars 76–79a]. The a battuta (in exact beat) section on darob kämpfen (fight for) [bar 77] resembles a clarion call summoning an army to arms. Bach’s martial musical setting matches John’s Greek more closely than Luther’s generic translation Diener (servants): the word huperetai is the same term used to refer to the armed temple guards who came to apprehend Jesus in the garden and conveyed him from the high priest’s trial to Pilate; in the Passion narrative it clearly refers to an armed militia, which is why in his commentary Olearius once again provides the Greek original.146

144 WA28: 308, 32–309, 7, CB 3: 926: ‘Ich weis nicht von ewren Jüdischen Gesetzen und hedeln, ob du ein König werden wilt oder nicht, ich sage auch solches nicht von mir selbs, sondern du bist also bey mir angeklaget. Darumb sage, wie es zugegangen ist das du ein König sein wolltest wider den Keiser’. 145 HS 5: 781: ‘Obs gleich auch in dieser Welt zuverspüren: Sondern es ist ein himmlisch Reich’. 146 HS 5: 781: ‘Diener. Hyperetai’. 200 chapter 8

At the end, the thought of armed servants who rally to rescue their master from certain death remains a hypothetical idea only: a crochet’s rest isolates aber (but) [bar 79] from Jesus’ previous statement, a semiquaver’s rest from his affirmation that mein Reich ist nicht von dannen (my kingdom is not of this world) [bars 79–80]. This aber (but) exonerates Jesus from the charge of sedition, Luther explains:

Thereby [the Lord] rejects the wrongful accusation: ‘Thus I prove’,he says, ‘that I have no kingdom against the emperor. For if I were an insurgent, and sought to establish a kingdom against the emperor, I would have servants surrounding me, who would aid me and who would prevent it that I am handed over to the Jews’.147

As in bar 74, Jesus’ Reich (kingdom) is above, highlighted by an ascending melodic line, this time by an impressive octave leap [bars 79–80]. While the prisoner’s kingdom is clearly in heaven, Pilate’s political reality remains firmly on the ground, an octave below the heavenly kingdom [bar 80]. As Luther and Calov conclude: ‘[Jesus] says: My kingdom neither challenges you, Pilate, nor does it challenge the emperor’.148 At the same time, Olearius explains, Jesus’ kingdom is not an idle fantasy, either, but ‘bears heavenly fruit, requiring heavenly deeds and a heavenly disposition’.149

17. Choral Chorale (Flutes I/II, Oboe I and Violin I with Sopranos; Oboe II, Violin II with Altos; Viola with Tenors; Continuo with Basses)

Ach großer König, groß zu allen Zeiten, Oh great King, King for all time, Wie kann ich gnugsam diese Treu ausbreiten? How can I sufficiently broadcast this faithfulness? Keins Menschen Herze mag indes ausdenken, No human heart is able to imagine, however, Was dir zu schenken. What to give to you.

147 WA28: 310, 14–20: ‘Sondern weiset die Anklage, daran er nicht schuldig ist, von sich. Damit beweiß ichs, spricht er, daß ich kein Königreich habe wider den Keyser. Denn so ich ein Auffrhürer were und ein Königreich wider den Keiser auffrichten wolte, hette ich diener umb mich die mir dazu hülfen und wehreten, das ich den Jüden nicht uberantwortet würde’. 148 WA 28: 309, 17, CB 3: 926–927: ‘Mein Königreich, spricht er, thut dir Pilate und dem Keiser keinen schaden’. 149 HS 5: 781: ‘Keine weltliche Phantasey’; ‘Erfordert himmlische Verrichtung/ und Gemüther/ es bringt himmlische Wolthaten’. commentary 201

Ich kann’s mit meinen Sinnen nicht erreichen, I cannot grasp it with my senses Womit doch dein Erbarmen zu vergleichen. With what to compare your mercies Wie kann ich dir denn deine Liebestaten How can I then your loving deeds Im Werk erstatten? By works repay you?

Verses 8 and 9 of Herzliebster Jesu [bars 1–17]: Having used verse 7 of Heer- mann’s hymn as a reflection on the arrest of Jesus, Bach here uses the next two verses of this popular Passion-tide hymn as a reflection on Jesus’ kingship, prompted by Jesus’ response to Pilate: ‘My kingdom is not from this world’ (John 18.36). Despite his apparent powerlessness as a captive prisoner of the Roman governor, Jesus is in fact a king who is groß zu allen Zeiten (great for all time). Heermann here holds in tension the dichotomy between the eternal nature of Christ’s kingship in the cosmic order (1Timothy 1.17, 6.15, Rev- elation 19.16) and his temporal suffering, themes that form the basis for the opening chorus of the Passion with its stark juxtaposition of sovereignty and debasement. Where the religious authorities saw in Jesus an Übeltäter (evildoer), Bach’s congregation are invited to know him to be the eternal King of all creation. It is impossible to reflect on the greatness of Jesus’ Treu (faithfulness) to those he came to save, Heermann explains, let alone render him any service in return for his suffering: Keins Menschen Herze mag indes ausdenken/ Was dir zu schenken (No human heart is able to imagine, however,/ What to give to you). This is the first of a series of reflections on the Passion narrative that centre on the emotional impact of the Passion on each listener’s ‘heart’. In this chorale; the chorale In meines Herzens Grunde (In the depth of my heart) [movement 26]; the ariosos Betrachte, meine Seel (Consider, my soul) [movement 19] and Mein Herz, in dem die ganze Welt (My heart, in whom the whole world) [movement 34]; as well as the aria Zerfließe, mein Herze (Melt, my heart) [movement 35], Bach uses the image of the feeling human heart to outline human responses to the Passion of Jesus. They all communicate a sense of awe at the immensity of an innocent human suffering for others, and encourage Mitleid (compassion), literally co-suffering with Jesus, as the only possible response to Jesus’ Treu (faithfulness). Like Luther, Heermann believed that it was impossible to render any Werk (work) in response to Jesus’ death. In this hymn he suggested that the Chris- tian’s proper response to the death of Christ was disregard for the world (die Welt für nichts erachten) [verse 12], taking up one’s cross (kein Kreuz nicht achten) [verse 13] and firm reliance on God’s grace (in Gnaden wirst du dies von mir annehmen) [verse 14]. Heermann’s hope, expressed in the final verse of his hymn, was that having lived life thus one day the believer would be able to 202 chapter 8

render thanks to the Herr Jesu (Lord Jesus) face to face: da will ich dir, wenn alles wird wohl klingen,/ Lob und Dank singen (there I want to sing to you, when all is harmoniously [well] ringing,/ your praise and thanks). Bach’s continuo setting in the two verses of this chorale is not only distinct from his use of the same musical material in movement 3, but is unique in his Passion repertoire: a distinctive semiquaver ‘walking’ bass line throughout the chorale underpins the three upper voices. When performed with equal emphasis on both semiquaver notes in each beat, the chorale sounds laboured. When performed with a more obvious Affekt, emphasising the first pair of each beat only, a more gracious performance can be achieved. Bach’s setting thus enables a deliberate musical juxtaposition in performance between the ‘laboured’ human inability to render any works to God (im Werk) [verse 2, bars 8–10] and the more ‘gracious’ and natural musical recollection of God’s mercy (dein Erbarmen) [bar 4–5]. The fact that Bach uses this musical device throughout the four voices to highlight keins Menschen Herze (no human heart) and [bar 7] and dir zu schenken (to give you) [bar 10], as well as wie kann ich dir (how can I) [verse 2, bar 7] and im Werk erstatten (by works repay you) [verse 2, bar 10] certainly suggests a theological use of the semiquaver device: no human heart can imagine a gift great enough for God; no one can render any work to the King of kings.

18a. Recitativo Recitative—Evangelist (tenor), Pilate (bass), Jesus (bass), continuo

Evangelist Evangelist Johannes 18,37a Da sprach Pilatus zu ihm: John 18.37a Then Pilate spoke to him:

Pilatus Pilate So bist du dennoch ein König? So you are nevertheless a king?

Evangelist Evangelist 18,37b Jesus antwortete: 18.37b Jesus answered:

Jesus Jesus Du sagst’s, ich bin ein König. Ich bin dazu geboren You say it, I am a king. For this I was born, und in die Welt kommen, daß ich and came into the world, that I die Wahrheit zeugen soll. should testify to the truth. Wer aus der Wahrheit ist, Whoever belongs to the truth, der höret meine Stimme. listens to my voice.

Evangelist Evangelist 18,38a Spricht Pilatus zu ihm: 18.38a Spoke Pilate to him: commentary 203

figure 10 Autograph Score, p. 34: answers into questions, though not in Bach’s hand

Pilatus Pilate Was ist Wahrheit? What is truth?

Evangelist Evangelist 18,38b Und da er das gesaget, ging er wieder 18.38b And after he had said this, he went hinaus zu den Jüden und spricht zu ihnen: out again to the Jews and spoke to them:

Pilatus Pilate Ich finde keine Schuld an ihm. I find no guilt in him.

18,39 Ihr habt aber eine Gewohnheit, 18.39 But you have a custom daß ich euch einen losgebe; that I let someone go for you; wollt ihr nun, daß ich euch do you therefore want me to let go for you der Jüden König losgebe? the King of the Jews?

Evangelist Evangelist 18,40a Da schrieen sie wieder allesamt 18.40a Once again they all shouted together und sprachen: and spoke:

John 18.37a [bars 1–3]: Unlike Bach’s congregation in the previous Chorale, Pilate cannot comprehend how Jesus could possibly be a king. The autograph score shows that in a previous version Pilate’s question so bist du dennoch ein König (so you are nevertheless a king) [bars 3], was first set as a statement rather than a question. In a section crossed out by the unknown copyist [Autograph Score, p. 35: penultimate system, bar 2, see Figure 10], the Prefect’s voice drops at the end of the phrase, as if he were giving an affirmative answer. The revised rising bass line on dennoch ein König (nevertheless a king) [bar 2] turns Pilate’s statement into a question. 204 chapter 8

John 18.37b [bars 3b–9]: Jesus’ answer du sagst’s (you say it) [bar 4] when read is ambiguous, since it could be either an affirmation or a rejection of Pilate’s question: ‘you say that I am a king’ as well as ‘you say so: I am indeed a king’.150 For Luther, there was no such ambiguity in Jesus’ statement: ‘“You say it”, that is as much as saying, you have guessed correctly. … “You say it” means: you have got it in one’.151 Olearius puts it even more succinctly: ‘You say it: It is the truth’.152 Bach replicates this sense of certainty by introducing a semiquaver rest between du sagsts (you say it) and ich bin ein König (I am a king) [bar 4], turning both parts of Jesus’ statement into affirmatives. Jesus’ kingship consists of testifying to the truth, and leading people into all truth, John’s Gospel explains: ‘you will know the truth and the truth will set you free’, Jesus assured ‘the Jews who had believed in him’ (John 8.31–32). That truth is inextricably linked to the Incarnation and the crucifixion, the beginning and end-point of Jesus’ earthly ministry, Jesus tells Pilate: Ich bin dazu geboren und in die Welt kommen, daß ich die Wahrheit zeugen soll (For this I was born, and came into the world, that I should testify to the truth) [bars 5–7]. For St John, truth is both an essential quality of the word made flesh (John 1.14, 17) and the reason for Jesus’ rejection by others. Earlier in the Gospel, Jesus told his opponents: ‘You are trying to kill me, a man that has told you the truth that heard from God’ (John 8.40). Olearius echoes this when he defines Wahrheit (truth) as follows: ‘The enduring eternal unchangable word … the essential impassible word … of divine wisdom revealed for our blessed instruction’.153 Bach highlights Jesus’ testimony to God’s truth in two ways: a rising octave in the melodic line on Wahrheit zeugen (testify to the truth) [bar 7] highlights Jesus’ mission both as truth and life incarnate, ‘the way, the truth, and life’ (John 14.6), and as a witness to God the Father (John 10.25). The nature of the message that is being made known is indicated musically by the fact that all references to truth are set in the key of D major, the key of glory, ‘extremely well suited for encouraging (auffmunternden) subjects’.154 Jesus had explained earlier in the

150 Barrett (1978), p. 537: ‘Jesus himself will neither affirm or deny his kingship’. 151 WA 28: 314, 19–23, CB 3: 927: ‘“Du sagests”, das ist so viel, du hasts schier errahten. … “Du sagests”, das ist du hasts getroffen’. 152 HS 5: 781: ‘Du sagests. Es ist die Warheit’. 153 HS 5: 770: ‘Das beständige ewige unverenderliche Wort/ … das wesentliche unvergängliche Wort … der Göttlichen zu unsern seeligen Unterricht geoffenbareten Weisheit’. 154 Mattheson (1713), p. 242: ‘Auffmunternden Sachen wol am allerbequemsten’.Bach uses the same key for the opening movement of the ‘Gloria’ of the B-minor Mass (BWV 232), and for the Magnificat (BWV 243). commentary 205

Gospel that he would lay down his life for those who listen to his voice (John 10.1–18). He therefore truly is, as Olearius suggested, ‘the greatest and holiest martyr’.155 Those who listen to the voice of Jesus already belong to the truth, and will have a share in the new life he promises: those who ‘hear my voice, I know, … and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish’, Jesus promised earlier in the Gospel (John 10.27–28). Bach singles out meine (my) by breaking up the word into its two component syllables in two sets of semiquavers [bar 9], thereby emphasising the message that it is through Jesus’ voice alone that all who are prepared to listen to Jesus, and accept him as the way to the Father (John 14.6), are ‘reborn by the word of truth’ and will enter eternal life.156

John 18.38a [bars 9–10]: St John leaves no doubt that Pilate and Jesus talk at cross-purposes; Jesus speaks of a truth that Pilate cannot recognise, or acknowledge as such. He cannot perceive that Jesus is Truth Incarnate and ‘asks deri- sively’, was ist Wahrheit (what is truth) [bars 9–10], revealing himself as a philosophical sceptic.157 Bach emphasises this profound miscommunication between Pilate and Jesus by turning Pilate’s question on truth into a weak mirror image of Jesus’ statements on truth. Where Jesus’ statements are supported by strong cadences, Pilate’s are underpinned by weak cadences. While an unexpected tonicisation on Was ist (what is) [bar 10] eventually leads to D major on Wahrheit (truth) [bar 11], Bach’s setting suggests that Pilate only ever compre- hended parts, or a weak version, of the truth.

John 18.38b [11–15a]: Pilate is not really interested in whether Jesus may have anything further to say about truth, and does not wait to hear Jesus’ answer to his question. Calov rightly identifies Pilate’s response as ‘a mockery’.158 Rather than listen to Jesus’ truth he turns away from his prisoner to inform the high priests ich finde keine Schuld an ihm (I find no guilt in him). Pilate is

155 HS 5: 781: ‘Der allergrösseste und allerheiligste Märtyrer’, a word-play on the Greek ‘wit- nessing. martyreso’ (Zeugen. martyreso). 156 HS 5: 781: ‘Ist wiedergebohren durchs Wort der Warheit’. 157 HS 5: 781: ‘Spricht hönisch’. A Latin anagram neatly turns Pilate’s question into an answer, Quid est veritas? (What is truth?) Est vir qui adest (It is the man who is here), suggesting that the Prefect was blind to the claims to divine truth made by Jesus. For an analysis of Christian receptions of truth, see: J.H. (Amie) van Wyk, ‘Quid est veritas? Augustinus oor waarheid en leuen’, Hervormde Teologiese Studies 56.2–3 (2000), pp. 456–491, in particular p. 478. 158 CB 3: 928: ‘Eine Spottrede’. 206 chapter 8 unconvinced of the accusers’ suggestion that Jesus was a potential insurgent. His statement does not claim that Jesus was innocent under Jewish religious law. Rather, Pilate refers to the political innocence of the prisoner.

John 18.39a [bars 15b–17a]: There are no examples outside the Passion Gospels of a Passover amnesty, though there are examples of such releases at certain Roman festivals.159 Bach’s libretto omits the words auff Ostern (at the Passover), which are contained in Luther’s translation.160 The composer had enjoyed a classical education, and he or his unknown librettist may have been aware of the Roman customs described by Livy of releasing prisoners at the Lectister- nia.161 Olearius claims that the custom of releasing prisoners derived from a re-enactment of the Passover, from slavery to freedom.162 Regardless of whether or not a similar custom of releasing a prisoner at high Jewish festivals existed, Bach uses the Prefect’s statement ihr habt aber eine Gewohnheit, daß ich euch einen losgebe (but you have a custom that I let someone go for you) in order to emphasise Pilate’s authority.163 Singling out ich (I) [bar 16] with a rising octave in the melodic line, he underlines that only Pilate now has the authority to set the prisoner free. This mirrors the similar claim to authority by Jesus, similarly emphasised by Bach’s setting, in meine Stimme (my voice) (John 18.37b).

John 18.39b [bars 17b–18]: There is no doubt that Pilate neither regarded Jesus as a king, nor would ever have acknowledged him as such. His suggestion that

159 Titus Livius [Livy], Ab Urbe condita libri, W. Weissenborn, H.J. Müller eds. (Leipzig: Teub- ner, 1898) [cited as: Livy, History of Rome] 5: 13, 8: ‘vinctis quoque dempta in eos dies vincula; religioni deinde fuisse, quibus eam open dei tulissent, vinciri’ (even prisoners were loosed from their chains on those days, and they were reluctant to imprison again men whom the gods had befriended in that manner). Aelius Dionysius, Karl Jacoby, ed., Antiquitates Romanae (Leipzig: Teubner, 1905) 12: 9, 10: ‘Tōn therapóntōn hósous próteron en toīs desmoīs eīchon hoi despótai’ (all the slaves whom their masters had previously kept in chains were then turned loose). 160 CB 3: 929. 161 Livy, History of Rome, 5: 13, 8. 162 HS 5: 250: ‘The governor had to do this [release a prisoner at Passover-tide] … for the Jews had introduced the custom to recall their liberation from Egypt’ (Der Landpfleger musste es thun … denn die Jüden hattens so eingeführet zum Andencken der Erlösung aus Egypten). 163 Charles Chavel, ‘The Releasing of a Prisoner at Passover’, Journal of Biblical Literature 60.3 (1941), pp. 273–278, p. 275, suspects a link between the ‘custom’ reported in the four Gospels and Tractate Pesahim 8.6. commentary 207

he might release der Jüden König (the King of the Jews) therefore is intended as a deliberate and highly offensive provocation of the assembled Jewish authorities. The Prefect’s melodic line abounds with cross motifs, both on daß ich euch (that I [let go] for you) [bar 17b] and König losgebe (let go the king [of the Jews]) [bar 18]: regardless of what Pilate says, Jesus will still be crucified. The tritone, or diabolus in musica, on losgebe (let go) [bar 18], provides a musical link with previous references to Roman justice (see the discussion on movements 16a and 16e, above), and strongly suggests that Bach’s Pilate never had the intention to set Jesus free.

John 18.40 [bars 18b–19]: Pilate’s deliberate insults and power games were not lost on the Jewish high priests. Both his use of the style der Jüden König (the King of the Jews) in describing their prisoner and his suggestion that he might release Jesus offend the religious leaders to such an extent that they lose their composure and respond to the Prefect by shouting, perhaps even crying out in wordless clamour, allesamt (altogether) [bar 19].

18b. Chorus Chorus (Oboe II with Sopranos, Violin II with Altos, Viola with Tenors; Flutes I/II, Oboe I, Violin I, Organ and Continuo)

Johannes 18,40b Nicht diesen, sondern Barrabam! John 18.40b Not this one, rather Barrabas!

John 18.40b [bars 21–23]: In Bach’s setting, the Jewish hierarchy does indeed speak allesamt (altogether), almost with one voice: in bars 20 and 22b–23, all four vocal parts speak in rhythmic unity. While in bar 21b–22 the Basses repeat the rhythmic pattern of the upper voices a crochet later than Sopranos, Altos and Tenors, on the second sondern (but) [bar 22] the four voices return to share their common rhythmic pattern. This gives the musical impression of a small group of speakers who speak as one, with only a few people falling out of line to suggest more than four speakers. Where in the synoptic Passion stories ‘the people’ demand the release of Barrabas, in John’s account of the trial only the small group of chief priests, led by Caiaphas, call for the release of Barrabam, the German retaining the accusative of the criminal’s Latin name. The unspoken consequence of the hierarchy’s demand to have a criminal released is the execution of Jesus, which is revealed in music by a pattern of cross-shapes above the voices woven by the first violin and woodwind lines. The movement concludes abruptly on the first, and therefore accented, beat of bar 24, creating the effect of an exclamation mark in music in the woodwind and first violin line. 208 chapter 8

18c. Recitativo Recitative—Evangelist (tenor), continuo

Evangelist Evangelist Johannes 18,40c Barrabas aber war ein Mörder. John 18.40c But Barrabas was a murderer.

19,1 Da nahm Pilatus Jesum 19.1 Then Pilate took Jesus und geißelte ihn. and flogged him.

John 18.40c [bars 24–25]: Unlike synoptic accounts of the Passion such as Matthew 28.15–23, which introduce Barrabas as ‘a notorious prisoner Jesus Barrabas’, John gives no background information on the second prisoner beyond a terse Barrabas aber war ein Mörder (but Barrabas was a murderer) [bars 24–25]. Where in Matthew it is Pilate who suggests Barrabas here, in line with Mark’s and Luke’s account, the chief priests call for Barrabas. That the name is a patronymic, Bar Abba (Son of the Father) or Bar Rabban (Son of the Teacher or Son of the Master), is suggested by Matthew’s account in which Barrabas shares the same first name as Jesus.164 Olearius reads the name as ‘son of the Father’ and explains that the high priests clamour for the relase of ‘Jesus, son of the father’, a criminal, ‘a warped wayward son’, while having Jesus, the true Son who calls God his Father, crucified.165 Bach’s angular melodic line, with its awkward harmony on aber war (but was) [bar 24], and two carefully placed rests to isolate ein Mörder (a murderer) [bars 24–25], reflects well the outrage conveyed by the evangelist: Pilate releases an evil murderer and has the innocent Jesus murdered. Luther commented on the passage on very similar lines, applying the injustice suffered by Jesus to the rejection, legal persecution and violence suffered by his own followers:

This indicates well how the Gospel, and all those who live according to the Gospel, fare in the world. If you wish to survive in the world, then learn the saying: ‘Barrabas got off; Christ the Saviour is condemned’. What does it matter that your neighbour acts violently and unjustly against you when Christ the Lord has been condemned? Therefore, whenever you are

164 Brown (2008), p. 856: ‘Some of the textual witnesses to Matthew present the man’s name as Jesus Barabbas, a reading already ancient in Origen’s time’. 165 HS 5: 250: ‘Barrabas. Mark 15.7, John 18.49, bar and abba, son of the father’.(Barrabas. Marc. .’filius patris); ‘Ein Verzogener ungerathner Sohn אָבַּא und רב .Johann. 18/49 .15/7 commentary 209

subject to violence or suffer injustice, then say: ‘That is the rule of the world; if you wish to live in the world, then you need to expect such a rule’.166

John 19.1 [bars 25–29]: The scourging of Jesus is musically represented by an impressively dynamic downward melodic line of 16 groups of three notes on geißelte (scourged) [bars 26b–28]. It is unlikely that Pilate would have been aware that in Halakhic convention the lashes were administered in sets of three, but quite probable that Bach knew that this was so:167 Johann Müller’s Judaismus oder Jüdenthum, a copy of which Bach owned, deals at length with the subjects of Jewish ritual law and the suffering of the Messiah, including the scourging.168 While Müller’s book uses Jewish sources in order to construct an overall anti-Jewish polemic, he does not on the whole misrepresent the Jewish originals he cites. Olearius also states that ‘the Jews … preferred to give one stroke less [than forty] than give too many’, thus suggesting they whipped in 13 rounds of three.169 However in his setting, Bach gives Jesus 48 lashes, an excessive and illegal punishment under Halakhic rules. The slightly varied rhythm in the first eight groups of three evokes an image of a brutal first set of scourges delivered with more vigour than the remaining eight. The rhythmic continuo line provides a dynamic counterpoint to the melodic line. Again, Bach leaves no doubt that the scourging of Jesus is merely a precursor to a much more brutal death: the melodic line on Pilatus Je[sum] (Pilate [took] Jesus) [bars 25–26] traces the shape of a cross.

166 WA 28: 329, 10–18: ‘Es ist aber damit angezeiget, wie es dem Euangelio in der welt gehet und allen denen so da Evangelisch leben. Wiltu in der welt sein, so lerne das sprichwort: Barrabas sol los werde, Christus der Heiland wird verdampt. Was ists, das dein Nachbar dir gewalt und unrecht thut, gegen dem, das Christus der Heiland verdampt word? So dir nu gewalt und unrecht geschicht, sprich: das ist der welt Regiment, wiltu in der welt leben, so mustu das gewarten’. 167 Moses ben Maimonides specified in his commentary on Tractate Sanhedrin, Sefer Shofe- tim: Hilkhot Sanhedrin, 17.1, that ‘no more than 40 lashes’ should be administered. Mai- monides’ view that ‘forty less one’ lashes should be administered for punishment was widely shared. The insistence that the total number of lashes be divisible by three was adopted to prevent exceeding 40 by accident. 168 Johann Müller, Judaismus/ oder/ Jüdenthumb/ Das ist/ Ausführlicher Bericht von des/ Jüdischen Volckes Vnglauben/ Blindheit vnd Verstockung (Hamburg: Johann Rebenlein, 1643), pp. 699–712 and pp. 769–770. For Bach’s ownership of the work, see: BB 116. 169 HS 5: 252: ‘Bey den Jüden 5. Mos. c. 25/3. 2Cor. 11/24 da man lieber einen Streich weniger/ als mehr gab’, referring to Deuteronomy 25.3, and Paul’s account of his own scourging in 2Corinthians 11.24. 210 chapter 8

19. Arioso Tenor Arioso (Viola d’amore I/II, Lute continuo)

Betrachte, meine Seel, Consider, my soul, mit ängstlichem Vergnügen, with anxious delectation, Mit bittrer Lust With bitter happiness und halb beklemmtem Herzen and half anguished heart Dein höchstes Gut Your highest good in Jesu Schmerzen, in Jesus’ pains, Wie dir auf Dornen, As on the thorns so ihn stechen, that prick him Die Himmelsschlüsselblumen blühn! The heaven-key-flowers blossom! Du kannst viel süße Frucht You can much sweet fruit von seiner Wermut brechen from this wormwood break Drum sieh ohn Unterlaß auf ihn! Therefore behold him without ceasing!

Variant of Brockes Passion, p. 379 [bars 1–18]: Brockes’ Passion provides a poetic reflection on the scourging of Jesus. Sung in Brockes’ Passion by die gläubige Seele (the believing soul), the soul can see das Himmelreich in Seinen Schmertzen (the kingdom of heaven in his pains). The key that unlocks the kingdom of heaven for Brockes are the pains that Jesus suffered. Johann Heer- mann, the author of the Passion Chorale, reminds the readers of his seventeeth- century Passion meditations Crux Christi, that Jerome had first likened the shedding of Christ’s blood to a key that was able to open Paradise to humankind:

The blood of Christ is the Key of Paradise, Jerome says/ The droplets of blood that Christ shed are the real Keys to Paradise/ that can open for you the Gate of Heaven/ so that you may exclaim with St Stephen: I see the heavens opened, I see Heaven open.170

The key of heaven is poetically symbolised by the Himmelschlüsselblumen (literally ‘heaven-key-flowers’, cowslips—sometimes in English called ‘Keys

170 Johann Heermann, Crux Christi das ist Die schmertzliche Marter-Woche/ unsers hochverdienten Heylandes Jesu Christi/ Darauß zu sehen/ Wie Blutsauer es Ihme worden/ uns zu erlösen/ Betrachtet auß dem schönen Passions-Büchlein der vier Evangelisten/ und in Eilff Lehr- und Trostreichen Predigten erkläret/ Durch Johannem Heermannum, P.L.C., Pfarrern zu Köthen (Jena: Erhard Berger, 1660), p. 75: ‘Sanguis Christi est Clavis Paradysi, spricht Hieronymus/ Christi vergossene Blutströfflein sind die rechten Paradiß-Schlüssel/ welche dir die Himmels Pforte eröffnen/ daß du mit S. Stephano sagen kanst: Video coelos aper- tos, Ich sehe den Himmel offen’. commentary 211 of Heaven’—whose resemblance to small keys gave them their poetic folk name).171 Brockes’ florid Baroque poetry is toned down by the librettist of the St John Passion to create a more intimate and personal appeal to the human soul: rather than counsel the soul to Schau, wie die Mörder Ihm auf seinen Rücken pflügen (Look, how the murderers plough across his back), Bach’s Passion encourages the ceaseless contemplation of Jesus, Drum sie ohn Unterlaß auf ihn! (So look on him without ceasing!). The adaptation of Brockes’ text from a reflection on the Roman soldiers ploughing their whips across the beaten back of Jesus to an invitation to contemplate ‘the heavenly image’ of Christ’s suffering enables the composer to link this arioso with two subsequent movements that reinforce the same appeal.172 Both the direct companion of this movement, the ensuing aria Erwäge (Consider) [movement 20], and the Herzstück-Chorale In meines Herzens Grunde (In the depths of my heart) [movement 26] reiterate the invitation to contemplate the suffering of Christ that stands at the heart of a Lutheran spirituality of the Passion. As Luther reflected in his Sermon on Preparing to Die from the early part of his reformation:

[Christ] is the living and undying image against the death that he himself has suffered, and yet has conquered with his resurrection from the dead in his life. He is the image of God’s grace against the sin that he has taken on himself and has conquered by his immovable obedience. He is the heavenly image who, abandoned by God, as a damned man, and by his conquering of hell through his almighty love, testifies that he is the most beloved Son, and gives us the same right to own, so that we may share this belief.173

The transition from Brockes’ graphic description of the bloody scourges of Jesus to Bach’s encouragement to quiet contemplation of the suffering of Christ is

171 The primrose or cowslip had long been a symbol of endurance. Indeed, its Latin name, primula veris, is itself a comment on that fact that it is one of the first flowers to blossom after winter, heralding the arrival of spring. 172 Luther, Ein Sermon von der Bereitung zum Sterben 1519, WA 2: 691, 19: ‘Das hymelisch bild’. 173 WA 2: 691, 15–21: ‘[Christ] ist das lebendig und unsterblich bild widder den tod, den er erlitten, und doch mit seyner ufferstand von todtenn ubirwunden yn seynem leben. Er ist das bild der gnaden gottis widder die sund, die er auff sich genommen und durch seynen unubirwindlichen gehorsam ubirwunden. Er ist das hymelisch bild, der vorlassen von gott, alß eyn vordampter, und durch syn aller mechtigst liebe die hell ubirwunden, bezeugt, das er der liebst sun sey und unß allen dasselb zu eygen geben, ßo wir alßo glauben’. 212 chapter 8 reinforced by the intimate musical atmosphere created by the continuo scor- ing. The obbligato lute continuo is unique in Bach’s repertoire and well conveys the inner dialogue as the tenor soloist addresses his soul to contemplate the Word-made-Flesh in his pains. The choice of register follows convention: in Baroque musical allegory, the tenor voice represented both ‘the hearts that give faith’ and ‘the unblemished life/ where all members/ submit to the Word of God’.174 The underlying harmonies are intricate and complex: a detailed harmonic analysis reveals an elongated E flat-major pedal introduction [bars 1–2], followed by a progression of mostly inverted, diminished, augmented and applied dominant chords, finally leading to G minor [bar 9], before returning immediately to E flat-major [bar 10]. What follows is a protracted cadence in the tonic major [bars 11–13], followed by a reprise of the introductory material. The overall unsettled nature of the progression from bars 3–9, primarily displayed in the lack of root position chords, reflects well in music the human soul’s own ängstliches Vergnügen (anxious delectation): gazing on Jesus’ pains mit bittrer Lust und halb-beklemmtem Herzen (with bitter happiness and half-anguished heart). The protracted cadence in bars 12–15, in turn, mirrors the unceasing gaze of the faithful towards their suffering Saviour, Drum sieh ohn Unterlaß auf ihn (Therefore behold him without ceasing). The call to contemplate Jesus in his pains is repeated three times, the first centred around a cross-motif in the melodic line on Unterlaß auf (without ceasing) [bar 12], indicating the endpoint of the journey of faith: the cross. In 1749,Bach substantially revised the conclusion of the arioso to give further emphasis to Heermann’s insight that ‘the droplets of blood that Christ shed are the real Keys to Paradise/ that can open for you the Gate of Heaven’.175 Where in the earlier versions of the St John Passion the soloist assures the anxious soul Du kannst viel süße Frucht/ von seiner Wermut brechen (You can very sweet fruit/ from his wormwood break), in the 1749 version, the soul is reminded of the salvific effects the shedding of Christ’s blood on the cross has had on believers. Echoing movement 29, where Jesus is handed a branch of hyssop before exclaiming Es ist vollbracht (It is accomplished; see the discussion on movement 29, below), in this revision hyssop is also used as a symbol of purification:

174 Saubert (1625), 3r, ‘Suavissima Musica Christo: Aller Christen nothwendige Musik’: ‘Pectora datque fidem’, ‘Der Tenor ist das vnsträfflich Leben/ Da sich die Glieder all/ nach Gottes Wort ergeben’ (See Figure 11). 175 Heermann (1660), p. 75: ‘Christi vergossene Blutströfflein sind die rechten Paradiß- Schlüssel/ welche dir die Himmels Pforte eröffnen’. commentary 213

Vor deine Schuld den Isop blühn Before your guilt the hyssops blossoms Und Jesu Blut auf dich And on you Jesus’ blood zur Reinigung versprengen for purification sprinkle Drum sieh ohn Unterlaß auf ihn! Therefore behold him without ceasing!

The hyssop here does not only function as a purging herb, but as an aspergillum, an instrument to sprinkle the blood of Christ on those whose hearts are halb beklemmt (half anguished) and so literally to bring them salvation by being sprinkled with the blood of Jesus, to be ‘made white in the blood of the Lamb’ (Revelation 7.14). As Martin Moller explained in his late-sixteenth-century Soliloquia de Passione Christi, it was the prerogative of each Christian to ponder the events of their salvation without ceasing as a symbol of their gratitude for Christ’s redemptive act:

Thus I will contemplate/ your holy cross and suffering. Yes, the same holy cross and suffering/ I will always carry in my heart/ in my body/ and my mouth/ For I will daily, and without ceasing think thereon.176

20. Aria Tenor Aria (Viola d’amore I/II, Organ and Viola da gamba)

Erwäge, wie sein blutgefärbter Rücken Contemplate, how his blood-coloured back In allen Stücken in each strip Dem Himmel gleiche geht, goes straight to heaven, Daran, nachdem die Wasserwogen On it, after the water-waves Von unsrer Sündflut sich verzogen, of our sin-flood have receded, Der allerschönste Regenbogen the most beautiful rainbow of all Als Gottes Gnadenzeichen steht! Stands as a sign of God’s mercy!

Variant of Brockes Passion, pp. 379–380: The companion aria to the preceding movement introduces a slight shift in emphasis. Where movement 19,

176 Martin Moller, SOLILOQVIA De Passione Iesu Christi. Wie ein jeder Christen Mensch/ das allerheyligste Leyden vnd Sterben vnsers HERRN Jesu Christi/ in seinem Hertzen bey sich selbst betrachten/ Allerley schöne Lehren vnd heylsamen Trost daraus schöpffen/ vnd zu einem Christlichen Leben/ vnd seligen Sterben/ in täglichem Gebet vnd Seufftzen/ nützlich gebrauchen sol (Görlitz: Johann Rhambaw, 1587), p. 6r: ‘Da wil ich betrachten/ dein heyliges Creutze vnd Leyden. Ja dasselbe dein heyliges Creutz vnd Leyden/ wil ich allzeit in meinem Hertzen/ an meinem Leibe/ vnd in meinem Munde tragen. Ich wils in meinem Hertzen tragen/ Denn ich wil täglich/ vnd ohne vnterlaß daran gedencken’. For Moller (1547–1606), see: Theodor Mahlmann, ‘Moller, Martin’, in: BBKL 6: cols. 45–48. 214 chapter 8

Betrachte, meine Seel (Consider, my soul), reflected on the benefits of Christ’s Passion for the individual who sieh[t] ohn Unterlaß auf ihn (look[s] on him without ceasing), this movement explores the effects of Christ’s suffering for the entire human family by placing it in the context of covenant history. As noted in the discussion on movement 19, in his Passion meditations the Lutheran theologian Martin Moller had encouraged contemplation ‘without ceasing’ (ohne vnterlaß) of the scourges of Christ as a libation for sin for individual Christians, enjoining believers to ‘see, and behold/ how … his blood pours out/ How it flows as if it were a well or a source to earth, from his entire body’.177 The theological basis for this aria is more akin to the work of Johann Arndt who first introduced a deliberate link between the scourges of Christ and the inauguration of ‘the New Covenant in [his] blood which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins’ (Luke 22.20). For Arndt, the blood Christ shed was a covenantal sign of the New Covenant, just as the rainbow had been an ‘ever- lasting covenant between God and every living creature’ after the flood of Noah (Genesis 9.16): the rainbow of Christ’s blood, was ‘the spiritual rainbow, with its colours of water and blood, that God has set in the clouds. When God sees the same, he will show us his grace’.178 The libretto deliberately changes Brockes’ poem to reflect this theological shift from the individual to ‘every living creature’ by introducing the injunction to active contemplation, Erwäge (Contemplate):

Brockes Passion St John Passion Dem Himmel gleicht Sein bunt-gestriemter Rücken Erwäge, wie sein blutgefärbter Rücken Den Regen-Bögen ohne Zahl, In allen Stücken dem Himmel gleiche geht, Als lauter Gnaden-Zeychen schmücken: Daran, nachdem die Wasserwogen Die (da die Sündfluht unsrer Schuld versieget) Von unsrer Sündflut sich verzogen, Der holden Liebe Sonne-Stral, Der allerschönste Regenbogen In Seines Blutes Wolken, zeiget. Als Gottes Gnadenzeichen steht.

Heaven equals his colourfully welted back Contemplate, how his blood-coloured back in which rainbows without number In each strip goes equally to heaven as pure mercy-signs decorate: On it, after the water-waves

177 Moller (1587), p. 183r: ‘Sihe vnd betrachte/ wie … lauffen jhm seine Striemen auff? Wie dringet das Blut heraus? Wie fleusset es wie ein Quellbrünnlein von seinem gantzen Leibe an die Erde?’ 178 Johann Arndt, Postilla, Das ist: Geistreiche Erklärung der Evangelischen Texten [sic]/ auff die Sonn- Hohe- und andere Fest- und Apostel-Tage (Leipzig: Steinmann, 1616), p. 442: ‘Diß ist der geistliche Regenbogen, mit seiner Wasser- und Blutfarbe, den Gott als einen Zeugen in die Wolcken gesetzet hat. Wann Gott denselben ansiehet, so will er uns gnädig seyn’. commentary 215

Which (where the sin-flood of our guilt dries up) of our sin-flood have receded of his gracious Love a sunbeam the most beautiful rainbow of all in the clouds of his blood, reveals. Stands as a sign of God’s mercy.

Both the adaptation of Brockes’ text from passive reflection to active contemplation, and the orchestration and instrumentation leave no doubt that this aria was written to provide a companion piece to the preceding arioso, enabling a sustained reflection on the suffering of Christ; in this movement from the perspective of heaven. The viola d’amore and viola da gamba continuo accompaniment continue to provide an intimate, meditative and therefore introspective setting, especially in the interplay between soloist and strings in the opening Erwäge (Contemplate) [bars 4–6 and repeats].179 The soloist’s drawn out diphthongs on -wäge (Contemplate) [bar 6 and repeats] gives an additional impression of active, extensive contemplation. The deeply-cut bloody stripes on Jesus’ back, in allen Stücken (in each slice), are underlined by an ascending and descending rhythmic semi- and demisemiquaver figure in the continuo part [bars 7–8 and repeats], which is repeated throughout the movement: during the raging of the flood, die Wasserwogen von unsrer Sündflut (the water-waves of our sin-flood), and at the appearance of der allerschönste Regenbogen (the most beautiful rainbow of all). In the vocal part, Erwäge (consider), Himmel (heaven), blutgefärbter Rücken (blood- coloured back) and Stücken (strips) all are linked by semiquaver figures [bars 7–8 and repeats] that literally ‘tear up’ the melodic line; a further reminder in music of the Roman soldiers’ brutal scourges. While the combination of viola d’amore and viola da gamba certainly create a sense of introspection in the first part of the aria [bars 1–22], in the middle section of the aria [bars 22–42], they also have the ability to represent rainfall and deluge giving way to clear skies and the appearance of the rainbow. Bach’s musical word-painting is particularly impressive in the creation of a musical flood, with viola da gamba and tenor imitating the crushing of waves, as different Wasserwogen (water waves)—symbolising the human Sündflut (sin-flood)— rise and break [bars 21–24]. The subsequent textual repeats rely on the same musical interaction between soloist and strings, with the violas d’amore join- ing the continuo to create large ‘waves’ [bars 32–34]. A multitude of rainbow- shapes in the continuo part first display the symbol of God’s grace in bars 25–30 of the score. They reappear in bar 34, concluding the section with a

179 For a discussion on the use of the viola da gamba in the continuo part, see Kritischer Bericht, p. 11. 216 chapter 8

superabundance of rainbow-shaped semi- and demisemiquaver flourishes in the continuo line [bars 40–42]. In his 1725 version of the Passion, Bach concludes the entire work with the same musical patterns that open and close this movement: the Erwäge-motif [movement 20, bar 1] stands at the beginning of his Christe, du Lamm Gottes (O Lamb of God) [movement 40 ii, bars 1–3 and seq], while the rainbow-shape [movement 20, bars 25–30 and seq] concludes the Passion as a whole. Luther’s Dorian-mode final Amen lent its distinctive rainbow-shape to Bach’s concluding Amens at the end of the 1725 St John Passion [movement 40 ii, bars 51–58]. The rainbow-shaped plainchant Amen of Luther’s Agnus Dei may well also have inspired the recurring rainbow-patterns of this movement.180 Since the Agnus Dei at the end of the 1725 version of the St John Passion closely follows that of the Passion Cantata BWV 23, DuwahrerGottundDavidsSohn, it is almost certain that Bach noty only borrowed the rainbow-pattern but also the Erwäge- motif from this Cantata.181 The fact that, in the poetry of this movement, Jesus’ stripes are represented by a rainbow, means that the rainbow-shaped Amens of Luther’s Agnus Dei may well have provided an attractive musical and theological link for the composer, to encourage contemplation of the image of the man of sorrows ‘by whose stripes we are healed’ (Isaiah 53.5). In his final version of the Passion, completed a year before his own death, Bach or a collaborator certainly substantially changed the poetry of the movement to reflect more closely on the redemptive power of the death of Jesus on the life of the believer. Only the rainbows in the score of the 1749 version now remain to tell the story of the New Covenant:

Mein Jesu, ach! Dein schmerzhaft bitter Leiden My Jesus, oh! Your painful, bitter suffering Bringt tausend Freuden, Brings a thousand joys, Er tilgt der Sünden Not. It wipes away the adversity of sin. Ich sehe zwar mit vielen Schrecken I see, in fact, with many terrors Den heilgen Leib mit Blute decken; the holy body robed in blood, Doch muß mir dies auch Lust erwecken, Indeed, this also must awaken happiness in me, Es macht mich frei von Höll und Tod. It makes me free from hell and death.

180 The rainbow-pattern is inherent to the Dorian-mode Amens of Luther’s German translation of the Agnus Dei, Christe, du Lamm Gottes, see: Robin Leaver, Luther’s Liturgical Music: Principles and Implications, Lutheran Quarterly Books (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2007), pp. 185–188, p. 198. 181 Cantata BWV 23 precedes the St John Passion by at least five years. It was written in Köthen, and first performed at St Thomas’ Leipzig as one of two audition pieces at Bach’s audition for the post of Thomaskantor on 7 February 1723. commentary 217

21a. Recitativo Recitative—Evangelist (tenor), continuo

Evangelist Evangelist Johannes 19,2 Und die Kriegsknechte flochten John 19.2 And the mercenaries wove eine Krone von Dornen und satzten sie a crown of thorns and placed it auf sein Haupt und legten ihm it on his head and they put on him ein Purpurkleid an a purple robe 19,3a und sprachen: 19.3a and spoke:

John 19.2–3a [bars 1–5]: Having scourged Jesus, the Roman soldiers humilate him by dressing him to look like a king.182 There is no need for John to specify that Jesus was stripped of his outer garments, as Matthew does (Matthew 27.28): Jesus would have been stripped at the scourging. Luther believed that the motivation for the soldiers’ derision was in part based on the chief priests’ accusation that Jesus had claimed to be the ‘King of the Jews’ and in part on Jesus’ affirmation before Pilate that his kingdom was not of this world (John 18.36):

The soldiers abuse Jesus’ confession as if they wanted to say: ‘He himself told us that he was a king. That is why we will dress him up, and crown him king’. [They] cast him in a carnival play, put him in royal robes and crown him with thorns. That is poisonous mockery indeed.183

The mocking of Jesus might have been the reason for staging similar later mockings in the diaspora. Philo reports that, during a Passover visit to Alexan- dria of King Agrippa I half a decade or so after the death of Jesus, the people dressed up a ‘madman named Carabas’ in royal garments.184 The Roman soldiers’ ‘insignia of royal authority’ were more cruel than those used by the Alexandrians to entertain King Agrippa: rather than use a papyrus leaf for a

182 The Roman soldies are always designated Kriegsknechte (mercenaries) rather than the Schar (troops) of the Jewish authorities. 183 Luther, Wochenpredigten, WA 28: 335, 28–34: ‘Misbrauchen die Kriegsknechte solch Bekentnis, als solten sie sagen: Er hat selbs bekand, das er ein König sey, Darumb wollen wir jn schmücken und krönen als einen König; fahen derhalben mit jm ein Fasnachtspiel an, zihen jm königliche Kleider an und krönen jn mit dörnen. Das ist eine gifftige spotting gewesen’. 184 Agrippa I was appointed to rule Judea during a brief interlude in Roman occupation in 41ce. Philo, In Flaccum [Eis Phlakkon] P. Wendland, ed. (Berlin: De Gruyter, 1962), 6: 36: ‘Memēvōs ónoma Karabās’. 218 chapter 8

diadem, the soldiers make a crown from thorns and place it on Jesus’ head.185 Jesus’ crown of thorns was a painful equivalent of the laurel wreath first worn by commanders of victorious Roman armies and subsequently by Roman emperors and their vassal kings.186 For Bach, the placing of the crown of thorns on Jesus’ head seems a straightforward act: the soldier’s weaving of a crown of thorns is not represented in music [bars 1–2]. Bach merely highlights Purpur (imperial purple) [bar 4]: this may well be a pointer to the paradox that only those who hear the Pas- sion story from the perspective of the resurrection can ever know that Jesus truly is the King of all kings, and therefore rightfully wears the imperial purple robe.

21b. Coro Chorus (Flutes I/II, Oboe I/II, Violin I/II, Organ, Continuo)

Johannes 19,3b Sei gegrüßet, lieber Jüdenkönig! John 19.3b Hail, beloved King of the Jews!

The mocking of Jesus probably took place inside the Roman garrison, away from the chief priests and their company. Certainly, Mark’s and Matthew’s accounts specify that the mocking took place inside ‘the governor’s headquarters’ (Mark 16.16, Matthew 27.27). Whereas Mark and Matthew suggest that ‘the whole cohort’,some 600 men, witnessed the event (Mark 16.16, Matthew 27.27), John does not tell how many soldiers might have been present. The overall musical effect of the soldiers’ mockery is dance-like:187 the compound duple signature contributes to its feel suggestive of constant, almost graceful, movement as group after group of soldiers make cynical obeisance before the king who does not have a kingdom on earth.188 This movement expresses well in music what was omitted in Luther’s German: where John’s Gospel text has ‘and kept on coming up to him and said’, movement 21a, bar 5

185 Philo, In Flaccum 6: 37–38. 186 HS 5: 784: ‘The damned thorns are our blessing/ crown and honour (Genesis 3, Psalm 8) and gain for us the royal crown (Revelation 1)’ (Die verfluchten Dornen sind unser Seegen/ Crone und Ehre 1. Mos 3. Ps. 8. und erwerben uns die königliche Crone Offenbarung 1). 187 For a comprehensive overview on the different uses of dance-idioms in Bach’s vocal music see: Doris Finke-Hecklinger, Tanzcharaktere in Johann Sebastian Bachs Vokalmusik: Studien zu ihrer Rhythmik und ihrer Chronologie, Tübinger Bach-Studien 6 (Trossingen: Hohner, 1970). 188 The autograph score corrects the 6/8 time signature to compound duple (6/4) [Autograph, p. 42]. commentary 219

only has undsagten (and said). Nevertheless, Bach’s music makes very clear that time and again the soldiers come to Jesus and hail him as a king.189 The elegant descending woodwind lines in this context sound mocking rather than courtly, and successfully convey a feeling of deliberate ridicule.190 Bach follows Luther in adding the word lieber (beloved) between, sei gegrüßet (hail) and Jüdenkönig to John’s text with its straightforward ‘hail, King of the Jews’, adding further sar- casm that Bach highlights musically by elongating the first syllable of lieber (beloved) in each repetition of the full phrase sei gegrüßet, lieber Jüdenkönig [bars 7–13]. This movement finds its musical parallel in the chief priests’ protest at Pilate’s title above the cross, Schreibe nicht (Do not write) [movement 25b]. Although the two groups—cynical Roman soldiers on the one hand, offended chief priests on the other—could not be more different, they are united by their common misapprehension of the nature and call of Jesus to be a king: Bach emphasises through his music that neither group recognise the king in the broken man before their eyes, which is why they resort to mockery and affront. Ultimately, it was the soldiers’ rejection of ‘God’s truth’ and not their mockery or scourging which caused most pain, Luther explained:

This, then, causes most hurt: scorging may cause pain. But such mockery and barbed spite is even more painful because God’s truth has not only been cruelly rejected, but has been besmirched with appalling insults.191

21c. Recitativo Recitative—Evangelist (tenor), Pilate (bass), continuo

Evangelist Evangelist Johannes 19,3c Und gaben ihm Backenstreiche. John 19.3c And gave him slaps in the face.

189 Olearius, HS 5: 253, speaks of a group of people who move in concert, dance-like ‘comparable to an orderly coiled rope that rearranges itself so that they are woven as if they were in the shape of a pretzel and then spread out like broadcast seed’ (Welche als ein Seil ordentlich zusammen gedrehet/ und wie eine Brezel ineinander geschlungen/ sich hernach ausbreitet/ als ein ausgestreueter Saamen); Brown (2008), p. 875, referring back to J.H. Moulton, ed., N. Turner, A Grammar of New Testament Greek, Vol. 3. Syntax (Edin- burgh: T. & T. Clark, 1962), p. 66, has the missing ērchonto (kept on coming up to him) as ‘one of the instances of an imperfect used to make the narrative continuous’. 190 HS 5: 253: ‘Hail. chaire … is evil German’ (Gegrüsset. chaire … sey böse Deutsch). 191 WA 28: 337, 14–20: ‘Solches thut denn seer wehe, Geisseln mag wehe thun, Aber solcher Hohn und spitzige schmehung thut noch wehere, das Gottes Warheit nicht allein so greulich verachtet, sondern auch so schendlich mit schmachwort besudelt wird’. 220 chapter 8

19,4 Da ging Pilatus wieder heraus 19.4 There Pilate again went out und sprach zu ihnen: and spoke to them:

Pilatus Pilate Sehet, ich führe ihn heraus zu euch, Behold, I am leading him out to you daß ihr erkennet, daß ich so you can recognise that I keine Schuld an ihm finde. find no guilt in him.

Pilatus Pilate 19,5b Sehet, welch ein Mensch! 19.5b Behold, what a person!

Evangelist Evangelist 19,6a Da ihn die Hohenpriester 19.6a There the chief priests und die Diener sahen, schrieen sie and their servants saw him, they shouted und sprachen: and spoke:

John 19.3c [bars 16–17]: Having paid mock homage to the ‘King of the Jews’, the soldiers strike Jesus on the cheeks. In doing so, they exceeded their authority, Luther suggests: ‘By hitting … Jesus [on the cheeks], they do more than was commanded them’.192 Bach emphasises their unjust action by an augmented fourth on ihm Bak[kenstreiche] (struck him in the face) [bar 17, see the discussion on the Baroque use of the diabolus in musica above, movement 16a]. The force with which they hit Jesus is depicted in music by an abrupt retoni- cisation, that is a move in the harmony that sounds jarring, on G minor [bar 17].

John 19.4 [bars 18–22]: Pilate leaves his headquarters to instruct the chief priests that he does not find Jesus guilty of the charge of insurrection brought against him. Bach’s recitative replicates the Prefect’s movement in music by a rising melodic line on heraus (outside) [bars 17–18]. He addresses the initial accusers advising them that he intends to bring Jesus out to the courtyard in order that they might see for themselves that the appropriate punishment has already been delivered. The cross shape on keineSchuldanihm (no guilt in him)

192 WA28: 335, 17–20: ‘In dem die Kriegsknechte und diener Jhesum steupn und geisseln, thun sie mehr denn jnen befolhen ist’. commentary 221

[bar 22], however, leaves little doubt that for Bach Pilate’s words do not match his intentions: regardless of what the Prefect may say, Jesus will be handed over to death.193

John 19.5a [bars 23–25]: Jesus is not led out as a prisoner but rather makes his own way from the courthouse to the courtyard, in his mock imperial robes, with a crown of thorns on his head. As with Pilate [bars 18–18], Bach also traces Jesus’ movement in the evangelist’s melodic line [bar 23]. The tritone on und Pur[purkleid] (and robes of imperial purple) [bar 24] again emphasises the purple robe, and provides another musical comment on the soldiers’ humiliation of Jesus.

John 19.5b [bar 26]: Pilate addresses the assembled ‘the chief-priests and their staff’ (John 19.6) who remain in the courtyard to await his verdict, presenting Jesus to them with the words Sehet, welch ein Mensch (Behold, what a person) [bar 26]. Olearius interprets his words as follows: ‘Behold the suffering and miserable form, and take pity on the poor person, and be content with this cruel sentence and pain’.194 In the recitatives in the St John Passion, Bach uses melismas sparingly, in keeping with the overall recitative style. This is why the six melismas used in the Passion—here, on nicht (not) in Peter’s denial [movements 10, bar 14–15 and 12c, bar 24]; on ichgeschrieben (I have written) at Pilate’s affirmation that he would not alter the inscription above the cross [movement 25c, bar 31]; on Rock (coat) at the moment when the soldiers divide Jesus’ clothing [movement 27a, bar 5] and, finally, at the moment of completion on vollbracht (accomplished) [movement 29, bar 14]—stand out. All are passages that speak of brokenness: the brokenness of the dissembling Peter; the brokenness of the Man of Sorrows; the brokenness of the chief priests’ hope that the problem of the ‘King of the Jews’ might be resolved; the division of Jesus’ clothing and the brokenness of the crucified at the moment of death. The moment of the presentation by Pilate of Jesus as the Schmerzensmann (Man of Sorrows) is not only an allusion to Isaiah’s Servant Songs about the suffering Messiah (Isaiah 53.3), but the subject of numerous late-medieval and early-modern altarpieces or statues, and would almost certainly have evoked

193 Olearius, HS 5: 784, amplifies the Prefect’s words as follows: ‘No guilt, v. 6, udemian aitian. No reason for death’ (Keine Schuld. V. 6. udemian aitian. keine Ursach deß Todes). 194 HS 5: 784: ‘Sehet. ide ho anthropos. schauet doch das Elend und jämmerliche Gestalt/ und lasset euch deß armen Menschen jammern/ und an dieser grausamen Straffe und Pein begnügen’. 222 chapter 8 a visual response in Bach’s hearers. It is also the subject of many devotional Lutheran hymns, including Adam Thebesius’ Du großer Schmerzensmann (O great Man of Sorrows) and Paul Gerhardt’s O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden (O Sacred Head), which again would directly have influenced the reception of Pilate’s presentation of Jesus with the words, Sehet, welch ein Mensch (Behold, what a person).195 Certainly, by the time of Luther, Pilate’s words were interpreted entirely to signify compassion with the broken humanity of Jesus: ‘It is as if he were to say: “Will you not let yourselves have compassion on this man? You see that he has already received more punishment than he deserves.”’196 At the same time, the image of suffering is one that brings comfort to the believer, the Schreck-Bild (Image of Horror) becomes a Trost-Bild (Image of Comfort) as well as a Tugend-Bild (Image of Virtue) that encourages godly living.197

John 19.6a [bars 26b–29a]: The late-medieval image of an empathetic Pilate appealing for a compassionate release for the Schmerzensmann in mock imperial robes proposed by Luther, however, does not fully account for the forceful response of the chief priests and their staff who schrieen (shouted) in response to Pilate’s statement. Luther had interpreted the powerful reaction of the religious leaders gathered in the Prefect’s courtyard entirely in terms of ‘hatred and envy of the truth’ that Jesus came to make known.198 Bach, on the other hand, brings attention to the brokenness of Jesus’ humanity by a melisma on Mensch (person) [bar 26]. Pilate’s statement is not only about brokenness or an appeal for compassion. Even Luther acknowledged that the Prefect was ‘a real bloodhound’, who knew well how to provoke his opponents.199 The words ho anthropos ‘the man, the person’ (Mensch can also be translated ‘the man, the person’) certainly had Messianic connotations; Isaiah’s Servant Songs, from which the image of the Schmerzensmann (Man of Sorrows) derives were certainly interpreted to refer to the coming of the Messiah.200 Other Messianic prophecies, for instance Numbers 24.17, 2Samuel 23.1–4, also refer to the coming Messiah in terms of ‘the man’. Bach may well have been aware of the Messianic overtones of

195 Adam Thebesius (1596–1652), EG 87. 196 WA 28: 338, 31–34, CB 3: 932: ‘Als solt er sagen: wolt jr euch denn nicht lassen uber jn erbarmen? Jr sehet, das er ubeler gehandelt ist denn er verdienet hat’. 197 HS 5: 784. 198 WA 28: 340, 27–29, CB 3: 933: ‘Has und Neid wider die Warhet’. 199 WA 28: 338, 24, CB 3: 932: ‘Ein rechter Bluthund’. 200 HS 5: 784 gives both the Greek etymology and makes the link with ‘Esa 53’ (the final Servant Song in Isaiah 53) explicit. commentary 223

the Prefect’s statement: Müller’s Judaismus deals at length with the Messianic prophecies of Isaiah’s Servant Songs, while Olearius further links the passage with Daniel’s eschatological vision of the coming Son of Man to judge the world with power.201 Whether or not Pilate was aware of the Messianic overtones of his statement, his words Sehet, welch ein Mensch (Behold, what a person) were certainly intended as a deliberate insult of the Jewish authorities: the presentation of the broken Jesus dressed as a broken king alone would have been perceived as a deliberate reminder of the powerlessness of the Jewish leadership under Roman occupation. Its combination with what would have sounded remarkably like a Roman endorsement of the fulfilment of Messianic prophecy in Jesus, fully explains the chief priests’ irate response, which Bach emphasises by a descending sixth on schrieen (cried) [28].

21d. Coro Chorus (Oboe I with Sopranos; Oboe II with Altos; Flutes I/II with Tenors; Violin I/II, Viola, Organ, Continuo)

Johannes 19,6b Kreuzige, kreuzige! John 19.6b Crucify, crucify!

John 19.6b [bars 29–30]: This carefully constructed movement finds its musical counterpart in the second part of movement 23c, in which the call kreuzige (crucify) is repeated. The percussionate Schwärmer (buzzing, bustle, riot) figure on the opening kreuzige in the lower voices and the violin accompaniment give the impression of a larger group of people, not only the chief priests but their Diener (servants), and Schar (troops), members of the temple police who had also apprehended Jesus (John 19.6a). The long-drawn, syncopated dissonances in the upper voices accompanied by the oboes accompanied by restless quaver- and semiquaver lines in the string and continuo accompaniment convey an impression of tension and unrest [bars 29–30].

[bars 31–39]: While the overall effect of this movement is one of dynamic chaos, its underlying musical construction is rigid: every two bars, the percussionnate kreuzige (crucify) sequence and its dissonant counterpart change register as they are taken up in turn by the upper and lower voices in an unyielding Fortspinnung (spinning-forth, amplification of the motif) form. As would be

201 Müller (1643), pp. 800–810, HS 5:784: ‘Behold the righteous, behold the Holy One (Daniel 9)’ (Ecce justus, ecce sanctus Dan. 9). 224 chapter 8 expected, Bach’s word painting here makes extensive use of the cross-motif, which can be traced both in the two sequences themselves, as well as in the frequent crossing-over of sequences.

[bars 40–51]: Led by the upper voices, the vocal parts introduce a new sequence, taking up the restless lines of the underlying string accompaniment. This new rhythmic sequence alternates with the long-drawn sequence of dissonant cross-motifs, adding an impression of relentless movement. The two-bar pedal on d in the bass part at once introduces further harmonic dissonance and signals the conclusion of Fortspinnung [bars 50–51]. The overall rhythmic instability and harmonic dissonance is only resolved in the final bar of the movement [bar 52], when all instrumental and vocal parts join a last time in calling to have Jesus crucified. In her Music Libel against the Jews, Ruth HaCohen convincingly shows that Western composers often replicated what she calls an ‘“ethnographic” mani- festation of the synagogal soundscape’, when they gave an impression of Lärm (noise): ‘shouts, exclamations … bustle, fuss’.202 There was a fundamental dichotymy between ‘Christian harmony’ and ‘Jewish noise’, HaCohen suggests:

While the sound that emerged from the Christian house of prayer was ever conceived and perceived (by the Christians) as harmonious, created out of distinct, pitched components properly combined (and ostensibly in accordance with universal, mathematical-philosophical and metaphys- ical laws), traditional Jewish sound cannot avoid its categorisation as a cacophonous, indefinably obscure mixture.203

It is significant that Bach achieves the effect of confusion that many pre- and post-Enlightenment hearers associated with ‘Jewish sound’ by adopting a rigorous Baroque Fortspinnung (spinning-forth) figure. Notwithstanding this conventionally constructed Lärm (noise), the overall intent of this movement is one of portraying a weak and confused Jewish leadership. Because it comes so dangerously close to stereotyping, this movement is rightly suspected of being an example of anti-Judaism in Bach’s music.204

202 Ruth HaCohen, The Music Libel against the Jews (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2011), p. 127. 203 HaCohen (2001), p. 128. 204 Chiefly by Dagmar Hoffmann-Axthelm, ‘Bach und die perfidia Iudaica: Zur Symmetrie der Juden-Turbae in der Johannes-Passion’, in: Basler Jahrbuch für historische Musikpraxis, 13 (1989), pp. 31–54, p. 33 and, implicitly, by Martin Geck, Johann Sebastian Bach: Johannes- commentary 225

However, unlike contemporary caricatures of ‘Jewish noise’, such as Johann Caspar Seyfert’s Die Juden Schul, which drew on distorted or deliberately mis- remembered Hebrew, and made use of mock-adaptations of synagogal chant in order to amuse or startle, this movement seeks not to caricature.205 Rather, it is deadly serious: while the movement may sound like random noise and therefore give the impression of a deliberate musical allusion to ‘Jewish noise’, its careful sequential construction with its multiple cross-motifs and crossing voices, in fact, reveals a powerful meta-narrative of the weakness of both the Roman and Jewish authorities contrasted with the powerful submissive weakness of Jesus shaped by and centred on the cross.

21e. Recitativo Recitative—Evangelist (tenor), Pilate (bass), continuo

Evangelist Evangelist Johannes 19,6c Pilatus sprach zu ihnen: John 19.6c Pilate spoke to them:

Pilatus Pilate Nehmet ihr ihn hin und kreuziget ihn; You take him yourselves and crucify him; denn ich finde keine Schuld an ihm! for I find no guilt in him!

Evangelist Evangelist 19,7a Die Jüden antworteten ihm: 19.7a The Jews answered him:

John 19.6c [bars 52–55]: In John’s Gospel there is no symbolic washing of hands in front of the assembled chief priests and temple police, as in Matthew 27.24. Instead, Pilate attempts to make Jesus’ accusers responsibile for the fate of their prisoner: Nehmet ihr ihn hin (You take him yourselves), Bach emphasising ihn (him) [bar 53]. His recommendation that the chief priests crucify him,

passion BWV 245, Meisterwerke der Musik: Werkmonographien 7, Musikgeschichte 55 (München: Wilhem Fink Verlag, 1991), p. 85, who also points to Seyfert’s Die Juden-Schul as an example of anti-Jewish Baroque ‘onomatopoetic’ (lautmalerische) music (see below, note 205). 205 Johann Caspar Seyfert, Vierte Tracht des Ohren-vergnügenden und Gemüth-ergötzenden Tafel-Confects: Die Juden-Schul (Fourth Example of the table candy to amuse the ear and delight the disposition: The Jewish Shul), Musikarchiv Stift Stams, MS A.a. N.9, L VI 58 (1746), has his ‘Raabi’ and ‘Manasses’ sing ‘Ethanai mischimai’, probably a distorted form of Havu l’Adonai mish’p’chot amim, the opening words of the second Shabbat Psalm: Havu l’Adonai mish’p’chot amim, havu l’Adonai kavod va’oz (Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength, Psalm 98.7). 226 chapter 8

Kreuziget ihn (crucify him), appropriately is based on the cross-motif [bar 54]. As is the case with most of Pilate’s statements in this trial, the Prefect’s words ich finde keine Schuld an ihm (I find no guilt in him) for Bach do not ring true: Pilate might claim that he does not find Jesus guilty, but the tritone (augmented fourth, a striking dischord) on keine (no) [bar 55] suggests that, regardless of his actual statements, Pilate’s statements do not match his true intentions.

John 19.7a [bar 56]: The Jews in this movement again refer to the chief priests and their staff who had been assembled in the courtyard of the Prefect since early morning (see the detailed discussion on movement 16c, above). While there is a sense of a group of people, there is no large mob, baying for the life of Jesus. As suggested above, it was in the interest of the hierarchy to keep this extraordinary trial as private as possible in order to prevent Jesus’ supporters who, only days earlier, had honoured him with a royal progress into Jerusalem, from coming to his support.

21f. Coro Chorus (Oboe I and Violin I with Sopranos; Oboe II and Violin II with Altos; Flutes I/II in octave and Viola with Tenors, Organ Continuo)

Johannes 19,7b Wir haben ein Gesetz, John 19.7b We have a Law, und nach dem Gesetz soll er sterben; and according to that Law he shall die; denn er hat sich selbst zu Gottes Sohn gemacht. since he has made himself the son of God.

19.7b [bar 57–89]: The chief priests respond to Pilate’s suggestion that he does not find Jesus guilty of their erstwhile charge of insurgence by bringing a second charge against Jesus: in his teaching in the temple (John 10.22–39) the prisoner had ‘made himself the Son of God’ and therefore was guilty of blasphemy under Jewish law. Leviticus 24.16 confirms that ‘one who blasphemes the name of the Lord shall be put to death’ by stoning, though does not define in any detail the grounds for blasphemy charges. In keeping with the strict legalism of his characters’ rejoinder to Pilate, Bach turns the chief priests’ secondary charge into a strict permutation fugue (Per- mutationsfuge, a fugal movement that follows a series of strict compositional rules).206 This movement is a monument in music to Biblical Law. Not only is

206 Paul Walker, Theories of Fugue: From the Age of Josquin to the Age of Bach (Rochester: University of Rochester Press, 2000), p. 232, explains: ‘A fugal movement with three to six melodic units put together according to five structural restrictions: (1) the voices enter successively, as in a fugues, (2) entries alternate between tonic (final) and dominant, commentary 227 the entire fugal theme [bars 57–67 and repeats] repeated ten times, an allusion to the Ten Commandments, but the opening theme Wir haben ein Gesetz (We have a Law) [bars 57–58] echoes the first line of Luther’s metric version of the Decalogue, Dies sind die heil’gen zehn Gebot (These are the holy Ten Command- ments, 1524).207 The death called for by the priest-judges is crucifixion rather than stoning, Bach asserts: the first four notes of er sterben (he [shall] die) form the much-used cross-motif [bar 58–59 and repeats]. For Luther the blasphemy of which Jesus stood now accused, ‘making himself the Son of God’, was mirrored by his contemporaries’ resistance to grace and over-reliance on their own strength:

For our wisdom, our money and goods shall bring us our salvation. Those are the things we trust rather than God’s grace and mercy. … The saying therefore is true and well put: whosoever makes himself God’s Son shall die. The law is harshest to those who have made themselves God’s Son, that is we ourselves.208

That Bach gives the tune of Luther’s chorale about the Ten Commandments to his legalists to sing, suggests that he shared Luther’s insight that it was he and his own contemporaries who ultimately bore the responsibility for rejecting God’s saving grace, by ‘relying on their own work and righteousness in order to attain righteousness’.209 Luther’s beliefs that the Law without grace is death is clearly articulated in music by the composer, by arranging the words und nach dem Gesetz (and according to the law) [bars 58–59 and repeats] in the form of a cross.

possibly incorporating tonal answers, (3) each voice always presents the melodic units in the same order, (4) the melodic units appear as in Stimmtausch, i.e. in invertible counterpoint, and (5) there is little or no free counterpoint, i.e. non-thematic material’. 207 The rising melodic line on Wir haben ein Gesetz (we have a Law) follows Luther’s heil’gen zehn Gebot (holy Ten Commandments), see: Martin Jansen, ‘Bachs Zahlenzymbolik, an seinen Passionen untersucht’, Bach-Jahrbuch 1937, pp. 96–117, pp. 98–99; for Bach’s setting of the chorale in his Cantata BWV 77, Du sollt Gott deinen Herren lieben (You shall love the Lord your God), see: Eric T. Chafe, Analyzing Bach Cantatas (New York: Oxford University Press, 2000), pp. 161–174. 208 WA 28: 349, 24–350, 8: ‘Denn unser Weisheit, unser geld und gut sols thun. Darauff verlassen wir uns und vertrawen nicht auff Gottes güte und Barmhertzigkeit. … Darumb ists recht und wolgesaget: wer sich zu Gottes Son machet, sol des todes sterben: das also das Gesetze am aller meisten gehet uber den, so sich zu Gottes Son machete, das sind wir’. 209 WA 28: 350, 16–19: ‘Vertrawet auff seine eigene wreck und gerechtigkeit, das er dadurch selig werde’. 228 chapter 8

Luther suggested that all humans had the tendency to make themselves into gods; people who believed that it was by relying on their own strength alone that they could attain salvation: ‘we humans have all made ourselves into God’s son. That is why we deserve death’.210 Yet Luther also claimed that it was in the same courtyard that ‘Christ stands, the innocent Lamb, and bears for us our sin, of which we are guilty. For the false accusation levelled against him is in truth an accusation against us all’.211 Bach turns into music Luther’s insight that the accusation against Christ was directed against all people by filling Pilate’s courtyard with his own contemporaries. In calling on Jesus to be convicted of blasphemy by singing Luther’s Ten Commandment hymn they do, in fact, convict themselves and their own sense of pride.

21g. Recitativo Recitative—Evangelist (tenor), Pilate (bass), Jesus (bass), continuo

Evangelist Evangelist Johannes 19,8 Da Pilatus das Wort hörete, John 19.8 There Pilate heard the word, fürchtet’ er sich noch mehr he was yet more afraid

19,9 und ging wieder hinein 19.9 and went into the courthouse again, in das Richthaus und spricht zu Jesu: and spoke to Jesus:

Pilatus Pilate Von wannen bist du? Where are you from?

Evangelist Evangelist Aber Jesus gab ihm keine Antwort. But Jesus gave him no answer.

19,10 Da sprach Pilatus zu ihm: 19.10 Therefore Pilate spoke to him:

210 WA 28: 348, 35–38: ‘Wir Menschen alle haben uns zu Gottes Son gemacht. Darumb sind wir alle des todes schüldig’. 211 WA 28: 343, 29–31, CB 3: 934: ‘Da stehet nun Christus, das unschuldige Lamb, und treget fur uns die Schuld, daran wir schuldig sind. Denn die falsche Anklage so uber jn gehet, gehet mir Warheit uber uns’. commentary 229

Evangelist Evangelist 19,11 Jesus antwortete: 19.11 Jesus answered:

Jesus Jesus Du hättest keine Macht über mich, You would have no power over me wenn sie dir nicht wäre von oben herab gegeben; unless it had been given you from above; darum, der mich dir überantwortet hat, therefore the one who handed me over to you der hat’s größ’re Sünde. he has the greater sin.

Evangelist Evangelist 19,12a Von dem an trachtete Pilatus, 19.12a From then on Pilate sought wie er ihn losließe. how to let him go.

John 19.8 [bars 89–91]: Throughout this trial Pilate has conformed to Luther’s characterisation of him as deliberately seeking to provoke his opponents by barbed comments and confrontational actions, such as pretending to take the chief priests’ accusation that Jesus made himself the King of the Jews at face value and calling him ‘your King’.Here, however, Pilate here has his other aspect highlighted—the fact that his personal choices are limited by his position, with little power of his own, only what he has derived from Rome. Da Pilatus das Wort hörete fürcht er sich noch mehr (There Pilate heard the word, he was yet more afraid) [bars 89–91], Pilate hears, and his pre-existing fear is made more acute. The Wort (what they said) is the chief priests’ secondary charge that by ‘making himself the Son of God’ Jesus was guilty of blasphemy, another capital charge (John 19.7). Now even the Prefect realises that das Wort (what they said) will invariably lead to his giving in to the accusers’ demand for a capital sentence, Bach suggests, by embedding a cross-motif on [Pila]tus das Wort [bar 90]. However, there is also a clear emphasis on ‘the Word’ as a name of Jesus earlier in John’s Gospel (1.1), and often synonymous with Jesus’ teaching.

John 19.9 [bars 91–95]: Pilate leaves the courtyard with the assembled chief priests and Temple police and returns to the Richthaus (courthouse) for a private conversation with Jesus. Luther suggests that the reason for seeking another conversation with Jesus is Pilate’s belief that Jesus may well be the son of a Roman god:

When he heard that [Jesus] was the Son of God, [Pilate] was even more afraid, not because of the Jews, but because of the Romans. While he does not believe that Christ is the Son of the true and living God (since he does not know that God), he asks himself (since the Romans have many 230 chapter 8

and diverse gods): ‘Who knows whether he is one of these gods?’ For one frequently hears how the gods walked the earth in human form among the pagans.212

Pilate’s question, von wannen bist du (where are you from) [bars 93–94], can indeed be interpreted in supernatural terms. Luther certainly suggests that ‘Pilate now believes that Christ is one of the pagan gods’,a view echoed by Calov and Olearius.213 The fact that Jesus refuses him an answer would have further irritated the Prefect.

John 19.10 [bars 96–99]: Pilate forces an answer by reminding Jesus that he had power to release him and save his life. Bach puts an emphasis on Macht (power), the highest point in Pilate’s melodic line [bar 97]. Two embedded tritones, on zu kreuzigen (to crucify you) [bars 97–98] and und Macht (and power) [bar 98] imply through music that both the method of death, crucifixion, and the Prefect’s use and abuse of power, is evil.

John 19.11 [bars 99–102]: Jesus reminds Pilate that his authority has been given von oben herab (to [you] from above) [bar 101], highlighted by a rising and falling melodic line. Jesus’ answer is ambiguous: while Pilate probably heard a reminder that he was not a sovereign but a man under imperial authority, Jesus here refers to a different kind of authority altogether. In his Gospel, St John clearly distinguishes between ‘above’ and ‘of the earth’: ‘The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks about earthly things. The one who comes from heaven is above all’, Jesus had made clear earlier in the Gospel (John 3.31). For Jesus, the power that is given ‘from above’, then, is the power of God. Just as he described his earlier opponents as ‘from below … of this world’, so Pilate is very clearly firmly rooted in this world, and therefore has no authority over the incarnate Son of

212 WA 28: 352, 24–33, CB 3: 935: ‘Zu der furcht kompt nu eine andere furcht: da er höret, das er Gottes Son sey, furcht er [Pilate] sich noch mehr nicht fur den Jüden, sondern auch fur den Römern. Er helts wol nicht dafür, das Christus des waren lebendigen Gottes Son sey (Denn von dem Gott weis er nichts), Sondern gedenckt (weil die Römer viel und mancherley Götter haben): wer weis, ob er vielleicht derselbigen Götter einer ist? Denn man offt höret, das in der Heidenschafft die Götter in menschlicher Gestalt auff erden gewandelt haben’. 213 WA 28: 352, 21, CB 3: 935: ‘So gedenckt nu Pilatus, Christus sey ein solcher Gott der Heiden’, HS 5: 785: ‘He feared … that he would lay hands on a Divine Being’ (Furchte … damit er sich nicht in einer solchen Göttlichen Person vergreiffen möchte). commentary 231

God. That authority rests ‘above’, in God. Luther saw Jesus’ answer as his formal condemnation of Pilate: ‘[Jesus] is saying: “Pilate, you act sinfully, for you act against God and abuse your power in having me crucified”.’214

John 19.11b [bars 102–104]: Jesus adds: Darum, der mich überantwortet hat, der hat’s größ’re Sünde (Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin). The singular form der (the one) is confusing. Luther attempts an explanation: ‘But who is the same “he”? He is Caiaphas, Hannas, Judas and all their collaborators who captured Christ and handed him over to Pilate’.215 Whether this is indeed a collective singular (singulare pro plurali) as Luther suspected, or a reference to a specific individual in the Passion story, such as Judas who betrayed (verriet) Jesus [movement 2a], or Caiaphas who actually did ‘hand him over’ (überantwortet) to Pilate [movement 16e], remains unresolved. What is clear is that Jesus sees both his crucifixion, and his being handed over to the Roman authorities, in terms of Sünde (sin). According to Luther, the greater sin, however, was that of being handed over to a man such as Pilate, who neither hears nor understands Jesus and his message: ‘Therefore Christ pronounces a terrible judgement on the one, who has handed him over to Pilate’.216

John 19.12 [bars 104–106]: As a direct consequence of Jesus’ rejoinder Pilate is said to have endeavoured to see wie er ihn losließe (how to release him). Luther casts Pilate in the role of the captive, held in his prison of loyalty to Rome; the earthly authority given to Pilate ‘from above’. As such, he might have sought to find ways to release Jesus, Luther argues:

But the word ‘you are no friend of the Emperor’s’ imprisons him and fells him. Thus it tends to be in this world: the saying ‘you are no friend of the Emperor’s’ makes one fall from truth like the leaves fall from the trees in autumn.217

214 WA 28: 363, 19–24, CB 3: 937: ‘Wil also sagen: Pilate, du thust unrecht, denn du handelst wider Gott und misbrauchst deiner gewalt, das du mich creutzigest’. 215 WA 28: 364, 11–15, CB 9: 937: ‘Wer ist aber derselbige DER? Es ist Caiphas, Hannas, Judas und alle die in dieser rotten sind, welche Christum gefangen haben und jn Pilato uberantwortet’. 216 WA 28: 364, 8–10, CB 3: 937: ‘ER fellet aber ein greulich Urteil uber den, welcher jn dem Pilato uberantwort hat’. 217 WA 28: 368, 27–30, CB 3: 937: ‘Aber das wort “du bist des Keisers freund nicht” nimpt jn gefangen und wirfft jn dahin. So pflegets zugehen in der welt: uber dem wort “du bist des 232 chapter 8

Luther and his followers were both suspicious of Pilate’s true intentions and felt that his hands were tied: for them, the Roman Prefect had no choice other than to convict Jesus if he wanted to hold on to the power ‘given him from above’ (John 19.11); Caesar’s mandate for Judea from the Emperor in Rome.

22. Choral Chorale (Flutes I/II, Oboe I/II and Violin I with Sopranos; Violin II with Altos; Viola with Tenors; Continuo with Basses)

Durch dein Gefängnis, Gottes Sohn, Through your prison, Son of God, Muß uns die Freiheit kommen; Freedom must come to us. Dein Kerker ist der Gnadenthron, Your dungeon is the throne of mercy, Die Freistatt aller Frommen; The refuge of all the pious; Denn gingst du nicht die Knechtschaft ein, If you had not gone into slavery Müßt unsre Knechtschaft ewig sein. Our slavery must have been forever.

Poem by Johann Heinrich Postel [bars 1–12]: Bach comments on John’s suggestion that Pilate intended to release Jesus through a religious poem that looks and sounds like a chorale, and was indeed called Choral by the composer [Auto- graph, p. 50]. In fact, the poem by the Leipzig and Hamburg librettist Christian Heinrich Postel used by Bach as his text had been written for use as a poetic duet in Das Lied des Lammes by Johann Mattheson, a Passion based on St John’s Gospel written and performed in Hamburg a year before Bach’s.218 Mattheson had previously set a version of the Brockes Passion (1712), so the two were drawing a common pool of libretto sources. Like Bach, Mattheson also used Postel’s poem to reflect on John 19.12. Rather than use the poem for a duet or aria like Mattheson, though, Bach set it to a familiar Lutheran hymn tune written by a seventeenth-century predecessor. Thomaskantor Johann Hermann Schein had adapted Bartolomäus Gesius’

Keisers freund nicht” hebet sichs, das man von der Warheit fellet wie die bletter von den beumen im Herbst’. 218 For Mattheson’s Das Lied des Lammes/ i.e. / J. Matthesonii/ in/ Passionem Christi/ Melos/ M.DCC.XXIII, the manuscript edition of which was lodged in Hamburg’s City Library and was destroyed in the Second World War but survived as a microfilm, and was later published by Beekman C. Cannon ed., Johann Mattheson: Das Lied des Lammes, Col- legium Musicum: Yale University, Second Series III (Madison: A-R Editions, 1971), Irmgard Scheitler, Deutschsprachige Oratorienlibretti: Von den Anfängen bis 1730 (Paderborn: Ferdi- nand Schöningh, 2005), 106–108. Postel’s poem was also used in the St John Passion by the Dresden and Hamburg composer Christian Ritter (1645/5–1725). commentary 233 melody line (1605) for his hymn Machs mit mit Gott, nach deiner Güt (Make with with God, after your goodness, 1628). Schein’s hymn tune was the basis for a number of other hymns centring on discipleship, Anfechtung (temptation and trouble, see the full discussion in movement 24 below), and living in the light of eternity. It is highly probable that Bach chose the tune to make a deliberate link with Schein’s hymn or Johann Scheffler’s Mir nach, spricht Christus unser Held (Follow me, says Christ our hero, 1688). Where the autograph score normally only gives the first line of a chorale, for this ‘Chorale’ the autograph provides the full text [Autograph, p. 50]. Postel was the son of a Lutheran pastor, and in his libretto he reflected the Pauline dichotomy between law and grace central to Luther’s theology of justification by his juxtaposition of Gefängnis (prison) and Freiheit (freedom). Just as Paul believed that ‘we were imprisoned and guarded under the law until faith was revealed’ (Galatians 3.23), so Luther considered the late-medieval laws of justification and its associated good works to be a prison.219 Christ’s obedient conforming to the will of the Father, his voluntary entering into Knechtschaft (slavery), justified the believer, Paul explained: ‘now we are discharged from the law, dead to that which held us captive’ (Romans 7.6). Postel turns Pilate’s Kerker (dungeon) into the throne room of God, the Holy of Holies, the Gnaden- thron (throne of mercy): a place where the King of Heaven is seated on his throne, and where die Frommen (the pious) can plead for their own liberation from sin and death. Had Jesus not subjected himself to the captivity of sin and death, denn gingst du nicht die Knechtschaft ein (if you had not gone into slavery), Postel explains, müßt unsre Knechtschaft ewig sein (our slavery must have been forever). Bach highlights this by an elaborate chromatic final cadence on unsre Knechtschaft (our slavery) [bars 10–11], which also serves as a musical reminder of the chromatic cadence on fälschlich verklaget (wrongly accused) in the opening chorale of the second part of the Passion [movement 15, bars 11–12]. The fact that this chorale has theological significance for Bach is made clear not only through its music but also through its structural location in the St John Passion. In a groundbreaking article on the architecture of the St John Passion (1926), Friedrich Smend first identified the chorale as the centre of the Herzstück (heart piece) of the Passion. As shown in the following diagram, this chorale is singled out, through its isolated position in the midst of four groups

219 For Luther’s rejection of the late-medieval system of justification, see: Alister E. McGrath, Iustitia Dei: A History of the Christian Doctrine of Justification (Cambridge: University Press, 1997), pp. 188–218. 234 chapter 8 of five chiastically arranged movements with an introductory and concluding group of two recitatives centred around a chorale.220

16e—Recitative: Da ging Pilatus 17—Chorale: Ach großer König 18a—Recitative: Da sprach Pilatus 18b—Chorus: Nicht diesen, sondern Barrabam 18c—Recitative: Barrabas aber war ein Mörder 19—Arioso: Betrachte, meine Seele 20—Aria: Erwäge 21a—Recitative: Und die Kriegsknechte flochten 21b—Chorus: Sei gegrüßet, lieber Jüdenkönig 21c—Recitative: Und gaben ihm Backenstreiche 21d—Chorus: Kreuzige, kreuzige 21e—Recitative: Pilatus sprach zu ihnen 21f—Chorus: Wir haben ein Gesetz 21g—Recitative: Da Pilatus das Wort hörete 22—Chorale: Durch dein Gefängnis 23a—Recitative: Die Jüden aber schrieen 23b—Chorus: Lässest du diesen los 23c—Recitative: Da Pilatus das Wort hörete 23d—Chorus: Weg, weg mit dem! Kreuzige 23e—Recitative: Spricht Pilatus zu ihnen 23f—Chrous: Wir haben keinen König 23g—Recitative: Da überantwortete er ihn 24—Aria/Chorus: Eilt, ihr angefocht’nen Seelen 25a—Recitative: Allda kreuzigten sie ihn 25b—Chorus: Schreibe nicht: der Jüden König 25c—Recitative: Pilatus antwortet 26—Chorale: In meines Herzens Grunde 27a—Recitative: Die Kriegsknechte aber

Smend’s work on the symmetrical structure of the St John Passion has been widely, though not universally, accepted.221 He first suggested that ‘this chorale turns out to be the centre of the whole work, and its climax. Prior to this the

220 Friedrich Smend, ‘Die Johannes-Passion von Bach. Auf ihren Bau untersucht’, Bach- Jahrbuch 23 (1926), pp. 105–128, Reinmar Emans, Sven Hiemke, eds., Bachs Passionen, Ora- torien und Motetten. Das Bach-Handbuch 3 (Laaber: Laaber Verlag, 2009), pp. 180–186. 221 Robin A. Leaver, ‘The mature vocal words and their theological and liturgical context’, commentary 235

action ascends, and from this point on it descends’.222 Subsequent analyses of the architecture of the St John Passion all adopt Smend’s insight that Durch dein Gefängnis marks a turning point in the Passion, and that it may act as the pivot on which the entire work is hinged. Eric Chafe’s analysis of the architecture of the Passion extends Smend’s scheme to the first part of the Passion as well. Chafe examines both the chias- tic structure of each group of movements as well as Bach’s use of key-signatures throughout the Passion in order to show the composer’s overall ‘musico- theological intent’.223Chafe’s work is by no means universally accepted: indeed, some of his conclusions have since been regarded as too far-reaching and prob- lematic.224 However, it is clear that this chorale is at the heart of a carefully structured musical section that, as Smend first supected, extends from movement 16a [Da ging Pilatus zu ihnen heraus] to movement 27b [Die Kriegsknechte aber, da sie Jesum gekreuziget hatten]. Dürr takes issue with the inclusion of the casting of lots over Jesus’ garments in Smend’s scheme, believing the action of the soldiers not sufficiently ‘closely connected with the death of Jesus’.225 The casting of lots by the soldiers, however, marks the final Roman act against Jesus. Smend’s Herzstück (heart piece) therefore covers the entire Roman trial and Passion. Beginning with the interrogation and judgement by the Roman Prefect and concluding the gambling of the Roman guard to see wes er sein soll (whose it [the coat] shall be) [movement 27b], it includes all actions taken against Jesus by the Romans, whether by the highest Roman authority in the land or the lowest.

23a. Recitativo Recitative—Evangelist (tenor), continuo

Evangelist Evangelist Johannes 19,12b Die Jüden aber schrieen John 19.12b But the Jews shouted und sprachen: and spoke:

in: John Butt, ed., The Cambridge Companion to Bach (Cambridge: University Press, 1997), pp. 86–122, p. 101. Emans (2009), pp. 85–94, 110–111. 222 Smend (1926), 120: ‘Dieser Choral erweist sich als Mittelpunkt des ganzen Werkes, als sein Höhepunkt. Bis zu ihm steigt die Handlung an, von nun an fällt sie’. 223 Chafe (1989), pp. 75–112. 224 Dürr (2000), p. 100: ‘Several problems become apparent when one examines this scheme more closely. In particular there is the question of whether such a formalistic interpretation of the key scheme can possibly correspond to Bach’s intentions’. 225 Dürr (2000), p. 97: ‘Smend ought not to have mentioned chorus 27b at this jucture’. 236 chapter 8

John 19.12b [bars 1–2]: While there is no description of the Prefect’s return to the courtyard, or of his communicating his intention to seek ways to release Jesus to the assembled chief priests and their servants, from their reaction, it has to be assumed that die Jüden (the Jews) somehow came to know of Pilate’s intentions. As in the two previous movements [16c and 21e] in which John merely introduced die Jüden (the Jews), this term here is used to distinguish the assembled Jewish religious leaders in the courtyard from the Roman garrison in the Richthaus (courthouse). As in movements 16c and 21e, there is no evidence in the Gospel text that a larger group of fellow Jews have been admitted to the courtyard by the Roman authorities in the meantime: die Jüden (the Jews) here therefore also refers to the assembled chief priests, and their servants and troops.226 The minor seventh which underpins the brief section gives a realistic impression of a group of people crying out. Bach uses the tritone to point sometimes to evil, sometimes to emotional pain, and sometimes to moments of extreme conflict. The tritone here on [a-]ber schrieen (but cried out) [bar 2] both provides a poignant musical link to Pilate’s realisation that he is unable to serve both justice and Caesar at the end of movement 21g [bars 104–105] and points forward to the next movement, which addresses the same dilemma.

23b. Coro Chorus—Oboe and Violin I with Sopranos, Oboe d’Amore and Violin II with Altos, Flutes I/II in octave and Viola with Tenors, organ, continuo

Johannes 19,12c Lässest du diesen los, John 19.12c If you let this one go, so bist du des Kaisers Freund nicht; then you are no friend of the Emperor’s; denn wer sich zum Könige machet, for everyone who makes himself a king, der ist wider den Kaiser. sets himself against the Emperor.

John 19.12c [bar 2–32]: This movement is based on multiple representations of the cross in a strict permutation fugue (a form which combines elements of fugue and strict canon), like its structural counterpart, WirhabeneinGesetz (We have a Law) [movement 21f, see the diagram at movement 22 for a schematic representation of the structure of the centre of the St John Passion]. The claim that letting Jesus go put Pilate outside of friendship with the Emperor was a serious one. Friendship with the Emperor was an important concept in the Roman

226 For the discussion on why it would have been in the chief priests’ interest to keep the trial as low key and private as possible, see the discussions on movement 16c and 21e, above. commentary 237

Empire of the first century: half a decade after the death of Jesus, the Jewish vassal King Agrippa I (10bce–44ce), for instance, publicly declared his friendship with the Emperor by issuing special coinage proclaiming him ‘Basileus Mega[s] Agrippas Filokaisar [sic]’ (Great King Agrippa, friend of Caesar).227 In an age where foreign vassal kings took such pains to affirm their friendship with the Emperor, a Roman Prefect’s friendship with the Emperor would have needed to have been above any suspicion, the Jewish hierarchy remind Pilate. In his Judaismus, Johann Müller explained:

At the time of King Herod, the scepter and rule passed from the Jews to the Romans … In the Passion of the Lord Christ the Jews always appealed to the Emperor/ [claiming that] Christ was an insurgent/ who had forbidden to pay taxes to the Emperor/ They threatened Pilate with the Emperor: If you let this man go, you are no friend of the Emperor’s: Indeed, they ultimately say it without any prevarication/ we have no king but the Emperor.228

[bars 2–6 and fugal imitations] The first part of the fugal theme re-states Pilate’s dilemma, Lässest du diesen los, so bist du des Kaisers Freund nicht (If you let this man go, you are no friend of the Emperor). Bach highlights diesen (this one) by a semiquaver ornamentation. While Jesus is not in view of the chief priests and their staff, it is almost as if he is musically present among them. A cross-motif on Freund (friend) [bars 4–5] hints both at the difficult relationship with the Roman authorities and the ultimate cost of maintaining

227 Andrew Burnett, ‘The Coinage of King Agrippa I of Judea and a New Coin of King Herod of Chalcis’, H. Huvelin, M. Christol, G. Gautier, eds. et al., Mélanges de Numismatique, offerts à Pierre Bastien à l’occasion de son 75e anniversaire (Wetteren: Editions Numismatique Romaine, 1987), pp. 25–38; Mark Chancey, Greco-Roman Culture and the Galilee of Jesus, Society for New Testament Studies Monograph Series 134 (Cambridge: University Press, 2005), p. 183. The same holds true for the vassal king of Emesa in Northern Syria, Sohaemus, who was proclaimed ‘Philocaesar’ (friend of Caesar) as well as ‘Philo[r]ohmaeus [sic]’ (friend of the Romans), in an inscription from Heliopolis, see: Cornelius Tacitus, Histories, Book II, ed. Rhiannon Ash (Cambridge: University Press, 2007), p. 315. 228 Müller (1643), p. 205: ‘Zu Herodes Zeiten [ist] das Scepter vnd Regiment von den Jüden auff die Römer kommen … In der Passion des Herren Christi berieffen sich die Juden immer auff den Käyser/ Christus wäre ein Auffrührer/ er hätte verboten dem Käyser den Schoß zu geben/ Bedräweten Pilatum mit dem Käyser: Lässt du diesen loß/ so bist du des Käysers Freund nicht: Ja sie sagtens endlich gerade heraus/ wir haben keinen König den [sic] den Käyser’. 238 chapter 8 such a friendship: while Jesus’ crucifixion buys Pilate and the Jewish leaders time, ultimately, their own friendships with the Emperor will ruin them. Bach owned Josephus’ accounts of the Jewish War and Antiquities and would have known that both Pilate and Caiaphas soon fell from the grace of their ‘friend’, the Emperor [Ant. 18: 35, 88–89, 95].229

[bars 7–12 and fugal imitations] The second part of the fugal theme makes explicit what had thus far only ever been implied by the chief priests, in their chrous Wäre dieser nicht ein Übeltäter (Were this man not an evildoer) [movement 16b]: that Jesus has made himself a king against the Roman overlords. Now they bring a charge of insurrection against Jesus: denn wer sich zum Könige machet, der ist wider den Kaiser (since everyone who makes himself a king, he is against the Emperor). The Schwärmer (buzzing) figure on sich zum Könige machet (makes himself a king) [bars 7 and fugal imitations] is an established Baroque means to imitate the buzz (Schwarm) of a crowd, yet here it also adds a direct percussionate, opposite to the long-drawn cross-motif on Freund (friend). Bach re-uses the impressive octave leap on [wider den] Kaiser (against the Emperor) [bar 8 and fugal imitations] on König (King) during the chief priests’ objection to the title placed above the cross, Schreibe nicht (Do not write) [movement 25b, bars 21, 23 and 29]. In this movement, the octave leap creates a musical sense of opposition, wider den Kaiser (against the Emperor), a similar function to that of its counterpart in 25b, where a striking descending octave is again employed to emphasise the speakers’ opposition, this time both to Jesus and the Roman Prefect.

[bars 32–34]: The closing section of the chorus once more employs the Schwär- mer figure, as before on Könige (King), this time in all four voices [bars 32 and

229 BB 85–91: Indeed, Bach used Josephus’ work for his own compositions, loosely basing the free-verse movements of the libretto of his Cantata BWV 46, Schauet doch und sehet, ob irgendein Schmerz sei, on Josephus’ destruction account of Jerusalem. For a consideration of the Cantata, and the public reading of Josephus’ destruction account in Lutheran churches on the Tenth Sunday after Trinity, and any potential associated anti-Judaism, see: Michael Marissen, ‘The Character and Sources of the Anti-Judaism in Bach’s Can- tata 46’, Harvard Theological Review 96.1 (2003), pp. 63–99, and Renate Steiger, ‘Johann Sebastian Bachs Kantaten zum 10. Sonntag nach Trinitatis und die Frage nach dem Anti- judaismus’, in: Arndt Meinhold and Angelika Berlejung, eds., Der Freund des Menschen: Festschrift für Georg Christian Macholz zur Vollendung des 70. Lebensjahr (Neukirchen- Vluyn: Neukirchener-Verlag, 2003), pp. 283–323. commentary 239

33] to suggest a multitude of speakers. Since the the lower voices’ final entry is syncopated and therefore out of synch, they speak as an almost united group. Their reminder that by seeking to release Jesus Pilate was betraying his allegiance to Rome had the desired effect. Luther explained how the chief priests’ accusation that Pilate was setting free a potential rival claimant to the vacant throne of Judea, propelled him into action to save his own skin by passing the death sentence over Jesus:

For the saying ‘if you release Jesus you are no friend of the Emperor’s’, has frightened him and overthrown all his ideas about justice. The belly is more important to him. Temporal power and worldly honour count more for him than truth. For the maintenance of the Emperor’s friendship, that is for the sake of his own belly and enjoyment, he falls. Therefore he no longer questions Jesus, but rushes to the judgement seat.230

23c. Recitativo Recitative—Evangelist (tenor), Pilate (bass), continuo

19,14 Es war aber der Rüsttag in Ostern But it was the day of Preparation um die sechste Stunde, und er spricht for the Passover, about the sixth hour, zu den Jüden: and he spoke to the Jews:

Pilatus Pilate Sehet, das ist euer König! Behold, that is your King!

Evangelist Evangelist 19,15a Sie schrieen aber: But they shouted:

230 WA 372: 12–20, CB 3: 983: ‘Denn das wort “lessestu Jhesum los, so bistu des Keisers freund nicht” hat jn geschrecket und alle seine gerechtigkeit zu boden geschlagen. Der Bauch ist jm lieber und Weltliche Gewalt und Ehre gilt bey jm mehr weder die Warheit. Umb des Keisers Freundschaft, Das ists umbs Bauchs und Geniesses willen fellet er dahin, Fraget Jhesum nicht weiter, sonder eilet zum Richstuel’. 240 chapter 8

John 19.13 [bars 34b–37]: The Prefect re-enters the Richthaus (courthouse) and ƒührete Jesum heraus (led Jesus outside). As in previous movements [movements 16a and 21c], Bach traces the journey in music by an ascending line [bar 7]. Taking his place on the Richtstuhl (judgement seat), he prepares to pass judgement.231 A major sixth rising interval on Hochpflaster is a musical play on the name of the place of judgement, ‘High Pavement’ [bar 38]. Its Hebrew counterpart, Gabbatha is introduced by a tritone on [a-]ber Gab-[batha] which, combined with a cross-motive [bar 39], points both to the evil intent that underlies Pilate’s judgement and the means by which the capital sentence will be carried out.232

John 19.14 [41–43]: Jesus’ trial before the Prefect has gone on for six hours; the religious authorities had brought him to the Praetorium, frühe (at cock crow) [movement 16a]. Bach translates the time into music with a sixth on Stunde (hour) in the continuo line [bar 42].233 Because of the coming Rüsttag in Ostern (the day of preparation for the Passover), it was absolutely necessary to conclude legal proceedings as soon as possible, in order to ensure that the execution and removal of the dead body from the cross could be concluded before the beginning of Passover at sundown. From sundown on the Rüsttag (Day of preparation) the ritual slaughter of paschal lambs in the Temple precinct by an army of priests seeking to provide a lamb for ‘the more than 100,000 Passover participants in Jersualem’ commenced, probably following the model set down in 2Chronicles 35.10–17.234 The sacrifice of Jesus, the ‘Lamb of God’ (John 1.29, 36) on the day of preparation, therefore mirrors the ritual sacrifice of the traditional Passover lamb.

John 19.14b–15 [bars 43–44]: Pilate may well have felt the pressure to pass judgement in order to demonstrate his loyalty to the Emperor, but he does not seem to have lost his antagonism for the Jewish leaders. He presents Jesus to them with the words, Sehet, das ist euer König (Behold, that is your King) [bars 34–44]. Bach renders the dramatic presentation of the accused by carefully

231 Josephus concurs with St John’s description of the place of judgement, both call it a bēma (tribunal), Olearius supplies the Greek, HS 5: 785. Josephus adds that it was ‘placed in front of the palace’ [War 2: 301]. Olearius again provides the necessary reference. 232 Elsewhere Josephus translates Gabbatha as lophos, ‘ridge, crest, high place’ [War 2: 51]. 233 CB 3: 938–939 provides a thorough overview of the Roman and Jewish ways of marking the hours of the day. 234 Brown (2008), 883: ‘By Jesus’ time this slaughtering was no longer done at home … but in the Temple precincts by the priests’. commentary 241

punctuating Pilate’s statement by a quaver rest after sehet (behold) [bar 43]. The arpeggiated A major proclamation of Jesus as the King of the Jews is almost regal. Pilate’s barbed introduction had its desired effect: the assembled religious leaders, certainly pressed for time and probably frustatrated by Pilate’s power games, schrieen (shouted; cried out). This is the only time schrieen is used alone, rather than the more moderated phrase schrieen und sprachen (shouted and spoke). The tritone on sie schrie-[en] (they cried out) [bar 44] is a musical reflection on the moment of extreme tension and dissonance in the drama.

23d. Coro Chorus—(Oboes I with Sopranos, Oboe d’amore with Altos, Flutes I/II in octave with Tenors), Violin I/II, Viola, Organ, Continuo

Johannes 19,15b Weg, weg mit dem, John 19.15b Away, away with him, kreuzige ihn! crucify him!

John 19.15b [bars 45–58]: A series of Schwärmer (buzzing) figures on Weg, weg (away, away) create the impression of a large group of people speaking [bars 46–48]. The percussionate setting of Weg, weg (away, away), in turn, conveys the sense of impatience and frustration as the chief priests are presented with their prisoner by the disliked Roman Prefect, arrayed not only as a king in imperial purple but introduced by the words euer König (your king). Bach recreates well the ‘forceful repetition’ of their interjection Weg (away) highlighted by Olearius.235 The fact that the German Weg can stand for both ‘away’ and ‘path’ means that when Bach adds a series of cross-motifs on Weg to the Schwärmer-figures on the same word [bars 46–48], he is also able to trace out in music the ‘way’ to the place to which Jesus will be led ‘away’: the way of the cross. The remainder of the movement closely follows the composition of its structural counterpart, movement 21d: Kreuzige (Crucify him). As in 21d Bach con- structs a permutation fugue around the cross. The percussionate mit dem, weg, weg (with him, away) [bars 50–52 passim] form cross-motifs within the individual parts. The elongated kreuzige (crucify) [bars 48–49 passim] form larger crosses across two parts, first across the soprano and alto parts [bars 48–49 passim], then across the tenors and basses [bars 49–50 passim].

235 HS 5: 786: ‘Heftigen Wiederholung’. 242 chapter 8

[bars 58–71]: In the second part of the movement the voices closely imitate musical material from movement 21d [21d: bars 40–43] consisting of percussionate quaver and semiquaver cross-motifs on kreuzige (crucify) used in bars 58–61. These alternate with elongated cross-motifs on kreuzige over a range of voices [bars 63–64 passim], as in the first part of the movement. The overall effect of this fugue is Augenmusik (music for the eye): as the voices cross over, they paint a series of large crosses made up of many smaller crosses in the score. A final percussionate kreuzige ihn! (crucify him!) [bar 71], with sopranos and basses sharing the same note two octaves apart, gives the impression of a multitude speaking forcefully with one voice, resolutely calling for a capital sentence.

23e. Recitativo Recitative—Evangelist (tenor), Pilate (bass), continuo

Evangelist Evangelist Johannes 19,15c Spricht Pilatus zu ihnen: John 19.15c Pilate spoke to them:

Pilatus Pilate Soll ich euren König kreuzigen? Shall I crucify your king?

Evangelist Evangelist Die Hohenpriester antworteten. The chief priests answered.

John 19.15c [bars 72–74]: Pilate counters the forceful response of the chief priests with a barbed final question. As in all of his encounters with the Jewish hierarchy, this response is also deliberately calculated to cause offence: in appearing to take the chief priests’ initial accusation that Jesus was an insurgent claimant to the Judean throne at face value, and therefore calling Jesus euren König (your king) [bar 71], he deliberately insults the high priest, the spiritual successor of the great Maccabean (Hasmonean) kings. As Olearius explains: ‘the realm has been lost’; the Jewish throne had by this time been vacant for more than a dozen years, and the hopes to regain sovereignty independent from Rome seemed slim.236 Bach musically singles out the office of the chief priests Hohenpriester by an inverted fifth on Hohen- (chief) combined with major sixth on Priester (priests) in the evangelist’s line [bar 74], thus setting their reponse apart from the wider crowd responses.

236 HS 5: 786: ‘Das Regiment war verlohren’, see: War 2: 117–118. commentary 243

23f. Coro Chorus—Flutes I/II, Oboe with Violin I, Oboe d’amore with Violin II, Viola, Organ, Continuo

Johannes 19,15d Wir haben keinen König John 19.15d We have no king denn den Kaiser. but the Emperor.

John 19.15d [bars 75–78]: Bach’s chief priests clearly speak as one body: wir haben keinen König denn den Kaiser (we have no king but the Emperor). Unlike the complex fugal arrangement of the previous movement suggesting multiple voices speaking, this movement compels by its simplicity. Bach uses a full beat’s rest between the first two occurences of wir [we] and provides a bassono grosso, a low contrabassoon, to the contiunuo part, adding to the weight of the chief priests’ utterance.237 As in movement 23b, Lässest du diesen los (If you let this one go), the chief priests challenge Pilate to affirm his allegiance through being seen to affirm their own loyalty to the Emperor. A simple quaver setting of the text, unadorned by any passing notes or syncopations further suggests uniformity of opinion among the chief priests. Significant movement is restricted to the accompanying woodwind and violins; the virtuosic flute line is entirely based on a series of cross motifs. Bach reuses the same musical material a decade later, in the Cantata Ehre sei dir Gott gesungen (Honour be sung unto you, God) [BWV 248/5, 1735], to give voice to the magi who question the high priests and scribes assembled at the court of Herod the Great for the whereabouts of the king born under the guiding star, Wo ist der neugeborne König der Jüden? (Where is the newborn King of the Jews?) [BWV 248/5, movement 3]. In this way, Bach provides a link in music between the Passion and the birth of Jesus. When reusing the material in his Christmas Oratorio, Bach combines the chorus with an alto aria. The soloist comments: ‘Blessed are you who have witnessed this light/ it is arisen for your salvation’.238 The chief priests’ negation of their God-given right to kingly sovereignty and their acceptance of the oppressive rule of the Emperor brings an abrupt end to Jesus’ trial before Pilate, and hastens Jesus’ prophecy earlier in the Gospel of John: ‘The light is with you for a little longer. Walk while you

237 For the use of the contrabassoon and its development history, see Herbert Heyde, ‘Con- trabassoons in the Seventeenth and early Eighteenth Century’, The Galpin Society Journal 40 (1987), pp. 24–36, pp. 34; Lyndesay G. Langwill, ‘The Double-Bassoon: Its Origin and Evolution’, Proceedings of the Musical Association 69.1 (1942), pp. 2–33, p. 4. 238 BWV 248/5, 3: ‘Wohl euch, die ihr dies Licht gesehen,/ es ist zu eurem Heil geschehen’. 244 chapter 8

have the light, so that the darkness may not overtake you. If you walk in the darkness, you do not know where you are going’ (John 12.35).

23g. Recitativo Recitative—Evangelist (tenor), continuo

Evangelist Evangelist Johannes 19,16a Da überantwortete er ihn, John 19.16 There he handed him over, daß er gekreuziget würde. that he would be crucified.

19,16b Sie nahmen aber Jesum und führeten ihn hin. 19.16b But they took Jesus and led him away.

19,17 Und er trug sein Kreuz und ging hinaus zur 19.17 And he carried his cross and went out to Stätte, die da heißet Schädelstätt, welche heißet auf the site that is called The Place of the Scull, Ebräisch: Golgatha. which is called in Hebrew: Golgotha.

John 19.16 [bars 79–81]: In John’s account of the Passion there is no ritual washing of hands by the Roman Prefect as reported in Matthew 27.24, nor does Pilate charge a larger group of people with the responsibility for the death of Jesus. Rather, John puts the responsibility for the death of Jesus jointly on the shoulders of the Roman and the Jewish religious leadership. Bach does the same in music: a tritone on überantwortete (handed him over) [bar 79] makes clear that Pilate’s decision to pass the death sentence and to hand Jesus over to his accusers was evil. Bach expresses in music what Luther and, following him, Calov and Olearius, state explicitly in their exegesis: Pilate ‘is guilty of the blood of this righteous man, even though he himself testified to his innocence and made known that there was no reason whatever to condemn him to death’.239 An elaborate cross-motiv on gekreuziget (crucified) [bars 80–81] points to the enormity of Pilate’s condemnation. The melismas on gekreuziget are also a musical allusion to human brokenness [see the discussion in movement 10]. Here in particular, they point forward to the brokenness of the body of Jesus on the cross at the moment of completion, again represented by a melisma, es ist vollbracht (it is accomplished) [movement 29, bar 13–14].

239 WA 28: 378, 30–33: ‘Da … wird [Pilatus] schuldig an des Gerechten Blut, ob er wol von seiner Unschuld zeugnis gegeben hat und offt bekand, das keine Schuld des todes an jm zu finden sey’. See also: CB 3: 941, HS 5: 786: ‘Regardless of his evident innocence’ (Ungeachtet der offenbaren Unschuld). commentary 245

19.16b [bars 82–83]: The combined forces of Jewish Temple servants and Roman soldiers who captured Jesus (John 18.3, 12) also led him away from the Praetorium to the place of execution. Führeten ihn hin (led him away) echoes the Latin death sentence, duci iussit, the literal ‘he ordered him to be led away’ was a euphemism for ‘he condemned him to be executed’.240

John 19.17 [bars 83–88]: Jesus received the horizontal cross bar and carried it from the place of judgement.241 Luther draws a parallel with the experience of Jesus’ followers: ‘Each will need to carry their own cross. I have my own gallows, I have my own cross. In the same way Christ carries his cross, and that same cross can no one carry other than Christ alone’.242 The words er trug sein Kreuz (he carried his cross) form a cross in the score. Sein Kreuz [bar 84] is also based on a tritone, the second time that Bach combines two powerful recurrent musical motifs: the diabolus in musica and the cross motif [see movement 23c, bars 38–39, above]. As in previous movements, Bach traces the movement ging hinaus (went out) [bar 84] by an ascending melodic line in the evangelist’s part. In the St John Passion, hinaus (out) has connotations both of darkness and denial and courage and confession: in the first recitative of the Passion, Jesus went hinaus to identify himself to his captors and to set his disciples free (John 18.4) [movement 2a, bar 15]. Conversely, at the moment of Peter’s denial, Peter also went hinaus into the darkness of the moonless night before sunrise weeping bitterly (Matthew 26.75) [movement 12c, bars 32–33]. Here, Jesus combines both emotions: he courageously carries his cross, but at the same time walks out into the darkness of execution. Similarly, the people leading him away to death here share in both emotions: while the Jewish clergy denied his kingship, the Roman soldiers unwittingly confessed him to be a king. Jesus is led away to Golgotha, the subject of the ensuing aria [movement 24]. The name of the place of execution is given in German Schädelstätt (Place of the Scull) and Hebrew, Bach highlighting Golgotha rhythmically [bar 87].

240 Olearius points to the Greek, HS 5: 786: ‘Führeten. apegagon’; Lucius Annaeus Seneca, Dialogi, De Ira 1: 18, 5: ‘He condemned him to be executed’ (duci iussit). 241 John Granger Cook, ‘Envisioning Crucifixion: Light from Several Inscriptions and the Palatine Graffito’, Novum Testamentum 50 (2008), pp. 262–285, pp. 266–267, explains that the crossbar, or patibulum, was often called ‘the cross’ (crux). Permanent cross-stakes were provided by the Roman municipal authorities for the purposes of public executions, Cook explains, p. 265. 242 WA 28, 384, 27–30, CB 3: 942: ‘Ein jglicher wird das seine [Kreuz] tragen müssen. Ich habe meinen Galgen. Ich trage mein Creutz. Ein ander hat seinen Galgen und Creutz. Also treget auch Christus sein Creutz, und dasselb kan niemand tragen denn Christus alleine’. 246 chapter 8

24. Aria Bass and Chorus (Violin I/II, Viola, Organ, Continuo)

Eilt, ihr angefochtnen Seelen, Hurry, you troubled souls, Geht aus euren Marterhöhlen, Come out of your torture chambers, Eilt—Wohin?—nach Golgatha! Hurry!—Where to?—to Golgotha! Nehmet an des Glaubens Flügel, Take on the wings of faith, Flieht—Wohin?—zum Kreuzeshügel, Fly—Where to?—to the hill of the cross, Eure Wohlfahrt blüht allda! Your welfare blossoms there.

Variant of Brockes Passion, p. 384: As Jesus is led away to Golgotha, the listener is invited to join the journey to the Kreuzeshügel (hill of the cross) in spirit. The libretto adapts a poetic dialogue from the Brockes Passion between Tochter Zion (Daughter Zion), representing faith in general and the church in particular, and a dramatic chorus, representing humanity as a whole. As in movements 19 and 20, Bach’s libretto makes significant changes to tone down Brockes’ language and theology:

Tochter Zion Daughter Zion Eilt, ihr angefocht’nen Seelen! Hurry, you troubled souls, Geht aus Achsaphs Mörder-Hölen! Come out of Asaph’s murder chambers! Kommt. Come.

Chor Choir Wohin? Where to?

Tochter Zion Daughter Zion Nach Golgatha To Golgotha Nehm’t des Glaubens-Flügel! Take on the wings of faith! Fliegt! Fly!

Chor Choir Wohin? Where to?

Tochter Zion Daughter Zion zum Schädel-Hügel to the hill of the skull Eure Wohlfahrt blühet da Your welfare blossoms there Kommt Come

Chor Choir Wohin? Where to? commentary 247

Tochter Zion Daughter Zion Nach Golgatha. To Golgotha.

A substantial departure from Brockes’ poem is the removal of Brockes’ anti- Jewish references: Bach changes the second line from Brockes’ clearly anti- Jewish geht aus Achsaphs Möder-Hölen [sic] (come out of Asaph’s murder chambers) to the generic gehtauseurenMarterhöhlen (come out of your torture chambers) [see the discussion on the precise meaning of the revised wording below]. Brockes’ original refers to the Levite Asasph, King David’s recorder, psalmist and leader of the singers in the first temple (1Chronicles 25.1–7). One of the most annotated passages in Bach’s Calov Bible was the account of the dedication of the First Temple:243

For Bach, the ordering of the sons of Asaph and of Heman, ‘the inspired Capellmeister of David’ as Temple musicians not only provided an example of the ‘true foundation of all God-pleasing church music’ but also an exemplar of musical clans and families working under gifted composer- fathers.244

Bach further annotated the preface to the Book of Psalms in his Calov Bible, highlighting Asaph’s and Heman’s names by underlining them in red ink.245 Calov called Asaph a ‘Capellmeister’,and Bach clearly considered him as an outstanding musician and fellow-Capellmeister.246 The establishment of a ‘God- pleasing church music’ under Asaph and Heman was central to Bach’s self- understanding as a musician.247 Greer suggests that:

243 CB 1/1: 2047–2049, see also 2Chronicles 5.13. 244 Loewe (2011), p. 150. 245 CB 1/2: 545. 246 CB 1/2: 441, in the introduction of Psalms 50 and 73 denotes Asaph a ‘Capellmeister’. 247 CB 1/1: 2047–2049: ‘Dieses Capitel ist das wahre Fundament aller gottgefälliger Kirchen Music’; see: Helene Werthemann, ‘Bachs Fundament “aller gottgefälliger Kirchenmusik”’, in: Frank Beyer and Christoph Trautmann, 51. Bachfest der Neuen Bachgesellschaft: Bachfest-Vorträge 1976 (Kassel: Bärenreiter, 1976), pp. 3–17, p. 3. 248 Mary Dalton Greer, ‘From the House of Aaron to the House of Johann Sebastian: Old 248 chapter 8

If Bach did indeed regard himself as a fellow musician in the tradition of Asaph the Levitical Psalmist and Heman the Cohenite Singer, it should not surprise that Bach or his unknown librettist removed any reference to Tochter Zion (Daughter of Zion) and excised any references to Achsaphs Mörder-Hölen (Asaph’s murder chambers) from Brockes’ text. Asaph’s music shaped the foun- dational narrative of Bach’s vocation as a church musician: the Psalms and the ordered music of this proto-Capellmeister for Bach expressed true ‘devotional music [at which] God is always present with his grace’, as he wrote in the margins of the Chronicler’s account of the dedication of the Temple in his Calov-Bible (2Chronicles 5.13).249 Instead, the libretto of Bach’s St John Passion turns Brockes’ anti-Jewish term Achsaphs Möder-Hölen (Asaph’s murder-chambers) into an opportunity to reflect on Luther’s theology of redemption: the term Marterhöhlen (torture chambers) chosen to replace Brockes’ Mörderhöhlen is almost certainly a reference to one of Johann Heermann’s Passion reflections. Heermann contrasts the torturous experience of human sin with the salvation brought through the wounds of the crucified. He likens Christ’s wounds to a Höhle (chamber or cave), in which sinners may shelter to be saved:

For this is … the crack or chamber/ in which you may hide yourself … when the thundrous wrath of God gathers and seeks to consume you because of your sin, so that it may pass you over.250

The Marterhöhle (torture chamber) is a place where sin abounds, a hell-like place far removed from God’s grace. It is the direct opposite of Heerman’s Höle [sic] (rock chamber, cave) ‘in which you may save yourself’.251 This juxtaposition between the place of sin and the place of shelter from wrath is common to many Lutheran interpreters: Heinrich Müller, whose work Bach owned, as well as a late-seventeenth-century pastor of St Thomas’ Leipzig, August Pfeiffer, both adopt the same analogy to illustrate the redemptive power

Testament Roots for the Bach Family Tree’,in Gregory Butler, George Stauffer, Mary Dalton Greer (eds. et al.), About Bach (Champaign: University of Illinois Press, 2008), pp. 15–34, p. 16. 249 CB 1/1: 2088: ‘Bey einer andächtigen Musique ist allzeit Gott mit seiner Gnaden- Gegenwart’. 250 Heermann (1660), pp. 373–374: ‘Denn sie ist … der Ritz oder die Höle/ darein du dich verbergen kannst … wann sich das Zornwetter GOttes findet und dich deiner Sünde halben verzehren wil, so wird dichs nicht treffen’. 251 Heermann (1660), p. 373: ‘Die Höle/ darein du dich verbergen kannst’. commentary 249 of Christ to provide shelter from the wrath of God, drawing on the Song of Songs (2.14) for their imagery of shelter and safety in rock chambers and stone clefts.252 Another important literary change to Brockes’ poem is the removal of the repeated call, Kommt (come): the libretto of Bach’s Passion replaces Brockes’ invitation to ‘come’ to Gologtha by the invitation, Eilt (hurry) to the Kreuzes- hügel (hill of the cross). This change determines much of the musical setting of the aria, especially its recurrent canonic running figures: the opening figure of the aria musically depicts more than one figure running, the unison upper strings [bars 1–2 and canonic repeats] are imitated by the continuo part [bars 3–4 and canonic repeats], giving an impression of more than one voice following one another, hurrying to Golgotha. The overall effect of bars 1–4 and repeats is suggestive of a chase. In bar 17 Bach adds the bass solo voice to this chase pattern, the soloist precedes the strings and continuo, which imitate his call to the angefochtnen Seelen (troubled souls) to hurry (Eilt!) [bars 17–22]. The term angefochtnen (troubled) is a direct allusion to Luther’s theology. For the reformer, Anfechtung was a crucial theological concept, denoting both temptation and trouble, often connected with the realisation of a sense of personal failure to live up to God’s will, an emotion that had its origin in the juxtaposition of God’s demands and the ‘power of Satan’.253 At the same time, it was only the experience of Anfechtungen that enabled the believer to experience the liberating power of the Gospel. Anfechtungen, then, for Luther

252 Müller (1720), p. 460: ‘Since … Hell and Devil frighten/ Jesus opens his wounds [to sinners]/ and calls out firmly: Come, my dove/ into the rock-chamber/ into the stone-clefts, Song of Songs 1. There the sinner confidently enters in’ (Weil … Hölle und Teuffel schrecken/ so öffnet ihm JEsus seine Wunden/ rufft überlaut: Komm meine Taube/ in die Fels-Löcher/ in die Stein-ritzen. Cant. 1 [Song of Solomon 1.14]. Da springt der Sünder getrost hinein), August Pfeiffer, Paßions-Register/ Oder Das Leiden und Sterben unsers Heylands Jesu Christi (Leipzig: Michael, 1682), p. 360. 253 Berndt Hamm, Der frühe Luther: Etappen reformatorischer Neuorientierung (Tübingen: Mohr-Siebeck, 2010), 3: ‘Die Verankerung der Anfechtungen in Luthers Theologie’, especially p. 31: ‘Without the self-realisation of the sinner who, when confronted with God’s Law, is revealed to be tempted and troubled by his own sin, and hemmed in between the judgement of God and the hellish power of Satan, there can be no liberating experience of God through the Gospel’ (Ohne die durch Gottes Gesetz eröffnete Selbsterkenntnis des Sünders, der sich als Angefochtener von der eignenen Sünde, dem Gericht Gottes und der Höllenmacht Satans umstellt sieht, kann es keine befreiende Gotteserkenntnis durch das Evangelium geben). 250 chapter 8 and his followers, were the cross that the disciple had ‘to take up daily’ in order to follow Jesus (Luke 9.23), a point Bach underlines by a series of cross-motifs in the elaborate melodic line on angefochtnen (troubled) [bars 27–29 and repeats].254 The same insight holds for the experience of life in the soul’s Marterhöhlen (torture chambers). The fear that the power of human sin could hold believers captive forever was a heavier burden to carry than the daily Anfechtungen (troubles) which formed a regular part of the believer’s day-to-day life: Bach’s musical rendering of these mental Marterhöhlen (torture chambers) is also based on a series of cross-motifs in the vocal line [bars 42–46] though, appropriately, more dramatic and elaborate. Luther likened this kind of existence to the overwhelming, paralysing, experience that:

Here God appears in terrible wrath, and with him all creation. There is no chance for flight, no consolation, neither within nor without: everything accuses us. … There is nothing else but the bare desire for help, and a terrible sighing, yet [the soul] does not know where to go for help.255

Bach’s setting renders the tortured agony of life in the Marterhöhlen (torture chambers) by the frequent use of cross-motifs over a diminished seventh, both of which mirror the melodic line and harmonies on gekreuziget (crucified) in the previous movement [movement 23g, bar 80]. The movement is also set in g minor, the Baroque key associated with tragedy and sadness. Furthermore, by introducing the repeated Wohin? (where to) motif in the first violins [bars 42–45], he also makes explicit the soul’s desperate search for consolation: later in the movement [bars 49–51], the upper voices will give voice to the strings’ Wohin-motif by articulating their questions for direction: Wohin (where to) may the believer turn in times of temptation? Because of the lack of a bass part in the chorus, the three upper voices appear disembodied and ethereal. The bass soloist’s insistent call Eilt (hurry),

254 Hamm (2010), p. 47: ‘Anfechtung (temptation) as cross and as grace’ (Anfechtung (tentatio) als Kreuz und als Gnade). 255 Luther, Resolutiones disputationum de indulgentiarum virtute, 1518 (Resolutions for dispute on the virtue of indulgences), WA 1: 557, 37–558, 5: ‘Hic Deus apparet horribiliter iratus, et cum eo pariter universa creatura. Tum nulla fuga, nulla consolatio, nec intus nec foris, sed omnium accusatio. … Solum relinquiture nudum desiderium auxillii et horrendus gemitus, sed necit [the soul], unde petat auxilium’. commentary 251 in combination with the voices’ repeated question Wohin (where to)—first in two sets of three questions [bars 49–51 and 54–55] then in a set of two [bars 56–57], then as an isolated Wohin? (where to) [bar 62], indicates the souls’ lack of direction: held captive in their Anfechtung (troubles), they have nowhere to turn for consolation. The bass soloist’s answer to the upper voices provides the sought-for direction: nach Golgotha (to Golgotha) [bars 64–65]. Bach here inverts the melodic setting of the place of the scull in movement 23 [bar 88]; its placement at the end of the A section [bars 1–65] and the beginning the B section [bars 65–125] at once concludes the souls’ hurried flight and initiates a second chase to Golgotha. The B section of the movement elaborates on the way in which human souls will find consolation: by taking des Glaubens Flügel (the wings of faith), symbolised in the score by a set of unison wing shapes, first in the continuo part [bars 80–81], then taken up immediately by the upper strings [bars 82–83]. The bass soloist and upper string both develop the wing motif on Flügel (wings) [bars 85–86]. The soloist’s insistent call to fly (flieht) [bars 91–105]—here the imperative of ‘to take flight’—repeats much of the musical material from the earlier interchange between bass and upper voices [bars 49–62]. The place of rest, the Kreuzeshügel (hill of the cross) [bars 100–103] shares the rhythmic characteristics of gekreuziget (crucified) in the previous movement [23g, bars 80–81] and, as would be expected, is centred on a cross-motif on Hügel (hill) [bar 101]. It is there, at the Kreuzeshügel (hill of the cross) that the souls’ welfare blossoms: this time the hill of the cross [bars 105–106] is given the shape of a hill, rising and falling in a melodic arc, while the blossoming of the souls’ welfare, blüht (blossoms) is shaped like a cross [bar 115]. The blossoming cross is a symbol of resurrection, while the act of blossoming itself in Lutheran hymnody is a popular sign of Incarnation.256 Both signify the coming of salvation through the agency of the self-sacrifice of Jesus (Philippians 2.5–8) [see discussion in movement 1 above]. Having directed the angefochtnenSeelen (troubled souls) to the place of their Wohlfahrt (welfare), the movement’s A section is repeated. A final appeal to the disembodied souls to join the journey to Golgatha on the Glaubenflügel (wings of faith) ends the movement, and prepares the listener for the moment of crucifixion itself.

256 For instance in Martin Luther’s ‘Nun komm der Heiden Heiland’, WA 35: 149–150. 252 chapter 8

25a. Recitativo Recitative—Evangelist (tenor), continuo

Johannes 19,18 Allda kreuzigten sie ihn, John 19.18 There they crucified him, und mit ihm zween andere zu beiden Seiten, and with him two others on either side, Jesum aber mitten inne. but Jesus amidst them.

19,21a Da sprachen die Hohenpriester der Jüden 19.21a There the chief priests of the Jews spoke zu Pilato. to Pilate.

John 19.18 [bars 1–4]: Having taken his listeners to Golgotha on musically evocative ‘wings of faith’ in the preceding aria, Bach’s representation of the crucifixion itself is notable for its starkness. Having been handed over to be killed, the crucifixion is a passive process: allda kreuzigten sie ihn (there they crucified him). Kreuzigten (crucified) is based on a cross motif, as is und mit ihm zween (and with him two [others]) and zu beiden Seiten (on either side). Punctuated by two quaver rests, Bach paints the outline of the Schädelstätte (Place of the Scull), complete with three crosses: Jesum aber mitten inne (but Jesus admist them) [bars 3–4]. The evil nature of the execution is alluded to by a tritone, the Baroque diabolus in musica, on kreuzigten (crucified) [bar 1].

John 19.19 [bars 5–9]: Pilate’s inscription, or Überschrift (literally ‘writing above’) [bar 6] is highlighted by the composer by a leap of a major sixth in the evangelist’s line, and can be said to be truly ‘superscribed’. With his inscription, the Roman Prefect literally writes out Jesus’ death sentence, Bach suggests: und ward geschrieben (and was written) [bar 7] is centred on another of the many cross-motifs that make up this movement. The title itself reflects John’s irony: neither Pilate nor the chief priests ever believed Jesus truly to be the King of the Jews. Even the majority of Jesus’ own disciples who had fled from the scene of his arrest would not have recognised the king in the marred and crucified Jesus: ‘Yet before God and before God’s children he is the king of glory’, Luther commentary 253 wrote.257 Bach underlines this mystery of the suffering king who reigns from a cross by a retardation to adagio (the stately time signature, that can be translated ‘at ease’) [bars 8–9], and a resolution to the major key (Ab) on König [bar 9].258 Thus the moment of greatest suffering and insult is made into a stately moment of resolution. This is one of only four instances that a time signature is marked in the recitative sections in the Autograph score, underlying its significance.

John 19.20 [bars 10–13]: As earlier in the movement the evangelist’s report about Pilate’s Überschrift (inscription) is ‘superscribed’ in music, this time by a leap of a perfect fifth [bar 10]. From the report of Pilate’s title onwards to the end of the section, the melodic does not rise above the g on Überschrift (inscription). Because the place of crucifixion was close to Jerusalem, many were able to read Pilate’s title. This movement’s use of Jüden (Jews) is one of the few moments in the Johannine Passion narrative where the word refers to ordinary Jewish people going about their day to day business, rather than the religious elite who organised Jesus’ arrest and trial. The melodic line on gekreuziget (crucified) is again shaped around the form of an elaborate cross-motif [bar 13]. Pilate’s inscription had been written into the three languages of the Roman Province: Hebrew, Greek and Latin, in order that it might be understood by anyone able to read.259 John gives the fullest title of the four Gospels, which includes Jesus’ hometown. These refer the Gospel readers back to Philip’s description of Jesus, as ‘him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote: Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth’ (John 1.45), and Nathanael’s confession of Jesus before Philip in the same passage, ‘Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel’ (John 1.49).260 Bach punctuates the three languages carefully by a crotchet’s rest between each, and includes a barbed musical reference to the chief priests by outlining a tritone on the language of the Temple, Ebräische (Hebrew) [bar 15].

257 WA 28: 395, 10–14: ‘Aber für Gott und für Gottes Kindern ist er ein König der Ehren’. 258 For an analysis of the rare uses of time signatures in the recitatives of Bach’s StJohnPassion, see: Dieter Zahn, ‘Zu den Rezitativen in Johann Sebastian Bachs Johannes-Passion und ihrer Ausführung’, Musik und Kirche 41.1 (1977), pp. 9–14, p. 10. 259 WA 28: 394, 33–395, 8; CB 3: 944: ‘So that everyone could see, read, hear and comprehend the reason why Christ had been crucified’ (Auff das jederman die ursach sehen, lesen, hören und verstehen könne, Warumb Christus gecreutziget sey). 260 Matthew 27.37 has ‘This is Jesus, the King of the Jews’, while the synoptic parallels in Mark 15.26 and Luke 23.38 merely have ‘[This is] the King of the Jews’. 254 chapter 8

John 19.21a [bars 17–18]: The chief priests return to the Praetorium to challenge the Prefect’s inscription. This is another example of Johanine irony—the revealing of Jesus’ glory even unwittingly or unwillingly. Neither Pilate nor his erstwhile accusers do, in fact, regard Jesus as any kind of king, John implies, yet they speak the deeper truth, that Jesus is the King of all kings. Luther shares this view: ‘We take Jesus’ title seriously. But for Pilate it is mere derision, who inscribes the title to plague Christ and to save his own back’.261

25b. Coro Chorus—(Flutes I/II, Oboes I/II, Violin I/II, Viola, Organ and continuo)

John 19.21b [bars 18–19]: In the first three bars of this movement, Bach skilfully combines a Schwärmer (buzzing)-figure with block chords, suggesting a group of speakers who nevertheless speak with one intent and voice, as in its structural counterpart, Wir haben keinen König denn den Kaiser (We have no king but the Emperor) [movement 23f].

[bars 19–21 and fugal imitations]: The remaining musical material closely echoes another chorus associated with kingship: the Roman soldiers’ mockery of the scourged Jesus, Sei gegrüßet, lieber Jüdenkönig (Hail, beloved King of the Jews) [movement 21d]. As in 21d, the material is arranged fugally, the compound duple signature redolent of a minuet again contributes to the sense of dance-like graceful movement. While in John’s Gospel the chief priests do put forward their opinion vehe- mently, suggesting that Pilate change the wording of the title from der Jüden König (the King of the Jews) to daß er gesaget habe: ich bin der Jüden König (that he has said: I am the King of the Jews), Bach’s musical setting belies and somewhat tempers the forceful nature of their statement: his chief priests are clearly petitioners at a Baroque court, versed in courtly behaviour. Here, the religious leaders make obeisance to the Roman Prefect in order to persuade him to change his mind. Bach seems to express in music what Olearius pointed out in his commentary: ‘Subjects are not to dictate to their superiors, but rather

261 WA 28: 394, 26–28: ‘Wir machen ein Ernst aus dem Titel. Aber Pilato ist es ein Spot, Der schreibet solchen Title Christo zur Schmach und sich damit zubewahren’. commentary 255

to make known their views in an appropriate manner’.262 The religious leaders end their petition as they began it: with one voice [bars 28–29], expressing their unanimity of opinion.

25c. Recitativo Recitative—Evangelist (tenor), Pilate (bass), continuo

Evangelist Evangelist Johannes 19,22 Pilatus antwortet: John 19.22 Pilate answered:

Pilatus Pilatus Was ich geschrieben habe, das habe ich geschrieben. What I have written, that I have written.

John 19.22 [bars 29–31]: In this final encounter between the Prefect and the chief priests in the St John Passion, Pilate curtly dismisses the chief priests’ petition to have the title above the cross changed. Olearius amplifies Pilate’s simple statement: ‘It has been written after due consideration, and therefore it shall remain unaltered in spite of your desire’.263 As in the musical description of Pilate’s Überschrift (inscription) in movement 25a [bar 10], here the second syllable of geschrieben (written) also towers over the remaining melodic line, providing a musical reminder of the words that had been ‘superscribed’ above the cross. In commenting on this passage, Luther points to the glory that is hidden under Pilate’s title:

Just as his death, a shameful, miserable and galling death, has now turned to glory and Christ’s own victory and triumph for his Christians over sin, death, devil and the portals of hell, so this title also has come to great glory. There is nothing more holy, nothing more innocent than this title. And whosoever is not placed under this title, will be condemned.264

262 HS 5: 787: ‘Unterthanen haben dem Obern nicht vor zuschreiben/ sondern ihre Meynung gebürend anzuzeigen’. 263 HS 5: 787: ‘Es ist mit gutem Bedacht geschrieben/ umb euren Willen wirds demnach wol ungeendert bleiben’. 264 WA 28: 394, 5–14: ‘Gleich wie sein Tod, welcher ein schendlicher, schmehlicher und ergerlicher Tod war, nu zu Ehren worden ist Und Christus einiger Sieg und Triumph ist für seine Christen wider Sünd, Tod, Teuffel und der Hellen Pforten. Also ist dieser Titel zu solchen grossen Ehren kommen, das nichts heiligers noch unschüldigers ist denn dieser Titel, Und wer nicht unter diesem Titel ist, Der ist verdampt’. 256 chapter 8

26. Choral Chorale—(Flutes I/II, Oboe I/II and Violin I with Sopranos; Violin II with Altos; Viola with Tenors; Continuo with Basses)

In meines Herzens Grunde In the depths of my heart, Dein Nam und Kreuz allein Your name and cross alone Funkelt all Zeit und Stunde, Sparkles for all time and at all hours, Drauf kann ich fröhlich sein. Because of it I can be cheerful. Erschein mir in dem Bilde Appear to me in the picture Zu Trost in meiner Not, For consolation in my adversity Wie du, Herr Christ, so milde As you, Lord Christ, so charitable Dich hast geblut’ zu Tod! You have bled to death!

Verse 3 of Valet will ich dir geben [bars 1–16]: Bach comments on Pilate’s resolute answer ‘what I have written, I have written’, made in response to the chief priests’ petition to change the inscription above the cross in movement 25, by a verse from Valerius Herberger’s hymn Valet will ich dir geben (O world, so vain, I leave you). Herberger was the Lutheran pastor of Fraustadt in Posen (now Wschowa in Poland). His sole surviving hymn was written during an episode of the Black Death in Fraustadt in 1613. Set to music the same year by the Fraustadt cantor Melchior Teschner, it is said to have been sung at every funeral there for the duration of the epidemic. The introduction to the hymn, published in Herberger’s collection of ‘hearty, useful funeral sermons’, records the effects of the Black Death on the city, recalling how the author ‘was faced with death every hour, but was graciously and indeed as miraculously preserved as the three men in the Fiery Furnace of Babylon’.265 Bach uses Herberger’s chorale also to reflect on the idea of a gracious preservation when ‘faced with death every hour’: the idea that the Nam und Kreuz (name and cross) of Christ can bring comfort in suffering now, and that the blood of Christ will bring salvation for eternity. While Herberger’s understanding of the protective nature of Nam und Kreuz (name and cross) [bar 4] reflects the very real image, or Bild, of suffering and death during the Fraunstadt epidemic of 1614, it has its theological roots in

265 Valet Valerii Herbergeri, Das er der Welt gegeben, Anno 1613, im Herbst, da er alle stunden den Tod für augen gesehen, aber dennoch gnedignlich, vnd ja so wünderlich als die drey Männer im Babylonischen Fewrofen erhalten worden, in: idem, Der Dritte Theil/ Der Geistlichen/ Trawrbinden/ Valerii Herbergi,/ Predigers bey dem Kriplein Christi/ in Frawen- stadt/ Gewircket von lauter safftigen/ nützlichen Leichpredigten/ derer zahl bald nach der Vorrede/ zu finden./ Zu ehren etlichen frommen Christlichen/ jetzo in Gott ruhenden Hert- zen./ Gedruckt/ zu Leipzig (Leipzig: Schürers Erben, 1614). commentary 257

Luther’s attempts to counter early-modern fears of death, sin and hell. In his Sermon on how to prepare for death (1519), Luther described the fear of dying as a series of three horror Bilder (images): ‘the terrifying image of death, the horri- ble recurrent image of sin and the third, the unbearable and inevitable image of hell and eternal damnation’.266 This fear was not only a constant mental image, but was given expression in contemporary large-scale wall-paintings or altar pieces, such as for instance Matthias Grünewald’s altarpiece in Isenheim (1506– 1515). Grünewald’s composition emphasises the realistic depiction of the suffering of Christ on the principal panels of the altarpiece—showing in uncomfort- able detail the wounds, boils and scars of the crucified body of Jesus—and the depiction of sin in the depiction of the temptations of St Anthony on the third panels of the altar—showing the Saint hemmed in by fantastic long-teethed monsters and birds of prey ‘seeking someone to devour’ (1Peter 5.8). Luther counters these images of terror with the hope of the Gnadenbild, the image of the grace of Christ’s death:

The image of grace is none other than Christ crucified surrounded by all his saints. … This is grace and mercy: that on the cross Christ has taken away your sin, that he carries your sin for you and crushes it for you. And that those who firmly believe this, and have this image before their inner eyes, do not doubt this. That is what it means to gaze on the image of grace and to set it up within oneself.267

Following Luther closely, in Herberger’s chorale Christ’s Nam und Kreuz (Name and Cross) is shown to be like a funkelnd (sparkling, radiant) ensign set up, as it were on a battle field, in meines Herzens Grunde (in the depth of my heart), using the word play of Grunde as both ‘depths’ and ‘grounds’ or ‘fields’. All Zeit und Stunde (at all time and every hour), the cross sheds its bright light over the darkness of Not (suffering), but particularly so in the hour of death. It is at the moment of death, that the image of horror of Christ who has geblut’ zu Tod (bled to death) becomes an image of Jesus so milde (so charitable) and grace:

266 Luther, Ein Sermon von der Bereitung zum Sterben, 1519, WA 2: 686, 33–35: ‘Das erschrock- liche bild des todts, die ander das graulich manichfeltig bilde der sund, die dritte das untreglich und unvormeydliche bild der hellen und ewiges vordammnüß’. 267 WA 2: 689, 28–29, 30–34: ‘Der gnaden bild ist nit anders, dan Christus am Creutz und alle seyne lieben heyligen. … Wie vorsteht man das? Das ist gnade und barmhertzickeit, das Christus am Creutz deyne sund von dir nymmet, tregt sie fur dich und erwurget sie, und dasselb festiglich glauben und vor augen haben, nit drann zweyfellnn, das heyst das gnaden bild ansehen und ynn sich bilden’. 258 chapter 8

Luther’s Gnadenbild, which enables the believer to be fröhlich (cheerful) even in the depth of suffering. But the librettist did not only choose this verse to create a musical link to Luther’s idea of the Gnadenbild: it was chosen because of the unusual combination of dein Nam und Kreuz (your name and cross). The verse chosen from Herberger’s chorale refers not only to the power of the name of Jesus to appear before the believer’s eye zu Trost in meiner Not (to comfort me in my affliction) [bars 8–12], but also provides a clear allusion to the inscription, the ‘title and name’ above the cross, placed there by the Roman Prefect. These multiple layers of meaning make this verse such an apt reflection on Pilate’s decision to place a ‘title’ above the cross. In his Weekly Sermons on St John 16–20 (1528– 1529), Luther had already explicitly linked Pilate’s derogative ‘title’ with Christ’s name: ‘Christ has to carry this title and name (Titel und Namen) before the world and its children. But for God and for the children of God he is a King of Glory’. Luther then explained: ‘We read this title in earnest, but for Pilate it was meant in derison’ [see also the discussion above, movement 25a].268 There is no hint of derision in Bach’s musical interpretation of the Nam und Kreuz: the first half of the chorale [bars 1–5] with its simple setting is clearly ‘in earnest’, almost stately. The chromatic cadence on so milde/ dich hast geblut’ zu Tod! (so graciously/ have bled to death for me!) [bars 13–15] not only evokes the Gnaden- bild (image of grace) of the crucified and his sacrifice on behalf of the believer, but provides a seamless musical link to the ensuing recitative and chorus. In the Christmas Oratorio [BWV 248/4, 1735], Bach would further elaborate on the idea of the power of the Gnadenbild of the crucified to bring peace at times of doubt and assurance at the moment of death, in his Cantata Fallt mit Danken for the feast of the Naming of Jesus:

Mein Jesus soll mir immerfort My Jesus shall forevermore, Vor meinen Augen schweben. be suspended before my eyes. Mein Jesus heißet meine Lust, My Jesus is the name of my happiness, Mein Jesus labet Herz und Brust. My Jesus succours heart and breast.269

In his Christmas Oratorio Bach once more implants the image of grace in the heart of the believer, mein Herze soll dich nimmer lassen (my heart shall never

268 Luther, Wochenpredigten über Johannes 16–20, 1528/29, WA 28: 395, 10–14: ‘So mus nu Christus den Titel und Namen haben für der Welt und jren Kindern. Aber für Gott und für Gottes Kindern ist er ein König der Ehren’; 394, 26–27: ‘Aber Pilato ist es ein Spot, Der schreibet solchen Titel Christo zur Schmach’. 269 BWV 248/4, movement 3, Immanuel, o süßes Wort. commentary 259

let you go), in order to enable them to face Not, Gefahr und Ungemach (suffering, danger and discomfort). Knowing that dein Name steht in mir geschrieben (your name is written in my heart), the believer weiß ich, daß ich nicht verderbe (knows I shall not perish), wenn ich sterbe (when I die), since the name of Jesus hat des Todes Furcht vertrieben (has driven away the fear of death) and, Bach’s Christmas Oratorio aria implies, has conquered death itself.270 The affirmation wohlan, dein Name soll allein/ In meinem Herzen sein! (henceforth your name alone/ shall be in my heart), underlines the similarity between In meines Herzens Grunde and Bach’s later Christmas-tide Cantata Fallt mit Danken.271

IV. CRUX—JESUS DIES ON THE CROSS: 27a. Recitativo Recitative—Evangelist (tenor), continuo

19,24a Da sprachen sie untereinander: 19.24a Then they spoke among themselves:

John 19.23 [bars 1–8]: Having stripped Jesus of his clothing, the four Roman soldiers who had crucified him, divide his garments. A perfect fourth on vier Teile (four parts) [bar 3] is one of a number of occasions in the Passion where Bach represents numerical values by the relevant musical interval [see for instance movement 23c, bar 42]. In the recitatives of his St John Passion, Bach uses melismas infrequently: as in other recitatives [see the discussion on movement 10], the melisma on Rock (tunic) [bar 5] again is a musical reference to brokenness; the breaking up of the seamless tunic. However, since the robe was gewürket durch und durch (woven in one piece), the Kriegsknechte (mercenaries) decide not to divide it into four parts. John notes specifically that the robe was woven von oben an (from the top). Bach represents this observation musically in the evangelist’s descending melodic line [bar 7, see also movement 33 bar 3 where

270 BWV 248/4, 3: ‘Wenn ich sterbe,/ so weiß ich, daß ich nicht verderbe,/ Dein Name steht in mir geschrieben,/ Der hat des Todes Furcht vertrieben’. 271 BWV 248/4, 5. 260 chapter 8

von oben is represented in the same way]. Having divided all of Jesus’ garments apart from the seamless robe, the four soldiers discuss untereinander (among themselves) how to distribute the robe.

27b. Coro Chorus—(Flutes I/II, Oboe I, Oboe d’amore, Violin I/II, Viola, Organ and Continuo)

Johannes 19,24b Lasset uns den nicht zerteilen, John 19.24b Let us not divide it, sondern losen, wes er sein soll. but instead cast lots, to see whose it shall be.

John 19.24b [bars 1–18 and fugal imitations]: Bach uses a strict permutation fugue to depict the soldiers’ deliberations about the fate of Jesus’ seamless robe. The movement is built around multiples of four: the fugal motif itself falls into four distinctive parts repeated by all four voices, with entries a bar apart.272 The first part of the motif, lasset uns den nicht (let us not) [bar 10] is based on a Schwärmer (buzzing)-figure, its multiple repeated notes suggesting the clamour of different voices talking at the same time. The second part, zerteilen (divide), is centred on a cross-motif, which may well be a musical allusion to the place of the soldiers’ transaction, beneath the broken body of Jesus suspended on the cross. The third part, sondern darum losen (but rather cast lots) [bars 12–13], with its ascending line and sudden octave drop is suggestive of the casting and falling of lots while the final part, wes er sein soll (whose it shall be), provides a decisive conclusion for the fugal motif. The movement’s underlying constant Alberti-bass (with its rattling arpeg- gios) is suggestive of the throwing of dice. Combined with the repeated rising semiquaver movement on losen (cast lots), it may well reference Luther’s commentary on the passage, in which the soldiers settle their disputes not only by ‘casting lots’ (probably bones or stones) as in St John’s account, but ‘by the casting of lots and the throwing of dice’.273 For Bach, the division of Jesus’ garments

272 Geck (1991), p. 89, following Hans Joachim Moser, Geschichte der deutschen Musik, 2 vols., 2/1: Vom Beginn des dreißigjährigen Krieges bis zum Tode Joseph Haydns (Stuttgart and Berlin: J.G. Cotta’sche Buchhandlung: 1922), p. 221, identifies five parts of the fugal motif: I: bar 10 lasset uns den nicht, II: bars 10–12, zerteilen, III: bar 12, sondern darum, IV: bar 13, losen, V: bars 14–15, wes er sein soll. Moser’s and Geck’s sections III and IV, however, clearly form a single structural unit, leading to a four-part rather than a five-part fugal motif. 273 For Luther WA 28: 397, 20–26 and, following him, Olearius, HS 5: 787, the division of Jesus’ garments prefigured the divisions of the church. It was a prophecy about different commentary 261

gave rise to the longest and arguably one of the most musically stimulating crowd scenes in the entire Passion: 54 bars of rhythmically varied material based on multiple figures of four, four voices developing a theme based on four distinctive parts in eight fugal entries, make for a fittingly evocative final crowd scene of four soldiers who, as Luther suggests, ‘are happy and full of mirth as if at a job well done’.274

27c. Recitativo Recitative—Evangelist (tenor), Jesus (bass), continuo

Evangelist Johannes 19,24c Auf daß erfüllet würde John 19.24c So that the Scripture would be die Schrift, die da saget: fulfilled which says: Sie haben meine Kleider unter sich geteilet They have apportioned my clothes und haben über meinen Rock among themselves and for my tunic das Los geworfen. they cast the lot.

19,25a Solches taten die Kriegesknechte. 19.25a Such is what the mercenaries did.

19,26 Da nun Jesus seine Mutter sahe und 19.26 Now Jesus saw his mother, and the den Jünger dabei stehen, den er lieb hatte, disciple standing by, whom he loved, spricht er zu seiner Mutter: he speaks to his mother:

factions of the church seeking to divide the indivisible—Scripture and the church: ‘Weil der Rock ungeneet ist, von oben an gewircket durch und durch, Das ist Weil die Schrifft in einander dermassen gefasset ist, das sie sich nicht allwege trennen noch teilen lesst, Wie Christus spricht Johan[nes]. 10. “Die Schrifft kan nicht gebrochen werden”, So lassen sie die Schrifft unzurissen bleiben, Spielen aber und lossen darumb, wes sie sein sol, Lencken, dehnen und zwingen die Schrifft auff jren Sinn und Verstand, und ein jeder wil die gantze Schrifft haben, Doch durchs Los und Würffelspiel’ (The garment was seamless, woven in one piece from the top, means that because Scripture is composed in such a way that it can never be divided or shared as Christ says in John 10[.35], ‘the Scripture cannot be divided’, they leave the Scriptures undivided, but gamble for it and cast lots over it, whose it shall be. They direct, expand and force Scripture into their own moulds, and each wants a share of the entire Scriptures, yet they do so by throwing of lots and the casting of dice). 274 WA 28: 398, 29–30: ‘Sind fröhlich und guter ding, als haben sie es wol ausgericht’. 262 chapter 8

Jesus Jesus Weib, siehe, das ist dein Sohn! Woman, behold, that is your son!

Evangelist Evangelist 19,27a Darnach spricht er zu dem Jünger: 19.27a After that he speaks to the disciple:

Jesus Jesus Siehe, das ist deine Mutter! Behold, that is your mother!

John 19.24c–25a [bars 65–71]: John is the only evangelist to cite die Schrift (the Scripture) that is being fulfilled by the soldiers’ gambling for Jesus’ seamless robe in full: sie haben meine Kleider unter sich geteilt und haben über meine Rock das Los geworfen (they have apportioned my clothes among themselves, and for my tunic they cast the lot, Psalm 20.19) [bars 66–69]. The other three Passion accounts merely report the division of his garments, and omit the soldiers’ action (see Mark 15.24, Matthew 27.35 and Luke 23.34). Bach highlights the evangelist’s Psalm quotation by an a battuta section strictly on the beat, and a retardation to adagio [bars 66–69]. Psalm 22 is central to the Passion tradition: in Mark’s and (more importantly for Bach) Matthew’s account of the Passion, moments before his death Jesus prays the opening verse of that same Psalm in Aramaic, ‘my God, my God, why have you forsaken me’ (Psalm 22.1, Mark 15.34, Matthew 27.46). The division of Jesus’ garments is the final action of the Kriegesknechte (mercenaries, the Roman footsoldiers) before Jesus’ death: unlike the synoptic accounts of the Passion, there is no mockery of the crucified by the assembled crowd and soldiers. Instead, the scene now shifts to Jesus, his mother Mary, the women who had accompanied her, and the beloved disciple. Where Luther and Olearius have three women named Mary, associating Jesus’ mother’s nameless sister with Mary, the wife of Cleophas, Bach seems to identify four women, iso- lating each by a semiquaver pause:275 Mary the mother of Jesus, seiner Mutter Schwester (her nameless sister) [bar 73], Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene. Luther and Olearius identify Cleophas with the disciple of the same name in Luke’s resurrection encounter on the way to Emmaus (Luke 24.18).276

John 25b–27a [bars 71–83]: John records only few words from the cross, here and in the following recitative [movement 29]: Jesus neither speaks of his

275 WA 28: 401, 5–14, HS 5: 787. 276 WA 28: 401, 6–8, HS 5: 787: ‘This Cleophas is the one who walks to Emmaus on Easter Day’ (Dieser Cleophas ist der am Ostertage gen Emmaus gehet). commentary 263 abandonment in the words of a Psalm as in Mark and Matthew, nor does he forgive those who mocked him as in Luke (Luke 23.34). Instead, John is unique among the four evangelists in recording the interchange between Jesus, his mother and his best friend. For Matthew, Mary and her kinswomen looked on ‘from a distance’ (Matthew 27.55–56). John places them directly bei dem Kreuze (by the cross) [bar 71]. Jesus’ recognition of his mother, sahe (saw) [bar 77] is underscored by a tritone, an augmented fourth; here perhaps an expression of the agony of parting. Jesus’ words from the cross are introduced by a cross-motif on [spricht] er zu seiner [Mutter] (he speaks to his mother) [bar 79]. Jesus entrusts the disciple whom he loved to his mother, and his mother to the disciple’s care by severing his own ties to them and establishing new family-ties: siehe, das ist dein Sohn (behold, that is your son), and siehe, das ist deine Mutter (behold, that is your mother) [bars 79–83]. The augmented fourth on siehe (behold) [bar 80], echoes the earlier tritone and its representation in music of the pain of the breaking up of close family ties. Luther certainly interprets this final farewell in terms of ultimate loss:

The dear Lord Christ seeks to bless the entire world and part from it without a single thing. He does not possess anything at all on earth, neither money nor possessions, neither robe nor garments. Instead he is hanging on the cross, naked; has no place to rest his head, not even a foot’s width of ground on which to die, he does not lie on a wooden board, but hangs freely in the air. He now only has his mother and his dear disciple. As he parts from the world, he also gives away his mother, and the disciple he loved best, who lay on his breast at the Last Supper. That is great agony indeed.277

Similarly, Olearius speaks of the pain of parting in terms of ‘the sword piercing her [Mary’s] soul’.278 Regardless of whether it was their reading of the final

277 WA 28: 401, 32–402, 5: ‘Der liebe Herr Christus wil die Welt gantz und gar gesegnen und blos von jr scheiden. Er hat nichts mehr auff erden, weder geld noch gut, weder Rock noch Kleider, Sondern henget am Creutz blos, hat nich da er sein Heubt hinleget, hat auch nicht eines fussesbreit von der erden, darauf er stürbe, er ligt nicht auf einem bret, Sondern hanget frey in der lufft. Allein hat er noch seine Mutter und seinen lieben Jünger. Da scheidet er nu gantz und gar von der Welt und gibt seine Mutter auch hinweg und seinen liebsten Jünger der jm auff der brust lag im Abendmal. Solchs ist ein grosser schmertz’. 278 HS 5: 787: ‘Das Schwerdt durch ihre Seele drang’. (Luke, 2.35). 264 chapter 8

parting as soul-destroying that motivated Bach to embed tritones on the sahe (saw) and siehe (behold) that introduce this painful exchange, the perfect fifth on the second siehe (behold) [bar 82] provides a suitable resolution to A minor, and a textbook transition to the ensuing chorale.

28. Choral Chorale—(Flutes I/II, Oboe I/II and Violin I with Sopranos; Violin II with Altos; Viola with Tenors; Continuo with Basses)

Er nahm alles wohl in acht He took care of everything, In der letzten Stunde, In the last hour, Seine Mutter noch bedacht, He still thought of his mother, Setzt ihr ein’ Vormunde. And set for her a guardian. O Mensch, mache Richtigkeit, O human, act with righteousness, Gott und Menschen liebe, Love God and and human. Stirb darauf ohn alles Leid, After that may you die without any pain Und dich nicht betrübe! And do not grieve!

Verse 20, Jesu Leiden, Pein und Tod [bars 1–16]: Stockmann’s hymn serves as the basis for a recurrent reflection on the relationship between Christ and the apostles and, through their actions and inactions, the relationship between Christ and individual believers. Each verse falls into two distinctive parts: the first couplet [bars 1–8] ‘comprises a part of the historical events’ of the Passion, while the second [bars 9–16] encourages ‘its application’, that is, personal reflection and action by the believer.279 The libretto previously used a verse from this hymn at the conclusion of the first part of the Passion, following the betrayal of Peter [movement 14]. Then the verse sought to encourage individual believers to think about their own sinfulness and lack of repentance, praying that Jesus himself would rühre mein Gewissen (stir up my conscience). Here, it urges believers to emulate Jesus in putting their own affairs right in good time, just as Jesus nahmalleswohlinacht/ in der letzten Stunde (he took care of everything/ in the last hour) [bars 1–4].280 With his penultimate word from the cross Jesus entrusts his mother to the care of the beloved disciple (John 19.27). Stockmann interpreted Jesus’ action as initiating a formal relationship between Mary and John. Setzt ihr ein Vormunde (and set for her a guardian) [bars 7–8] speaks of a relationship determined by

279 Stockmann (1641), p. A ir: ‘Einen Theil von der Historien … begreifft’, ‘desselben Theils Nutzen’. 280 Stockmann (1641), p. A vv. commentary 265

legal adoption, a point also made by Olearius, and a possible allusion to Romans 8.15 and the promise of divine adoption as children of God.281 In line with this thought, Stockmann’s ‘application’ urges hearers to put their spiritual lives in order by seeking the friendship of God and neighbour: O Mensch, mache Richtigkeit,/ Gott und Menschen liebe (O person, act with righteousness/ Love God and people) [bars 11–12]. Having made peace with God and their fellows, listeners can then die in peace ohn alles Leid (without any pain). Bach stresses this invitation to die a holy death, stirb, with a G minor sixth on stirb (die) [bar 13]. Interestingly, this is one of only three occasions where the autograph score provides the full text of a published chorale rather than the opening words alone [Autograph, p. 68].282

29. Recitativo Recitative—Evangelist (tenor), Jesus (bass), continuo

Johannes 19,27b Und von Stund an nahm sie John 19.27b And from that hour on der Jünger zu sich. the disciple took her to himself.

19,28a Darnach, als Jesus wußte, daß schon alles 19.28 After this, when Jesus knew that all had vollbracht war already been accomplished,

19,28b daß die Schrift erfüllet würde, spricht er: 19.28b in order to fulfil the Scripture, he speaks:

Jesus Jesus Mich dürstet! I thirst!

Evangelist Evangelist 19,29 Da stund ein Gefäße voll Essigs. 19.29 A container full of vinegar was standing there. Sie fülleten aber einen Schwamm mit Essig But they filled a sponge with vinegar und legten ihn um einen Isopen, and laid it on a branch of hyssop, und hielten es ihm dar zum Munde. and held it up to him to his mouth.

19,30a Da nun Jesus den Essig genommen hatte 19.30a When Jesus had taken the vinegar there, sprach er: he speaks:

281 HS 5: 787: ‘This is your son/ who shall provide for you/ as if he were your physical son’ (Das ist dein Sohn/ der dich hinfüro versorgen soll/ als wäre er dein leiblicher Sohn). 282 The other occasions on which Bach supplies a full Chorale text in the Autograph Score are Wer hat dich so geschlagen (p. 21), Petrus, der nicht denkt zurück (pp. 26–27), and the Aria and Chorale, Jesu, der du warest tot (pp. 72–76). 266 chapter 8

Jesus Jesus Es ist vollbracht! It is accomplished!

John 19.27b [bars 1–2]: A large cross-motif spanning an entire octave in the evangelist’s melodic line underlies the decisive moment in the new relationship between Jesus’ mother and the disciple whom he loved: vonStundannahm sie der Jünger zu sich (from that hour the disciple took her to himself) [bar 1]. For John the Stunde (hour) is always associated with the moment of decision and completion which, in turn, is centred on the cross (John 12.27–33). Bach combines both Johannine themes in the cross-shape on und von Stund an (and from that hour) that commences and shapes the remainder of the movement. As in the previous Words from the Cross in John 19.26–27, Jesus ‘speaks’ in the present tense, thus underlining the significance of this ‘hour’.

John 19.28a [bars 3–4]: Bach highlights the fact that Jesus has accomplished all by a minor seventh interval on schon al-[les] (all had been) driving towards resolution on vollbracht (accomplished, fulfillment) [bar 4]. Christ’s work of reconciliation has already been accomplished. He has completed the work of adoption, establishing new family ties where former ties have been broken both for the members of his own family and the human family as a whole [see movement 27c]. He also ‘accomplished the fulfilment of Scripture and the redemption of the human race’, as both Luther and Calov note.283

John 19.28b–29 [bars 5–11]: Having fulfilled all Scripture in his crucifixion, there remains one further Scripture to be fulfilled. Jesus speaks for the penultimate time in the Passion: mich dürstet (I thirst). As Jesus speaks his last words, the continuo provides a brief resolution to F sharp-major [bar 6]. Again, Jesus’ words allude to the Passion Psalm 22 [see movement 27c]: ‘My mouth is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to my jaws; you lay me in the dust of death’ (Psalm 22.15).284 In order to quench Jesus’ thirst, he is given a drink—probably of posca (sour wine mixed with water and herbs, widely drunk by the Roman army at the time)—on a hyssop reed, Isopen [bar 10].285 Olearius is right in suggesting that

283 WA 28: 406, 12–13, CB 3: 947: ‘Der Schrift erfüllung und der Erlösung des menschlichen geschlechts volbringung ist’. 284 Olearius, HS 5: 788, provides the necessary reference. 285 Posca is the term used in the Classical era, which was usually translated oxos (vinegar) in Greek, and therefore translated back into Vulgate latin as acetum (vinegar). Luther’s translation to the German Essig (vinegar) is therefore a correct rendition of the Biblical sources. commentary 267

the use of hyssop is a deliberate reference to Psalm 51, ‘purge me with hyssop and I shall be clean … let the bones that you have crushed rejoice’ (Psalm 51.7–8), representing the ‘payment of the ransom for the sins of the entire world’.286 Bach traces the upward movement of the hyssop reed in music by a rising minor sixth on dar (up to) [bar 10].

John 19.30a [bars 11–14]: One he has received the vinegar, Jesus speaks his last: the simple affirmation, es ist vollbracht (it is accomplished, brought to fulfilment) [bars 13–14] concludes the movement. The descending melodic line as well as the continuo trace the dying breath of the crucified as he breathes his last. As in previous movements, the melisma on [voll]-bracht (accomplished) signifies brokenness [see the discussion on movement 10, bars 10–14]. Jesus’ brokenness on the cross has brought healing to a broken humanity: certainly, for Luther and his followers Calov and Olearius, Jesus’ death was the victory over the powers of evil that held humankind enthralled.287 In an almost poetic reflection on the passage, Luther concludes:

It is accomplished: the Lamb of God has been slaughtered and offered up for the sins of the world. The true high priest has accomplished his offering, God’s Son has given up his life and body to pay the price for sin. Sin is erased, God’s wrath appeased, death conquered, heaven opened. All is fulfilled and accomplished; no one may dispute this fact, as if there was something else to fulfil and accomplish.288

30. Aria Alto Aria—(Violin I/II, Viola, Viola da gamba, Organo, Continuo)

Es ist vollbracht! It is accomplished! O Trost vor die gekränkten Seelen! O consolation for the injured souls! Die Trauernacht The night of mourning

286 HS 5: 789: ‘Das völlige Lösegeld vor der gantzen Welt Sünde bezahlet’. 287 HS 5: 789: ‘The battle is won/ the victory has been gained’ (Die Schlacht ist vollbracht/ der Sieg ist erlangt). 288 WA 28: 406, 13–20, CB 3: 947: ‘Es ist volbracht: Gottes Lamb ist fur der Welt Sünde geschlachtet und geopffert, Der rechte Hohepriester hat sein Opffer vollendet, Gottes Son hat sein Leib und Leben zur bezalung fur die Sünde dahin gegeben und auffgeopffert, die Sünde ist getilget, Gottes zorn versünet, der Tod uberwunden, das himelreich erworben und der Himmel aufgeschlossen. Es ist alles erfüllet und vollendet und darff niemand disputieren, als sey noch etwas dahinden zuerfüllen und zu vollbringen’. 268 chapter 8

Läßt nun die letzte Stunde zählen. May now count its last hour. Der Held aus Juda siegt mit Macht The hero of Judah triumphs with power Und schließt den Kampf. And concludes the conflict. Es ist vollbracht! It is accomplished!

Variant of a poem attributed to Christian Heinrich Postel: A poem probably written by the Leipzig and Hamburg lawyer-librettist Christian Heinrich Postel serves as the textual basis for this two-part aria which skilfully juxtaposes mourning for the death of Jesus with triumph for the redemption of the world.289 The previous Postel poem DurchdeinGefängnisGottesSohn (Through your prison, Son of God) [movement 22], used in Bach’s Passion, had formed the basis for a duet in Johann Mattheson’s Passion Oratorio Das Lied des Lammes (1723) written the year before. This poem also forms part of Mattheson’s oratorio, where it was set as a bass aria to reflect on John 19.30a, ‘it is accomplished’:

O großes Werk! O great work! Im Paradies schon angefangen, Already begun in Paradise, O Riesenstärk! O strength of giants! Die Christum läßt den Sieg erlangen. Which lets Christ gain the triumph. Daß nach dem Streit, in Siegespracht, That following the strife, in glorious triumph, Er sprechen kann: He can speak: Es ist vollbracht. It is accomplished.

As with most of its poetic sources, Bach’s libretto makes far-reaching changes to the source text. In fact, only the metre and rhyme-scheme as well as the closing line of Postel’s original remain. Where Postel’s aria viewed the Passion entirely in terms of an eternally-predetermined victory, O großes Werk! Im Paradies schon angefangen (O great work! Already begun in Paradise), Bach’s aria falls into two distinctive parts, which give shape to the musical form of the aria. The first four lines as well as the concluding line of the aria give voice to the believers’ lament for the death of Jesus. Postel’s unalloyed joy over the cosmic victory of Christ over the powers of darkness is restricted to two lines. Even the two remaining lines are changed entirely: rather than adopt Pos- tel’s rather generic Die Christum läßt den Sieg erlangen/ Daß nach dem Streit, in Siegespracht/ Er sprechen kann (Which lets Christ gain the triumph/ That fol-

289 For Postel, see the discussion on movement 22, above. The fact that much of the remaining poetry of Mattheson’s Das Lied des Lammes, a contemporary St John Passion, was written by Postel makes the attribution highly probable, see: Daniel R. Melamed, J.S. Bach and the Oratorio Tradition, Bach Perspectives 8 (Champaign: University of Illinois Press: 2011), p. 38. commentary 269 lowing the strife, in glorious triumph/ he can speak), the libretto in Bach’s aria roots the victory over sin and death entirely in Scripture. For his Der Held aus Juda siegt mit Macht/ Und schließt den Kampf (The hero of Juda triumphs with power/ And concludes the conflict), the libretto draws on messianic imagery from Genesis 49.9–10:

Judah is a lion’s whelp; from the prey, my son, you have gone up. He crouches down, he stretches out like a lion, like a lioness—who dares rouse him up? The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor the sceptre from between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and the obedience of the peoples is his.

Bach’s Der Held aus Juda siegt mit Macht/ Und schließt den Kampf (The hero of Judah triumphs with power/ And concludes the conflict) follows the understanding, first articulated in Revelation 5.4, that the death of Christ on the cross completed the Messianic prophecies from the Hebrew Scriptures: ‘See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered’ (Revelation 5.4). Caspar Heunisch, a commentator on the book of Revelation whose work Bach owned, emphatically directly associates ‘the Lion/ who is from the tribe of Judah’ with the opening of the Ark of the Covenant, which marked the moment of reconciliation and ‘symbolised the LORD Christ himself’.290 Where Revelation and, commenting on it Heunisch, celebrated the victory of Christ, ‘the Lion of Judah’ over death and sin, Bach’s aria celebrates the cross. Certainly, the recurring Es ist vollbracht (It is accomplished) figures are centred on a cross-motif [bar 5 and repeats], making the link to the means of Christ’s victory explicit. Furthermore, by choosing the Messianic Prophecy from Genesis that the ‘Lion of Judah’ would triumph, the aria is able—in a roundabout way—to incorporate the cross even into the brief celebration of Christ’s victory. that was not to ‘depart from ( טכש ,The Hebrew word for the ‘sceptre’ (shevet Judah’ (Genesis 49.10), can also be translated as ‘cross’.291 In his Judaismus, Johann Müller reflected at length on the Genesis prophecy. Bach owned and

290 Heunisch (1684), p. 132: ‘Der Löwe/ der da ist vom Geschlecht Juda’; p. 136: ‘Die Bundes- Lade aber bedeutete den HERRN Christum selbst’. 291 For Bach’s schooling and his knowledge of Biblical languages, see: Loewe (2011), p. 143: ‘As a student at St Michael’s School Lüneburg, he certainly learnt New Testament Greek 270 chapter 8 may well have used the work [see the discussion on movement 18c, above], and thus may have been familiar with Müller’s refutation of the messianic theology of the Lusitanian Rabbi, Amatus Lusitano.292 Lusitano had used the Genesis prophecy in order to argue that the Messiah was yet to come: if the tribe of Judah still had to bear the ‘cross and misery’ of life in diaspora, then the Messiah clearly could not have come yet: the ‘sceptre of rule’ would only be taken up at the coming of the Messiah.293 Until such time, Rabbi Lusitano argued, shevet meant ‘cross’, Müller reports:

Rabbi Lusitanus says/ the little word shevet here did not mean scepter or rule/ but meant as much as … cross and misery/ a sceptre of tyranny … The misery of their exile shall not be removed from them/ until the arrival of the Lord’s Messiah. Since the cross and tyranny of their exile endures, they conclude that Messiah [sic] has not yet come.294

While Müller admits that Rabbi Lusitano’s reading is etymologically correct, he refutes his theological conclusion that the Messiah was yet to come.295 This aria, intriguingly, affirms both the reading of shevet as ‘cross’ and the coming of the Messiah: it is clear that in this aria, the Held aus Juda (hero of Judah) has arrived and conquered death by accepting the sceptre of the cross.

and may even have taken the optional Hebrew classes offered by the school’s deputy headmaster’. See also: Martin Petzoldt, ‘“Ut probus & doctus reddar”: Zum Anteil der Theologie bei der Schulausbildung Johann Sebastian Bachs in Eisenach, Ohrdruf und Lüneburg’, Bach- Jahrbuch (1985), pp. 7–42, p. 11. 292 For Amatus Lusitanus (1511–1568), see: Gershon Lewental, ‘Amatus Lusitanus (Amato Lusitano)’, Encyclopedia of Jews in the Islamic World, Norman A. Stillman, ed. (Leiden: Brill, 2010). 293 Müller (1643), p. 206: ‘Creutz vnd Trübsal’, p. 209: ‘Scepter vnd Regiment’. 294 Müller (1643), p. 206: ‘Rabbi Lusitanus in Colloq. Mittelb. p. 61, 71 [Colloquium Theo- logicum Rabbini Lusitani cum Theologos Christianos Abrahamo, Mittelburgi: MS Folio] saget/ das Wörtlein Schevet heisse allhier nicht Scepter vnd Regiment/ sondern bedeute so viel/ als einen Stecken oder Rute/ das ist/ Creutz vnd Trübsal/ ein Tyranisches Scepter/ sey demnach dieses die meynung Jacobs/ Es sol die Trübsal jhrer Gefängnüß von jhnen nit genomen warden/ biß daß des HErn Messias komme. Nun aber bleibe das Creutz vnd die Trübsal jhrer Gefängnüß noch jmmer zu: daraus sie schliessen/ daß Messias noch nicht kommen sey.’ 295 Müller (1643), p. 206: ‘It is not denied/ that in Scripture shevet can, from time to time, mean punishment or misery’ (Nicht geleugnet wird/ daß Scheveth bißweilen in der Schrift Straffe oder Trübsal bedeute). commentary 271

The aria falls into two distinctive parts. First, an intimate and introspective setting for viola da gamba and continuo senza Bassono grosso—without chamber organ and contrabassoon—that gives voice to a mournful reflection on the death of Jesus [bars 1–19]. Second, a triumphant celebration of the victory of the cross in which a full string and continuo section, including organ and contrabassoon, join the viola da gamba and the solo voice [bars 20–40]. The fact that the plaintive viola da gamba joins forces with the remaining strings in the triumphant vivace (lively) section may well be a reflection in music on the theological insight that the ‘sceptre’ of the conquering hero is a cross, and that it is in his größte Niedrigkeit (deepest lowliness) that the Son of God has been glorified [see the discussion on movement 1, bars 58b–95]. It may also suggest that the death on the cross is the moment of life.

[bars 1–19]: The combination of a molt’ andante (moderately slow) tempo and intimate string setting of viola da gamba, complemented by a violone continuo rather than a chamber organ, offers a reflective musical framework for the alto soloist’s mournful contemplation of the dying Jesus. In Baroque musical allegory the alto voice was equated with the Holy Spirit: the choice of the solo voice is very likely a reflection on Jesus’ giving up his spirit, an act that, in John’s Gospel, finds its parallel in Jesus’ second resurrection appearance, at which he ‘breathed on [his disciples] and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit”’ (John 20.22).296 The Es ist vollbracht (It is accomplished) pattern opens and closes the movement and is repeated throughout. It imitates the final words of the previous movement, simply a major sixth higher [movement 29, bar 13–14]. Another frequent device in this aria is the use of melismas to reference human brokenness [see the discussion on movement 10]. In the St John Passion Bach rarely uses melismas: there is no other movement in which this device is used more frequently than here. In this aria, melismas highlight important themes: the death of Christ has vollbracht (accomplished) [bar 5 and repeats] the work of salvation, bringing Trost (consolation) [bar 6] for injured Seelen (souls) [bar 9], all of which are marked by melismas. Similarly, the hope that the Trauernacht (night of mourning) [bar 12] may be broken, and a new day would dawn, when night will count its last hour (zählen) [bar 15 and repeats] and the dawn of resurrection will shine forth its light, are also marked by melismas. When contemplating the broken Saviour on the cross, there is still reason for hope: even the Trauernacht (night of mourning), with its sustained monotone

296 Saubert (1625), 3r, ‘Suavissima Musica Christo: Aller Christen nothwendige Musik’: altus. (Figure 11). 272 chapter 8

figure 11 Johann Saubert, DYODEKAS emblematum sacrorum (1625): The alto voice as an expression of the Holy Spirit commentary 273

on the lowest note of the opening molt’ adagio section [bars 13–14] and its cross-motif [bar 16], will come to an end: just as Jesus’ hour has come for him to be glorified by his death on the cross (John 12.23), so the hour has come for the Trauernacht (night of mourning) to come to an end.

[bars 20–40]: The vivace (lively) section heralds the victor whose rule is established on a cross. Joined by upper strings, and full continuo con bassono grosso (with contrabassoon) Bach introduces a jubilant call to arms [bar 40]. Der Held aus Juda (The hero of Juda) is a triumphant victor, whose appellation functions as a clarion call which is taken up by the entire string section [bar 22–25 and 32–34]. Where in the opening molt’ adagio section melismas indicated the human brokenness both of the victor and his followers, the exul- tant coloraturas on Kampf (battle) [bars 26–31] and Macht (power) [bars 36–37] leave no doubt that the battle, ultimately, has been won and is now closed.

[bars 41–44]: A retardation to adagio, and a return to the reduced musical forces of the opening molt’ adagio section re-introduce the Es ist vollbracht (It is accomplished) figure [bar 40]. At the end of the movement, the soloist echoes the last words of the dying Jesus, transposed a forth higher, that now all has been accomplished. Unlike the vivace section, which afforded a glimpse of vivid resurrection light during the three-hour eclipse of Good Friday, there is now no longer any hint of new life, simply the overcoming of death by death.

31. Recitativo Recitative—Evangelist (tenor), continuo

Evangelist Evangelist Johannes 19,30b Und neiget das Haupt John 19.30b And bowed the head und verschied. and died.

John 19.30b [bars 1–2]: Following the triumphant representation of the battle for salvation in the previous aria, this sober two-bar movement merely confirms the death of the crucified. Unlike the accounts in Matthew’s Passion where Jesus ‘cried with a loud voice and breathed his last’ (Matthew 27.51), or Luke’s where Jesus commends his spirit to God at the moment of his death (Luke 23.46), here he merely neiget das Haupt (bows the head) and dies. Bach traces the bowing of Jesus’ head in death by a gentle downward movement in the evangelist’s melodic line [bar 1]. Although he has in fact bowed his head, in 274 chapter 8

music Jesus dies with his head held high: the d on Haupt is the highest note in the movement, providing possibly a musical illustration of Olearius’ claim that ‘the Lord of death dies of his own free will, when and how he pleases’.297 The report of Jesus’ actual death, und verschied (and died) [bar 1], uses the same melodic material as the concluding words of the two preceding movements, es ist vollbracht (it is accomplished).

32. Aria e Coro Bass Aria and Chorale—(Violin I with Sopranos; Violin II with Altos; Viola with Tenors)

Mein teurer Heiland, laß dich fragen, My dear Saviour, let me ask you Jesu, der du warest tot, Jesu, you who were dead, Da du nunmehr ans Kreuz geschlagen There you are now stricken on the Cross Und selbst gesagt: Es ist vollbracht, And you said yourself: it is accomplished! Lebest nun ohn Ende, Live now without end, Bin ich vom Sterben frei gemacht? Have I been set free from dying? In der letzten Todesnot In the last adversity of death Nirgend mich hinwende I turn towards nowehere Kann ich durch deine Pein und Sterben Can I through your agony and dying Das Himmelreich ererben? The Kingdom of Heaven inherit? Ist aller Welt Erlösung da? Is all the world’s redemption there? Als zu dir, der mich versühnt, As to you, who reconciles me, O du lieber Herre! O you beloved Lord! Du kannst vor Schmerzen zwar nichts sagen; In fact you cannot speak for the pains Gib mir nur, was du verdient, Give me only what you deserved, Doch neigest du das Haupt Indeed you bow your head Und sprichst stillschweigend: ja. And speak tacitly: yes. Mehr ich nicht begehre! More I do not desire!

Bass Aria, Brockes Passion: The libretto adapts a dialogue between Tochter Zion (Daughter Zion) and the gläubige Seele (believing soul) from the Brockes Passion for the second part [bars 20–43] of his reflection on the completion of Christ’s work on the cross. Again, the libretto substantially changes Brockes’ lyrics, and also adds a new couplet to introduce the altered Brockes’ poem:

Tochter Zion Daughter Zion Kan ich durch deine Quaal und Sterben Can I through your agony and dying Nunmehr das Paradies ererben? Now inherit Paradise? Ist aller Welt Erlösung nah? Is all the world’s redemption there?

297 HS 5: 789: ‘Der HERR des Todes stirbt freywillig/ wenn und wie es ihm gefällt’. commentary 275

Gläubige Seele: Believing soul Dieß sind der Tochter Zion Fragen. These are the questions of Daughter Zion. Weil Jesus nun nichts kan, für Schmerzen, sagen; Because Jesus now nothing can, for pains, say So neiget Er Sein Haupt so he bows he head und winket and waves Ja. Yes.

The changes to Brockes’ poetry are as much theological as they are practical: they render Brockes’ libretto more singable by rendering the clumsy Weil Jesus nun nichts kan, für Schmerzen, sagen (Because Jesus now nothing can, for pains, say) with Du kannst vor Schmerzen zwar nichts sagen (lit.: You can for pains in fact nothing say) [bars 30–34], and as in movement 24, scraps the distinction between Tochter Zion (Daughter Zion) and gläubige Seele (believing soul). For Bach and his collaborators, this aria is no longer a dialogue between the representative of the people of God and a disembodied believing soul as it was for Brockes. Instead, this aria is about full human beings with bodies that can die and feel pain, and not, as in Brockes’ libretto, their souls alone. It reflects on the coming of God’s kingdom from heaven to earth, embodies God’s kingdom in the lives of real believers, a theological change that is marked by Bach’s allocating the aria to a robust Bass voice accompanied by a full string orchestra, rather than the plaintive Soprano accompanied by gamba continuo as in Handel’s setting of Brockes’ text [HW 48]. Finally, where Brockes concentrated on the question on whether Paradise could be regained, Bach’s aria clearly points to the hope that through Jesus’ death on the cross believers can hope to live in God’s presence forever. By the completion of the events of the cross, God’s kingdom has become close to earth, and life eternal has become a hope for all those who believe in the power of the cross. In order to provide a frame for these important textual changes, Bach’s unknown librettist supplied a new couplet to introduce the edited Brockes text which emphasises his belief in Jesus as teurerHeiland (dear Saviour) who can set individuals free from death (vom Sterben frei gemacht). Textually and musically, this aria and chorale form a companion piece to Eilt, ihr angefocht’nen Seelen (Hurry you troubled souls) [movement 24]. For Bach, the prefect movement marks the completion of the souls’ agonised journey to the foot of the cross where, surveying the broken body on the cross, the souls’ hope of life eternal is confirmed. This completion is expressed musically by providing a bass line as a musical foundation, added to the ‘disembodied’ upper three choir voices (standing in for souls) in movement 24. Where in Eilt, ihr angefocht’nen Seelen (Hurry, you troubled souls) only the upper voices accompanied the bass obbligato, here a full four-part choir joins the soloist. 276 chapter 8

Where in Eilt, ihr angefocht’nen Seelen the three upper voices interrupted the obbligato with their repeated demands for direction, Wohin? (Where to?), here the roles are reversed: the soloists asks while the four voices provide an answer by way of a Lutheran chorale exemplifying the certainty of faith of the believer. Finally, where Eilt, ihr angefocht’nen Seelen was set in G minor, the Baroque key associated with tragedy and sadness, this aria and chorale are set in compound quadruple time and in D major, the Baroque ‘key of glory’.

Broken Chorale: Verse 34, Jesu Leiden, Pein und Tod: The three uses of Paul Stockmann’s Jesu Leiden, Pein und Tod (Jesus’ suffering, death and pain) in the Passion introduce specific petitions: here, in the final section, the hearer is enjoined to turn to Christ in order to share in his death and ressurection [see also movements 14 and 28]. The final three verses of Stockmann’s Jesu Leiden,PeinundTod, break the two-couplet pattern of narrative and application that characterised the remainder of the hymn. In 1714 Bach had used the penultimate verse, Jesu, deine Passion/ ist mir lauter Freude, to conclude his Palm Sunday Cantata Himmelskönig, sei Willkommen [BWV 185].298 This verse leads beyond the cross and grave, to heaven.299 Bach uses it to comment on the point of completion at the end of John’s crucifixion narrative: ‘and bowed his head, and died’ (John 19.30b). The chorale is a prayer addressed to the risen Christ, the Jesus, der du warest tot (Jesus, you who were dead) and who lebest nun ohne Ende (live now without end): the believers confess their confidence in the power of Christ’s reconciling power, turning nirgend (nowhere) als zu dir, der mich versühnt (as to you, who reconciles me), the believer’s lieber Herre (beloved Lord). The prayer concludes with the prayer- ful desire to be given a share in the merits Christ has gained, gib mir nur, was du verdient (give me only what you deserved), and so to be justified. Christ’s Verdienst (merit) is both the believers’ highest good and their greatest need: mehr ich nicht begehre! (more I do not desire), their prayer concludes confidently.

Aria and Chorale: Together, chorale and aria provide a powerful theological response to the Johannine sense of completion expressed in the preceding two movements. They give voice to the hope of resurrection: both the imma- nent resurrection of Christ and, through him, the general resurrection of all believers. While Bach’s elaborate ornamentations in the solo part on ans Kreuz

298 Stockmann (1641), A viiv. 299 Stockmann (1641), A viijr. commentary 277 geschlagen (you are now stricken on the cross) [bars 9–10], ererben (inherit) [bar 23], Erlösung (redemption) [bars 25–28], Schmerzen (pains) [bars 31–33] and neigest du das Haupt (you bow your head) [bars 38–39] provide first musical pointers, the movement’s key messages are conveyed in the carefully constructed questions and answers between soloist and choir. This movement is defined by significant questions and answers, and Bach’s music makes that clear: the opening ritornello [bars 1–2] mimics the raising of the human voice at the end of a question. Morever, the bass soloist’s opening Mein teurer Hei- land (My dear Saviour) [bar 3] might, with some imagination, be thought of as resembling a question mark that has been placed horizontally in the score. The first couplet of Bach’s aria reveals the multi-focussed persectives of the movement. The bass obbligato reflects on the events in time from the perspective of Golgotha: Jesus has died and all is accomplished, as he himself has said (und selbst gesagt; Es ist vollbracht) [bars 11–12]. However, the choir’s chorale, sung above the bass obbligato, offers a different reading of the same events in eternity and from the perspective of heaven: Jesus now lives forever (lebest ohne Ende) [bars 11–12]. Through a series of questions and responses the heavenly perspective informs the earthly until, at the end of the movement, the two view-points merge to enable soloist and choir to articulate one shared hope of life in God’s presence and according to God’s purpose. The bass soloist voices a trinity of existential human questions: Bin ich vom Sterben frei gemacht? (Have I been set free from dying?) [bars 14–19], Kann ich durch deine Pein und Sterben/ Das Himmelreich ererben? (Can I through your agony and dying/ the Kingdom of Heaven inherit?) [bars 20–23], Ist aller Welt Erlösung da? (Is all the world’s redemption there?) [bars 24–29]. Bach does not employ another solo voice to answer these fundamental questions, as he would later in the Christmas Oratorio’s famous echo aria [BWV 248/4, 4]. Rather, the soloist’s trinity of questions are first answered by the choir alone: der mich versühnt (who reconciles me) [bar 27], and O du lieber Herre (O you beloved Lord) [bars 29–30]. Later, the voices of soloist and choir are combined to provide an answer: Ja! Mehr ich nicht begehre! (Yes! More I do not desire!) [bars 37–38]. Finally the questioner himself answers his own questions by a threefold resounding Ja declaimed by the soloist [bars 40–43]. The overall effect is one of conversion: by allowing the perspective of eternity to illuminate the present reality, the questioner is brought to firm belief and, like Jesus on the cross, submits to the will of God. The following scheme gives a brief overview of the carefully layered dia- logues between solo voice and choir in framing and answering these questions of conversion: 278 chapter 8

[Bars 14–19:] Bin ich vom Sterben frei Have I been set free from gemacht? dying? [Bars 17–18:] In der letzten Todesnot In the last misery of death [Bars 20–22:] nirgend mich hinwende. I turn towards nowhere. [Bars 20–23:] Kann ich … das Himmelreich Can I … the Kingdom of ererben? Heaven inherit? [Bars 24–29:] Ist aller Welt Erlösung da? Is all the world’s redemption there? [Bars 26–28:] Als zu Dir, der mich As to you, who reconciles versühnt, me, [Bars 29–30:] O du lieber Herre. O you beloved Lord. [Bars 36–38:] Du … sprichst You … say, tacitly: Yes. stillschweigend: Ja. [Bars 37–38:] Mehr ich nicht begehre! More I do not desire!

Bach’s carefully composed sound picture paints the moment when heaven and earth have come together: Jesus once was dead, but now reigns and rules at God’s right hand in heaven [bars 4–6, 11–12]. He is a Saviour whom the faithful can readily approach, even at the time of their own deaths [bars 17–18, 20–22]. Believers can establish a relationship of love with this redeemer and hold him dear [bar 29]. His suffering and death have opened heaven to all and granted humans their greatest desire: the possibility of life in God’s presence forever [bars 37–38]. At the foot of the cross, contemplating the dying Jesus, the bystanders come to realise that it is true that Jesus’ death has brought about their own salvation and the salvation of the entire cosmos [bars 24–28], and are converted. While the Saviour’s voice has been silenced by death [bars 30–34], he affirms their questions and grants their desires silently, by bowing his head. This affirmation from the cross invites the believers to make their own response of assent to God’s purposes, which they make resolutely and with joy, and in a single voice: Ja! Mehr ich nicht begehre! (Yes! More I do not desire!) [bars 37–38].

33. Recitativo Recitative—Evangelist (tenor), continuo

Evangelist Evangelist Matthäus 27,51 Und siehe da, der Vorhang Matthew 27.51 And behold there, the curtain im Tempel zerriß in zwei Stück in the temple was torn in two strips, von oben an bis unten aus. from top to bottom. Und die Erde erbebete, und die Felsen zerrissen, And the earth quaked, and the rocks were torn, commentary 279

27,52 und die Gräber täten sich auf, 27.52 and the tombs opened up, und stunden auf viel Leiber der Heiligen. and many of the bodies of the saints arose.

Matthew 27.51 [bars 1–3]: Here, the libretto borrows two verses from Matthew’s Passion story to illustrate the response of the universe to the death of Jesus: the fruits of the Passion are shown forth as Christ is addressed, zeig uns durch deine Passion (show us through your Passion) [movement 1] that the world is changed forever. What for John has been summed up in three simple words es ist vollbracht (it is accomplished) [see movements 29 and 30], for Matthew is reflected in a spectacle and in spectacular ruptures in nature. The temple curtain in front of the Holy of Holies, place of the Ark of the Covenant and the Tablets of the Law, a visible reminder of the separation of sacred and profane, is torn in two. Through the death of Christ, this barrier between God and humankind is removed: ‘the Holy of Holies is opened … and Heaven is opened to all, to approach the throne of grace’.300 Caspar Heunisch, a Lutheran theologian whose work Bach owned, elaborates:

This Temple/ the Holy of Holies/ has been opened/ once and for ever by the bloody offering of Christ on the Cross/ when the curtain in the Jerusalem Temple was torn apart/ so that the Ark of the Covenant was revealed … But the Ark of the Covenant symbolised the LORD Christ himself.301

The libretto had made a similar connection, through using the same word, Stück (strip, piece), to describe both the pieces of the torn curtain and Jesus’ bloody back after the flogging in movement 20, in allen Stücken dem Himmel gleiche geht (in each strip goes equally, or straight, to heaven). The tearing of the Temple curtain is musically represented by a downward melodic line on oben an bis unten aus (top to bottom) [bar 3]. The descending demisemiquaver continuo line seamlessly leads into a musical representation of the earthquake that accompanied the death of Jesus [bars 4–5].302

300 HS 5: 260: ‘Das allerheiligste eröffnet/ … und der Himmel iedermann offen zu dem Gnaden-Thron’. 301 Heunisch (1684), p. 136: ‘Dieser Tempel/ das Allerheiligste/ ist aufgethan worden/ ein mal durch Christi blutiges Creutz-Opffer/ da der Vorhang im Tempel zu Jerusalem mitten voneinander gerissen/ daß die Bundes-Lade hat können gesehen werden/ … Die Bundes- Lade aber bedeutete den HERRN Christum selbst’. 302 Josephus reports an earthquake in War 1: 370: ‘In the early spring [of 31ce] an earthquake destroyed cattle innumerable and 30,000 souls’, adding in Ant. 15: 121: ‘There was an 280 chapter 8

In many ways this movement is a dress-rehearsal for its more dramatic counterpart in the St Matthew Passion [BWV 244, movement 63a], though both draw on the same musical imagery: the tearing of the tombs, Gräber täten sich auf [bar 5] and the resurrection of the saints in anticipation of Christ’s resurrection three days later, stunden auf viel Leiber der Heiligen [bars 6–7], both use upward melodic scales to represent the breaking open of the earth and the rising of the dead. The longer counterpart in the ‘Great Passion’ does the same on a much grander scale.303

34. Arioso Tenor Arioso—Flutes I/II, Oboe da caccia I/II, Violins I/II, Viola, Organ, Continuo

Mein Herz, in dem die ganze Welt My heart, in whom the whole world Bei Jesu Leiden gleichfalls leidet, With Jesus’ suffering equally suffers, Die Sonne sich in Trauer kleidet, The sun dresses herself in mourning Der Vorhang reißt, der Fels zerfällt, The curtain tears, the rocks crumble Die Erde bebt, die Gräber spalten, The earth quakes, the graves split Weil sie den Schöpfer sehn erkalten, Because they see the Creator grow cold Was willst du deines Ortes tun? What will do in your own place?

Unknown librettist: This brief arioso invites reflection on the powerful response by nature—the solar eclipse, tearing of the Temple Curtain and earthquake—that accompanied Jesus’ death in Matthew’s account of the death of Jesus (Matthew 27.51). The entire creation responds to the death of the Creator, weil sie den Schöpfer sehn erkalten (because they see the Creator grow cold). The Schöpfer (Creator) is, in this case, the creative Word of the Father made flesh, Jesus. His death invites the librettist’s own heart, and that of his listeners, to make a response themselves: was willst du deines Ortes tun? (what will you do in your place?) In this appeal, the movement closely follows the intent and imagery of the late-sixteenth-century Passion devotions of Martin Moller, who also supplies a Lutheran response to Jesus’ death:

earthquake in Judea such as had not been seen before’; Jefferson B. Williams, Markus J. Schwab and A. Brauer, ‘An early first-century earthquake in the Dead Sea’, International Geology Review 54.10 (2011), pp. 1219–1228, provide geological evidence for a large-scale seismic event in the timeframe. Whether the event actually took place at the time of the crucifixion or whether Matthew deliberately redacted earlier accounts of the crucifixion to include the earthquake is uncertain. 303 For a close-reading of the relevant movements from the St Matthew Passion, see: Loewe (2011), pp. 168–170. commentary 281

Then/ dear soul/ marvel at this miracle/ and take to heart the death of your Lord. The sun divests itself of its bright beam/ why then do you not lay down your hypocrisy and false glory? The Temple Curtain is torn/ why then do you not tear up the veil of unbelief and incomprehension/ that is in front of the eyes of your heart? The earth quakes/ although it is firmly established/ why then does your heart not quake also/ and is terrified at the weight of your sins/ that the righteous Son of God has to carry? The hard rocks break open/ why then does your heart not break open, either/ and is opened to/ admit the power of the blood of Christ? The graves open/ so that the dead may be awakened/ Why then will your own heart not awaken/ which is dead because of sin? O dear soul/ beat your own breast with genuine remorse/ and turn away from your evil life.304

As in the previous movement, Bach’s representation in music of the trembling human heart, the solar eclipse, the rending of the Temple Curtain, and earthquake may seem somewhat subdued when compared with its much more dramatic counterpart in the St Matthew Passion [BWV 244, movement 63a]. Yet, at the time of its first performance, the musical imagery employed in this arioso would have sounded theatrical: ‘music that now seems archetypically traditional was therefore actually associated with innovation and secular music, in many eyes dubious qualities for the religious sphere’.305 Eight years after the first performance of the work Christian Gerber reported a reaction to such musical innovations in church music: ‘An old widow of the nobility said, “God

304 Moller (1587), p. 238v–239r: ‘Also/ liebe Seele/ entsetze du dich auch für diesen Wunderzei- chen/ vnd laß dir den Todt deines HERRN zu Hertzen gehen. Die Sonne verhekt jhren hellen Schein/ Warumb legestu auch nicht abe deine heucheley vnd falschen Schein? Der Vorhang im Tempel zureisset/ Warumb zurreisset nicht auch die Decke deines Vnglau- bens vnd Vnuerstandes/ die vor den Augen deines Hertzen henget? Die Erde erbebet/ welche feste gegründet ist/ Warumb erzittert nicht auch dein Hertze/ vnd erschrickt für der Laßt deiner Sünden/ welche der gerechte Son Gottes tragen muß? Die harten Felsen zuspringen/ Warumb zurspringet nicht auch dein Hertze/ vnd thut sich auff/ das die Krafft des Blutes Christi hinein kan? Die Gräber thun sich auff/ das die Todten erwachen/ Warumb wil denn dein Hertze nicht erwachen/ welches Todt ist in Sünden? O liebe Seel/ schlag auch an deine Brust mit gantzem ernst/ vnd wende wider umb aus deinem bösen Leben’. 305 Kevorkian (2007), p. 39: Many of the citizens of Leipzig would have been familiar with opera and, because Bach’s tenure in Leipzig began after the closure of the Opera House in 1720, which had been set up in 1693 to provide performances during the Leipzig trade fair, ‘the churches became more important places to mingle and hear music’. 282 chapter 8 save us, my children! It is just as if one were at an Opera Comedy”.’306 The intent is, however, not comedy but cathartic tragedy: Jesus is dead, and the entire cosmos mourns his death. The movement opens with a demisemiquaver unison string-figure which, in combination with the tenor soloist’s exclamation mein Herz (my heart), here provides an allusion to Moller’s ‘heart-quake’ [bars 1]. The string-figure establishes a musical framework for the remainder of the movement: it is used to represent the solar eclipse [bar 5] and, in slightly variations suited to each of the mirculous natural events that accompanied the death of Christ, to symbolise the rending of the Temple Curtain, der Vorhang reißt, and splitting of rocks, der Fels zerfällt [bar 5], as well as the earthquake, die Erde bebt, and the opening of graves, die Gräber spalten [bars 6–7]. The cross-motif on der Vorhang reißt (the curtain tears) parallels Olearius’ observation that, through the cross, ‘the Holy of Holies is opened … and Heaven opened for everyone to access the throne of grace’.307 Likewise, the cross-motif on der Fels zerfällt (the rocks crumble) [bars 5–6] may well be a reference to Olearius’ observation that the crumbling rocks were ‘a sign of grace/ that stony hearts should be broken open … and become converted/ because innocence and the divine majesty of Christ have conquered’ in the events of the cross.308 The Pietist Johann Arndt, whose work Bach also owned, certainly shared the same insight:

The cleft rocks teach us to allow the shameful, bitter death of Christ to tear open our hearts and break down our hardness and pride, for if a rock is torn open, then surely our hearts can be moved as well.309

306 NBR no. 324, Christian Gerber, Geschichte der Kirchen Ceremonien in Sachsen (Dresden: Saueressig, 1732), p. 283: ‘Eine alte Adeliche Wittwe sagte: “Gott behüte, ihr Kinder! Ist es doch, als ob man in einer Opera-Comödie ware”.’ As a staunch Pietist, Gerber was biased against Lutheran Orthodox practise, but a negative reaction of some citizens to the use of dramatic music in Leipzig’s churches nevertheless prevailed, see: Kevorkian (2007), pp. 131–133. 307 HS 5: 206: ‘Das allerheiligste [ist] eröffnet/ Hebr. C. 9. C. 7 und der Himmel iedermann offen zu dem Gnaden-Thron’. 308 HS 5: 261: ‘Ein Gnaden-Zeichen/ daß die steinernen Herzen zermalmet Jer. Cap. 23 und bekehret werden solten/ weil sie die Unschuld und göttliche Majestät Christi den Sieg erhalten’. 309 Arndt (1616), p. 605: ‘Lehren uns die Felsen-Klüffte, daß wir den schmählichen bittern Tod Christi sollen lassen unsere steinerne Hertzen zureissn und zuknirschen, daß wir doch nicht so hart und grob seyn, daß ehe ein Felsen zurreusset, dann unsere Hertzen können bewogen werden’. commentary 283

A retardation to adagio introduces a different, more instrospective, mood to introduce the challenge to individual believers, Was willst du deines Ortes tun? (What will do in your place?) [bar 8]. Dürr suggests that the believers’ assent to the charge to open their hearts in response to the death of Christ on the cross, is represented in music in the penultimate bar by ‘a sigh and Bebung (bow vibrato figure) as an answer of the Christian’s response to these events’.310 The following aria further develops the theme of the believers’ response to the death of Jesus.

35. Aria Soprano Aria—Flutes I/II, Oboe da caccia I/II, Organ, Continuo

Zerfließe, mein Herze, in Fluten der Zähren Melt, my heart, in floods of brine Dem Höchsten zu Ehren! The Highest to honour! Erzähle der Welt und dem Himmel die Not: Tell the world and heaven the misery: Dein Jesus ist tot! Your Jesus is dead!

Variant of Brockes Passion, p. 391: For the final time in the Passion, the libretto adapts a poem from the Brockes Passion, in which the Gläubige Seele (believing soul) mourns the death of Jesus:

Was thust denn du mein Herz? What then will you do my heart? Ersticke, Gott zu Ehren, Choke, to honour God, In einer Sündflut bittrer Zähren. In a sin-flood of bitter brine.

Where in previous adapations, the libretto maintained much of Brockes’ poetry, though with significant alterations to suit the new context, here only a few elements of the original poem survive. Placing the Fluten Zähren (floods of brine) at the beginning, rather than the conclusion of the poem, enables the musical depiction of tears throughout the movement and revises Brockes’ somewhat flawed theology: following the death of Christ there is no more need for a Sünd- flut (sin-flood), rather, the New Covenant has already been inaugurated on the cross. Similarly the strange and excessively physical imagery of ersticke, Gott zu Ehren (choke, to honour God) is replaced with the evocative image of a melting heart. The change of text also creates greater continuity with the previous arioso, which also called on the human Herz (heart) to respond to the death of the Creator. Here, the human heart’s response is shown in the proclamation of

310 Dürr (2000), p. 92. 284 chapter 8 the sense of loss that the death of Jesus has brought about, telling der Welt und dem Himmel die Not (the world and heaven the misery) by its fervent Fluten der Tränen (floods of brine). Bach scored the movement for four solo voices—the soprano, solo oboe da caccia (hunting oboe), solo flute and continuo—to create an introspective setting for this final appeal to the human heart to turn to Christ, and melt in response to his death. The reduced forces give full expression to the plaintive sound of the oboe da caccia and flute which, in turn, is echoed in the melodic line. In this elegaic setting, the soprano soloist gives expression to the contrition of the believer. It has been noted above [movement 9, bars 44–112] that in Baroque musical allegory, the soprano voice symbolised human life and the prayers of the individual believers. The choice of register is therefore a deliberate expression of the believers’ repentant ‘prayer/ ascending to God like the descant’.311 Bach’s word-setting reinforces the mournful mood, the demisemiquaver and semiquaver patterns on zerfließe (melt) [bar 17 and repeats] and Fluten der Zähren (floods of brine) paints a dynamic musical image of the melting heart, with the continuo line adding a regular heartbeat- like pattern [bars 1–9 and seq.]. God, who hears the believers’ prayers and accepts the floods of remorseful tears, dwells above: the Highest (Höchste) is expressed either by sustained high notes [bars 33–36] or ascending lines throughout the movement [bars 47 and 123]. The composer similarly contrasts Welt (world) and Himmel (Heaven) [bars 59–61]. Both in John’s Gospel narrative and in Bach’s musical cosmos the world is below and heaven above. As John had suggested earlier in his Gospel, ‘The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks about earthly things. The one who comes from heaven is above all’ (John 3.31). Though above all the earth and all earthly desires, heaven is also a place where the believers’ contrite prayers are heard and accepted by the Highest, a concept Bach realises by replicating the zerfließe- pattern on Höchsten (Highest) [bar 47] and Himmel (heaven) [bar 61 and 65]. In the end, even though the believers’ contrite response to the death of Jesus has been accepted by God in heaven, there remains genuine sorrow and Not (misery). As in previous movements [movement 9, bar 156; movement 19, bar 15; movement 21c, bar 26; movement 23g, bar 80; movement 29, bar 14 and movement 30], Bach uses the melisma to indicate brokenness: the death of

311 Saubert (1625), 3r, ‘Suavissima Musica Christo: Aller Christen nothwendige Musik’: ‘Das Gebet/ wie ein Discant auffsteiget’ (Figure 11). commentary 285

Jesus and the believers’ sorrow honours (Ehren) the Highest [bars 48–49], yet the misery (Not) [bars 62 and 66] of the loss of Jesus [bar 67] is genuine and real. The extended melismas on tot (dead) [bars 73, 80–83 and 88] reinforce the message of the entire Passion that the reconciliation of the believer with their Creator has been brought about by the self-giving of Jesus on the cross. In the light of this insight, the believers’ floods of tears (Fluten der Zähren) to honour (Ehren) this sacrifice is the only possible human response, a point that is reinforced in the aria’s theological counterpart in the St Matthew Passion: Erbarme dich, mein Gott, um meiner Zähren willen! (Have mercy on me, O God, for the sake of my brine!) [BWV 244, movement 39].

36. Recitativo Recitative—Evangelist (tenor), continuo

Evangelist Evangelist Johannes 19,31 Die Jüden aber, dieweil es John 19.31 But the Jews, because it was der Rüsttag war, daß nicht die Leichname the Day of Preparation, that the corpses am Kreuze blieben den Sabbath über would not stay on the crosses over the Sabbath (denn desselbigen Sabbaths Tag (since that particular Sabbath Day was very war sehr groß), baten sie Pilatum, daß ihre important), they petitioned Pilate, that their Beine gebrochen und sie abgenommen würden. legs would be broken and they would be taken down.

19,36 Denn solches ist geschehen, auf daß 19.36 Then such things were done so that die Schrift erfüllet würde: Ihr sollet ihm kein the Scripture would be fulfilled: They shall not Bein zerbrechen. break any of his bones. 286 chapter 8

19,37 Und abermal spricht eine andere Schrift: 19.37 And but again another Scripture says: Sie werden sehen, in welchen sie gestochen haben. They will behold, whom they have stabbed.

John 19.31–32 [bars 1–11]: The longest recitative of the Passion tells how the religious authorities ask Pilate to remove the bodies of Jesus, and the two criminals who were crucified with him. As in most movements in the Passion, die Jüden (the Jews) here refers to the religious hierarchy who had brought Jesus to trial. As in movement 25b, they send a delegation to Pilate to ask him to remove the bodies. Olearius points out that ordinarily ‘the Romans would have had no regard [for the crucified]/ and let the dead rot on the cross’.312 John indicates the reason for the chief priests’ petition, denn desselbigen Sabbaths Tag war sehr groß (since that particular Sabbath day was very important): the religious authorities did not wish for the bodies to remain on the cross during the Passover festivities. Luther adds this explanation: ‘It was a Jewish manner and custom—not only a custom, in fact, but also God’s commandment—not to leave crucified or hanged dead bodies … unburied after sunset’.313 Bach sets John’s parenthetical text in bars 4–5 as an aside to the contemporary audience, piano (quietly). Their request to have the bones of the three crucified men broken to speed up their death, and to have their bodies removed is marked forte (strong, loud), perhaps suggesting a forceful request, perhaps marking the violence of the act [bar 6]. Olearius suggests that the bones to be broken are thigh-bones (Schnenkel) based on his reading of Pliny.314 The breaking of bones is highlighted by a tritone on die Beine (the bones) in the melodic line, thus marking it as a moment of both extreme pain and cruelty. The request for deposition from the cross, on abgenommen (taken down), is based on one of the last cross- motifs in the Passion [bar 8]. From now onwards, Bach uses the cross-motif very sparingly, and increasingly references the place of crucifixion by a sharp key- signature, in German, Kreuz (cross), in the score: when Pilate sends a group of soldiers to the place of crucifixion to break the bones of the two men who ‘had

312 HS 5: 789: ‘Die Römer achtens gar nicht/ die liessen auch wol die Todten am Creutz verfaulen’. 313 WA 28: 407, 8–14, CB 3: 948: ‘BEy den Jüden war die Weise und gewonheit, ja nicht allein gewonheit, Sondern auch Gottes gebot, das der gecreutzigten oder gehenckten tode Leichnam … nicht … unbegraben blieben bis zu Nidergang der Sonnen’. 314 HS 5: 790: ‘The breaking of bones stabs the nerve, leading to lethal convulsions and deadly tremors’ (Der Bein-Bruch die Nerven sticht/ … Woraus convulsiones lethales, und tödliches Zucken entstehet), Olearius claims, citing Pliny. In reality, the broken thigh-bone makes the upper body and the lungs collapse, leading to death by asphyxiation. commentary 287 been crucified with him’ (mit ihm gekreuziget war), for instance, Bach marks [ge-]kreuziget (crucified) with a sharp [bar 11].

John 19.32–34 [bars 12–19]: Having ascertained that Jesus was indeed already dead, schon gestorben war, the soldiers decide not to break Jesus’ bones. A descending scale on schon gestor-[ben] (already died) [bar 14] points to the impending deposition (taking down from the cross) of the dead body. Instead of breaking Jesus’ bones, therefore, one of the soldiers opens his side with a spear. The upward thrust of the spear is set by Bach by an octave leap in the evangelist’s line on Eröffnete (opened) [bar 16]. A tritone puts emphasis on the cruelty and rupture of the piercing of [sei-]ne Seite (his side). The withdrawal of the spear is reflected in music by a descending fifth, immediately followed by a dissonant minor sixth on einem Speer (a spear) [bar 17]. Blood and water flowed from the broken side: again Bach uses a melisma, on heraus (out), to suggest brokenness [bars 18–19, see the discussion above, movement 10 and 35]. Water and blood are not only the signs of the two Lutheran sacraments, ‘this powerful water, the dear Baptism, and the holy Sacrament of his body and blood, the medicine of our soul and refreshment’, but had further theological significance for Luther and his followers.315 The reformer explains that:

The blood that flowed forth from the side of the Lord Jesus is the treasure of our salvation, the price and satisfaction for our sin. … The same blood represents us before God and cries without ceasing to God: Grace, forgive, forgive. … It obtains for us God’s grace, forgiveness of sins, righteousness and salvation.316

John 19.35–37 [bars 19–30]: The eye-witness to this miracle, der das gesehen hat, der hat es bezeuget (he who saw that, he has testified), is a rare reference to the writer of the Fourth Gospel himself: his testimony has the character of an oath and, in contrast to the testimony of the two false witnesses in Matthew’s account of the Passion [BWV 244, movement 33], his testimony is true (wahr). The evangelist’s witness to the truth of the events of the cross, because he

315 WA 28: 413, 19–24: 316 WA 28: 410, 9–26, CB 3: 950: ‘Das blut, so aus des HErrn Jhesu Seiten fleusst, ist der Schatz unser Erlösung, die bezalung und gnugthuung fur unser Sünde. … Dasselb blut Christi vertrit uns bey Gott und ruffet fur uns on unterlas zu Gott: Gnade, vergib, vergib … und erwirbt uns Gottes gnade, vergebung der Sünde, Gerechtigkeit und seligkeit’. 288 chapter 8

himself has seen it, is made so that the hearers of the Passion may believe.317 Bach’s setting of daß er die Wahrheit saget, auf daß ihr gläubet (he tells the truth, so that you also may believe in that) [bars 21–22] is highly declamatory and resembles a clarion call to believe in Jesus; the Truth Incarnate questioned and rejected by Pilate [see movement 18a]. For Luther, the blood and water that flowed from the wound in Jesus’ side themselves act as witnesses to the events of the cross: ‘There are three witnesses; the Spirit, the water and the blood, and the three are joint witnesses’.318 Although they were separate, they came forth from Jesus’ body together: the Spririt when he died; the blood and water when his side was pierced. As such, for Luther, they acted not only as witnesses to the veracity of the events of the cross, but also as a symbol of the Holy Trinity: ‘The three are together; two are revealed and numbered in this passage, water and blood’.319 For the Gospel writer, their witness was corrobated by Scripture: an a battuta (on the beat) section with a retardation, rhythmically highlights the two quotations from the Hebrew Scriptures. The first, ihr sollet ihm kein Bein zerbrechen (they shall not break any of his bones) from Exodus 12.46 [bars 24–25]—set in the same declamatory manner as St John’s clarion call to believe, in bars 21–22—and sie werden sehen, in welchen sie gestochen haben (they will behold, whom they have stabbed) from the prophecy of Zechariah 12.10 [bars 28–29], with the words sie gestochen (whom they have stabbed) arranged to form a musical cross [bar 29].

37. Chorale Chorale—(Flutes I/II, Oboe I/II and Violin I with Sopranos; Violin II with Altos; Viola with Tenors; Continuo with Basses)

O hilf, Christe, Gottes Sohn, O help, Christ, God’s Son Durch dein bitter Leiden, Through your bitter suffering Daß wir dir stets untertan That we, always obedient to you All Untugend meiden, All wrongs avoid, Deinen Tod und sein Ursach Your death and its cause Fruchtbarlich bedenken, Think upon fruitfully Dafür, wiewohl arm und schwach, For that, although poor and weak, Dir Dankopfer schenken! Present a thank-offering to you!

317 HS 5: 790: ‘Denn er hats selbst gesehen’. 318 WA 28: 410, 2: ‘Drey sind die da zeugen, der Geist und das wasser und das blut, und die drey sind beysamen’. 319 WA 28: 410, 3: ‘Die drey sind beysamen: aud denselben dreien Stücken werden allhie zwey stück angezeiget und beschrieben, Wasser und Blut’. commentary 289

Verse 8, Christus, der uns selig macht [bars 1–17]: The final verse of Michael Weisse’s translation of Patris Sapientiae, the fourteenth-century Latin hymn written to mark the Hours of the Cross, the canonical hours of Good Friday [see the discussion above, movement 15], concludes the contemplation of the cross and death of Jesus, and opens the way for the final act of the Passion. This verse offers an overall reflection on the Passion of Christ, unlike the preceding verses of the hymn which were each written to be sung at a different monastic office on Good Friday, linking individual events on Jesus’ journey to the cross and grave with their proper liturgical times. In the medieval Hours of the Cross, the final verse would have been sung during the so-called ‘short hours’ after Compline and like Weisse’s hymn, provided a recommendatio or invitation to reflect on Christ’s redemptive work cum devocione (with devotion).320 The chorale takes up the theme of submission to the will of God also expressed in movement 32. The contemplation of the events of the cross call for an active response from believers to subject themselves to their redeemer, dir stets untertan (always obedient to you) [bars 5–6]. From this submission to Christ, reflected musically by the descending fifth in the tenor line on unter [bar 6], flow a number of obligations: the first is the avoidance of Untugend (wrongs) [bar 7], the second the commitment to contemplate the events of the cross and their reason, deinen Tod und sein Ursach (your death and its cause) [bars 9–10]. For Weisse, the Ursach (cause) of Christ’s death was human sinfulness, so that fruitful contemplation ( fruchtbarlich bedenken) of it [bars 11–12] was at once an invitation to ponder one’s own shortcomings and the universal redemptive work of Christ. An affirmation of human dependance on God’s grace concludes the couplet: the only sacrifice believers can make in response to the sacrifice of Calvary, arm und schwach (poor and weak) as they are, is to Dankopfer schenken (present a thank-offering) [bars 15–16]. In this chorale Bach uses passing notes sparingly so that they emphasise individual words or key concepts: Christe, Gottes Sohn (Christ, God’s Son) [bars 1–2]; dir stets untertan (always obedient to you) [bars 5–6]; meiden (avoid) [bar 8]; sein Ursach/ fruchtbarlich bedenken (think upon [the cause of Christ’s death] fruitfully) [bar 10–12]; wiewohl arm und schwach (although poor and weak) [bars 13–14]; and Dankopfer schenken (present a thank-offering) [bars 15–16]. In this way, the passing notes highlight the underlying Lutheran theological meaning of Weisse’s words: always subject to Christ, the Son of God,

320 ‘Horae de Sancta Cruce’, in: Horae ad Usum Romanum, Copenhagen: Det Kongelike Bib- liothek, MS GKS 1607 4o, f. 18r–v. 290 chapter 8

believers are called on to contemplate his sacrifice for their sins and, acknowl- edging their own weakness and constant reliance on God’s grace, bear fruit by offering the worship of their own lives as a thankoffering to God. In the second (1725) and third (ca. 1730) versions of the Passion, this would have been the concluding Chorale of the work: the closing Chorale Ach Herr, laß dein lieb Engelein [movement 40] would have either been omitted completely (1730) or been replaced by a German setting of the Agnus Dei [movement 40 ii].

V. SEPULCHRUM—JESUS IS LAID IN THE TOMB: 38. Recitativo Recitative—Evangelist (tenor), continuo

Evangelist Evangelist Johannes 19,38 Darnach bat Pilatum John 19.38 After that, Joseph von Arimathia, der ein Jünger Jesu war Joseph of Arimathia, who was a disciple (doch heimlich aus Furcht vor den Jüden) of Jesus (yet secretly for fear of the Jews), daß er möchte abnehmen den Leichnam Jesu. petitioned Pilate that he wanted to take down Und Pilatus erlaubete es. Derowegen kam er the corpse of Jesus. And Pilate permitted it. und nahm den Leichnam Jesu herab. Therefore he came and took down the corpse of Jesus.

18,39 Es kam aber auch Nikodemus, der vormals 18.39 But Nicodemus also came, who bei der Nacht zu Jesu kommen war, und brachte previously came to Jesus in the night, and Myrrhen und Aloen untereinander, bei brought mixed myrrh and aloes, about hundert Pfunden. a hundred pounds.

18,40 Da nahmen sie den Leichnam Jesu und bunden 18.40 There they took the corpse of Jesus and ihn in Leinen Tücher mit Spezereien, wie die Jüden wrapped it in linen cloths with spices, pflegen zu begraben. as the Jews take care for the act of burial.

John 19.38 [bars 1–7]: Joseph of Arimathia, whom the synoptic Gospels describe as a ‘respected member of the Sanhedrin’ (Mark 15.43) was another key Jewish leader who went to petition the Roman Prefect. Joseph requested that commentary 291

Pilate release the body of Jesus for burial. John describes Joseph as a ‘secret’ disciple aus Furcht für den Jüden (for fear of the Jews), and Bach renders this secrecy by marking bars 3–4 piano (quietly). Die Jüden (the Jews) here are clearly Joseph’s fellow-members of the religious elite: if Joseph was himself a member of the Sanhedrin as Mark suggests, there was every reason to keep his discipleship secret from his fellow Jewish lawmakers. His boldness in entering the Roman Prefect’s residence and risking ritual defilement [see the discussion on ritual defilement at movement 16a] and exposure as a disciple of the crucified Jesus is reflected in music by Bach’s marking Joseph’s petition for the body of Jesus forte (strong, loud) [bars 4–5]. Joseph’s request for deposition, that he möchte abnehmen (wanted to take down), is rendered in music by an impressive descending line extending over more than an octave [bar 5]. Joseph’s request for the release of the body of Jesus gives a rare insight into the careful handling of sources in preparation of the libretto: neither Luther’s translation of the text nor Olearius’ commentary translates the latter part of verse 38, elthen oun kai ēren to sōma tou Iēsou (Therefore he came and took down the corpse of Jesus).321 The Calov Bible however does include the passage. Moreover, it provides the highly unusual German word for the ‘therefore’ (derowegen), as a translation for the Greek oun. ‘In the Greek text follows: therefore (derowegen) he came/ and took down the corpse of Jesus’,Calov wrote, adding ‘Which word is omitted in the current German translation of the Bible’.322 The inclusion in Bach’s libretto [bars 7–8] clearly shows that Bach or his unknown librettist used multiple commentated versions of Luther’s translation of the Bible to generate the Biblical texts for the recitatives, including Calov’s annotated Bible.

John 19.39–40 [bars 9–13]: One secret disciple is joined in his mission by a second clandestine follower of Jesus: Joseph is assisted in his preparations for burial by Nicodemus der vormals bei der Nacht zu Jesu kommen war (who had previously come to Jesus in the night) to talk about Jesus’ teaching, discussing the question of spiritual rebirth (John 3.1–20). John describes Nicodemus as ‘a Pharisee’ and ‘a leader of the Jews’ (John 3.1). This position explains the need to seek Jesus’ counsel bei der Nacht (in the night). Bach highlights the need for discretion by the careful insertion of rests to isolate and highlight der vormals bei der Nacht (who had preveiously come in the night) [bars 10–11].

321 HS 5: 791. 322 CB 3: 954: ‘Hierauf folget im Griechischen Text: Derowegen kam er/ und nahm den Leib Jesu herab. Welches Wort in ietziger deutschen Bibel ausgelassen sind’. 292 chapter 8

Joseph and Nicodemus handled the body of Jesus, thereby making themselves ritually unclean and unable to celebrate the Passover with their fellow- believers. Having brought ‘a great value’s worth’ of aloes and myrrh, Spezereien, wie die Jüden pflegen zu begraben (spices, as the Jews [take] care for [the act of] burying; lit.: care to bury) [bars 15–16], they went on to embalm the body of Jesus.323 This is one moment in which die Jüden (the Jews) is used of the whole people, and is used to describe an act of care and generosity. Jesus’ burial is alluded to in music by a descending line on begraben (bury) reaching a bottom c, the lowest note in the recitative [bar 17].

John 19.41–42 [bars 18–25]: The story that began in one garden ends in another. The embalmed Jesus is taken to ein Garten (a garden) in which there was ein neu Grab (a new tomb), that is a tomb in which niemand je geleget war (no one had ever been laid). As with all other references to Jesus’ burial, geleget war (ever been laid), and daselbst legeten sie Jesum (in that place they laid Jesus) both descend to a bottom C [bars 21–22]. The first C, on je geleget war (ever been laid), is set over a dominant C seventh [bar 21] dissonance, which is resolved only when Jesum (Jesus) is laid into the tomb [bar 22]. All this the two secret disciples needed to accomplish on des Rüsttags … der Jüden (the Jewish day of preparation), as no work could be done the next day, the Sabbath of Passover. The garden and new tomb was nahe (near) to Golgotha. Golgotha is definitively referenced: the evangelist’s line on nahe in bar 24 clearly imitates the first reference to Golgotha in movement 23e, bar 87.

39. Coro Chorus—(Flutes I/II, Oboe I/II, Violins I/II, Viola, Organ, Continuo)

Ruht wohl, ihr heiligen Gebeine, Rest well, you holy bones, Die ich nun weiter nicht beweine, I will now not weep for you any longer, Ruht wohl und bringt auch mich zur Ruh! Rest well, and bring me also to rest. Das Grab, so euch bestimmet ist The grave, so is destined for you Und ferner keine Not umschließt, And futher no misery surrounds, Macht mir den Himmel auf Makes Heaven open und schließt die Hölle zu. And Hell shut to me.

Variant of Brockes, 392: The libretto adopts a poetic reflection on the burial of Jesus from the Brockes Passion in which the Gläubige Seele (believing soul) ponders the cosmic effects of the death of the redeemer. The libretto changes

323 HS 5: 791: ‘Der grosse Werth’. commentary 293 the wording of the second half of the Chorus. Brockes has Sein ausgesperrter324 Arm und Sein/ geschlo’ßnes325 Auge/ Sperrt326 dir den Himmel auf, und/ schließt die Hölle zu (His locked out arm and his/ closed eye/ unlocks heaven for you, and/ locks the gates of hell). His concern is on the cross and its value as a key to lock and unlock. But Bach and his collaborators chose to draw the attention from the cross to the grave, as Luther himself had counselled: ‘Ponder the grave of Christ with the inner eyes of faith, let each say: Christ’s tomb is for me, his shroud is for me’.327 After the burial of the conqueror of death, the grave holds no further terrors for believers: Das Grab, so euch bestimmet ist/ Und ferner keine Not umschließt (The grave, so is destined for you/ And further no misery surrounds). Indeed, as Luther explained, Christ’s grave sanctifies our own burial:

That is why the grave of Christ is called, and is indeed, the Holy Sepulchre … because all our sin, sorrow, pain, death and damnation are buried therein. Which is why it makes our own grave blessed.328

A Section [bars 1–60 and 72–112, and dal segno]: The overall musical effect of this Chorus is one of a plaintive lullaby. The stately beat gives the movement a quiet and reflective dignity. The overall effect suggests a reflection on the quiet confidence possessed by the believer in Luther’s theology of justification: ‘God be praised and thanked: I am no longer afraid of any sins, for all my sins have been covered and buried in the grave of Christ’.329 As in the previous movement, the deposition of the heiligen Gebeine (holy bones) is suggested in music by a long descending line [bars 15–16]. The fact that the melodic lines in the soprano and bass parts on beweine (weep for) are broken into semiquavers suggestive of tears appear to belie the libretto’s

324 Ausgesperrter: shut out, locked out, spaced out. Here, Jesus’ arms are locked in rigor mortis on the cross, and are also held wide open. 325 Geschloß’nes: closed. All the words here refer to kinds of closedness. 326 Sperrt … auf: to unblock, unlock. 327 WA 421, 15–17: ‘Darumb sol man Christus Grab mit den innerlichen Augen des Glaubens ansehen, Das ein jeder sage: Christus Grab ist für mich, Die Tücher darein Christus ist gewickelt worden, gelten mir’. 328 WA 28: 420, 10–13: ‘Darumb Christus Grab auch heisst und ist ein heilig Grab … darumb das alle unsere Sünde, Jamer, Elend, Tod und Verdamnis darinne begraben ligt Und das es unser Grab selig macht’. 329 WA 28: 421, 26–28: ‘Gott sey Lob und Danck, Ich fürchte mich für keiner Sünden mehr, Denn alle meine Sünde liegen in Christus Grabe verschorren und begraben’. 294 chapter 8 encouragement to mourn the dead Jesus no more [18–19]. However, as the sixteenth-century Lutheran preacher Moller emphasised, there is good reason for Christians to mourn their own sinfulness and to shed tears of joy for their redemption:

Let your eyes overflow/ dear soul/ with tears/ and do not cease/ Do not mourn your LORD however/ for that profits him little/ He suffers willingly for you/ and gives his life a ransom for you and for many/ who know him/ Rather weep over your own life/ and your sins/ Believe in him/ and show forth righteous fruits of contrition.330

The eternal rest that the death of Jesus promises the believer is rendered in music by descending lines on mich zur Ruh (bring me to rest) in the soprano and bass parts [bars 24–25]. Bach uses the presence or absence of woodwind to distinguish between the various repeat sections of the movement: the B Section [see the discussion below] is performed entirely without woodwind, as are bars 41–43, with the re-introduction of the Ruht wohl (Rest well) theme. The section closes with the prayer, articulated on behalf of all believers that they might find rest, und bringt auch mich zur Ruh, with all four voices descending to the lowest notes in the entire movement on the final Ruh (rest) of the A Section [bar 48]. As Olearius pointed out:

And because [Jesus] is buried/ henceforth all Christian graves are also sanctuaries/ and where a Christian lies buried/ there lies a living Saint. Not for his own sake or because of his own holiness/ but because he has died in the faith/ of the holy/ crucified/ died and buried Son of God.331

B Section [bars 60–72 and 112–124]: The removal of woodwind, senza Flauti ed Oboi gives the middle section a sense of intimacy, as the focus shifts from the buried Jesus to the fruits of his death for the individual. Where in the preceding

330 Moller (1587), p. 197v: ‘Laß deine Augen fliessen/ liebe Seele/ mit Threnen/ vnd laß nicht abe/ Weine aber nicht vber deinen HERRN/ denn damit ist jm wenig gedienet/ Er leidet das alles willig/ vnd gibt sein Leben zum Lösegeldt für dich vnd für viele/ die jn kennen: Sondern weine vber dich/ vnd vber deine Sünde/ Gleube an jn/ vnd thue rechtschaffene früchte der Busse’. 331 HS 5: 265: ‘Und weil er [Jesus] begraben ist/ so müssen nun alle Christen-Gräber auch Heiligthümer seyn/ und wo ein Christe liegt/ daß da liege ein lebendiger Heilige. Nicht umb seines Wesens und eigener Heiligkeit willen/ sondern darumb daß Er gestorben ist im Glauben/ an den heyligen/ gecreutizgten/ gestorbenen und begrabenen Sohn Gottes’. commentary 295

recitative and A section all references to burial and eternal rest were rendered by descending lines [movement 38, bars 21–22], the Grab, so euch bestimmet ist (the grave, so is destined for you) and, indeed, Not (misery) are marked by ascending lines [bars 60–67 and repeats]: grave and distress not only have lost their power; they are, in fact, a gateway to heaven. Indeed, Jesus’ unlocking of heaven, his macht mir den Himmel auf (makes Heaven open for me) [bars 68–70], appropriately is also symbolised by parallel rising lines in the soprano and bass parts, while the locking of hell, und schließt die Hölle zu [bars 70–72] is expressed in music by ringing melismas and trills in the upper strings and vocal line on Hölle [bar 71]. The repeat [bars 13–60] with its final petition that through the final rest of Jesus the believer now might also rest in peace, concludes the movement.

40. Chorale Chorale—(Flute I, Oboe I and Violin I with Sopranos; Flute II, Oboe II and Violin II with Altos; Viola with Tenors; Continuo with Basses)

Ach Herr, laß dein lieb Engelein O Lord, let your lovely little angels Am letzten End die Seele mein at the last end, this soul of mine, In Abrahams Schoß tragen, carry into Abraham’s bosom. Den Leib in seim Schlafkämmerlein The body in its little sleeping chamber Gar sanft ohn einge Qual und Pein gently without any torment or agony at all Ruhn bis am jüngsten Tage! Rest until doomsday! Alsdenn vom Tod erwecke mich, Thereupon from death awaken me, Daß meine Augen sehen dich that my eyes see you In aller Freud, o Gottes Sohn, in all joy, O Son of God, Mein Heiland und Genadenthron! My Saviour and throne of mercy Herr Jesu Christ, erhöre mich, Lord Jesus Christ, receive my prayer Ich will dich preisen ewiglich! I want to praise you forever!

Verse 3, Herzlich lieb hab ich dich, O Herr [bars 1–28s]: Martin Schalling (1532– 1608) used a hymn tune from his native Straßburg for his late-sixteenth-century hymn of commitment, dedication and love for Jesus, Herzlich lieb hab ich dich, O Herr (Hearfelt love have I for you, O Lord). Each of the three verses bridges the private and the public spheres, the present and the eternal, and expresses a deep longing to remain close to Christ forever. The first verse asks for the gift of Christ’s constant presence by his grace, ich bitt, wollst sein von mir nicht fern/ mit deiner Güt und Gnaden (I pray, that you will never be far from me/ with your grace and mercy), especially at times of affliction. The second is a prayer of commitment to follow as a faithful disciple, and to use all one’s ‘possessions and gifts/ my body, soul and all I have’ (G’schenk und Gab/ mein 296 chapter 8

Leib und Seel und was ich hab) to the ‘praise of God and in use and service of my neighbour’ (zum Lobe dein,/ zu Nutz und Dienst des Nächsten mein), in words reminiscent of Bach’s dedication of his Orgel-Büchlein [BWV 599–644].332 The final verse, used here to conclude the Passion, speaks of the end of the Christian journey and the hope of life forever in Christ’s presence. Even in his description of the Last Judgement in the present verse of his hymn, Schalling manages to evoke a sense of great intimacy: the believer prays that, his death in seim Schlafkämmerlein (in its little sleeping chamber, using the diminuative form) would be gar sanft ohn alle Qual und Pein (gently, without any torment or agony at all). Schalling here echoes contemporary meditations on the Passion of Christ or on holy dying, such as Martin Moller’s influential Soliloqvia de Passione Christi, which mirror many of the musical reflections on the believers’ response to the death of Jesus in Bach’s St John Passion:333

[Your Saviour] bids the body rest in his chamber/ while the souls of the faithful are in the hand of God, ‘Then do not fear/ your grave/ dear soul/ wherein you will be laid./ Remember that the Lord consecrated it/ and made it a delightful bed chamber for you. Therefore when your hour has come/ enter your little chamber (Kämmerlein) with joy/ and lock the door behind you.’334

In the same meditation Moller had affirmed his belief that ‘the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God’ (Wisdom of Solomon 3.1). Schalling shares this belief but draws on another Biblical image to express this hope, from the

332 Johann Sebastian Bach, Heinz Löhlein, ed., Orgelwerke Band 1: Orgelbüchlein, Schübler- Choräle, Choralpartiten, Johann Sebastian Bach, Neue Ausgabe sämtlicher Werke, Serie IV: Orgelwerke, Band 1 (Kassel: Bärenreiter, 1983): ‘Dem höchsten Gott allein zu Ehren, dem Nechsten sich draus zu belehren’ (To the glory of God most high alone, and for the edification and education of my neighbour). 333 Moller (1587), For Moller’s work and its wide reception, see: Axmacher (1989) and Mar- tin Brecht, ‘Neue Frömmigkeit und Gemeindesituation bei Martin Moller’, in: Monika Hagenmaier, Sabine Holtz, eds., Krisenbewußtsein und Krisenbewältigung in der frühen Neuzeit, Festschrift Hans-Christoph Rublack (Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang, 1992), pp. 217– 219. 334 Moller (1587), 253r: ‘Fürchte duch auch nicht/ liebe Seele/ für deinem Grabe/ darein du solt gelegt werden/ Bedencke das dirs der HERR geweyhet/ vnd zu einem lieblichen Schlaffheußlin gemacht habe. Darumb wenn dein Stündlin da ist/ so gehe mit frewden in dein Kämmerlein/ vnd schleuß die Thür nach dir zu’. commentary 297 parable of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16.19–31), praying that amletztenEnd (at my last end), the little angels of God (also using an intimate, diminuative form) would carry the soul to Abrahams Schoß (Abraham’s bosom).335 The body safely ‘asleep’ in its grave chamber awaits the general resurrection am jüngsten Tage (until doomsday). As in the previous two verses, the present verse also conveys a sense of great intimacy and confidence in Christ’s promise to save those who love him: Alsdenn vom Tod erwecke mich/ daß meine Augen sehen dich/ in aller Freud (thereupon from death awaken me/ that my eyes see you/ in all joy). For Schalling, and for Bach, death and judgement are no longer to be feared. The work of salvation has been accomplished by Jesus’ death on the cross. All that is now required is love and commitment to Jesus as Saviour for the grave to become a Schlafkämmerlein (little sleeping chamber) and for the day of judgement to become a day of grace and joy. The believer prays that Christ will raise him from the dead, asks to behold him as personal Saviour (mein Heiland) and Genadenthron (throne of mercy or judgement seat).336 Standing before the risen and ascended Jesus, meine Augen sehen dich/ in aller Freud (my eyes see you/ in all joy), for Jesus himself has become the Gnadenthron, the place of judgement and reconciliation between God and humans. The Gnadenthron was a neologism coined by Luther to provide a translation for the Greek technical term hilasterion in his German Bible (and, following Luther, rendered ‘mercy-seat’ in the King James Bible). Bach frequently related the image of the heavenly Gnadenthron to the cross and the redemptive work of Jesus.337 In the alto aria of Cantata Mit Fried und Freud fahr ich dahin [BWV 125, movement 5], for instance, Bach makes the link between cross and Throne of Grace explicit: through Jesus es wird der Welt/ … Ein Stuhl der Gnaden/ Und Siegeszeichen aufgestellt (a throne of grace/ and sign of victory is set up/ for

335 Moller (1587), 235r: ‘Den Leib bringet er zur Ruhe in seine Kammer/ Der Seelen aber der Gerechten sind inn Gottes Handt/ vnd keine Qual rüret sie an’ 336 For the significance of the image of the Gnadenthron in Bach’s work, see: Helene Werthe- mann, ‘Jesus Christus, vorgestellt zu einem Gnadenstuhl durch den Glauben in seinem Blut’, in: A.A. Clement, ed., Das Blut Jesu und die Lehre der Versöhnung im Werk Johann Sebastian Bachs, Verhandelingen der Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Weten- schappen, Afdeling Letterkunde, New Series, Vol. 164 (Amsterdam: North-Holland, 1995), pp. 63–78, p. 69. 337 For instance in the Christmas Oratorio’s Cantata Fallt mit Danken [BWV 248/4], written for the Feast of the Naming of Jesus, and Cantatas Erfreute Zeit im neuen Bunde {BWV 83] and Mit Fried und Freud fahr ich dahin [BWV 125], both written for the Feast of the Presentation. 298 chapter 8 the world).338 Here, the Gnadenthron is neither an ensign nor a throne but a person: the glorified Jesus himself is the mercy-seat, and gives joy to believers. The believer’s response to the hope of a quiet death and eternal salvation is eternal praise: ich will dich preisen ewiglich (I want to praise you forever).

338 See: Werthemann, p. 69: ‘This, then, implies a world-wide … almost cosmic dimension’ (Es geht also um eine weltweite … ja, fast kosmische Dimension). Bibliography

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vnd nützlich vnterrichtet werden können vnd sollen (Gotha: Peter Schmied, 1642), [(reprint Leipzig: Zentralantiquariat der DDR, 1970)] , DialogiseuColloqviaPueriliaadsingulareillustrissimiPrincipisMandatum,Pro Pueris In Gymnasio Et Scholis Gothanis, Ad Primum Latinitatis Cursum Deducendi/ Kindische Gespräch und Vnterredungen Auf sonderbahren Fürstl. Befehl/ Für die Kna- ben in der Fürstl. Land- und andern Schulen des Fürstenthumbs Gotha/ Welche zu dem erste[n] Cursu der Lateinischen Sprache anzuführen/ Heraus gegeben (Gotha: NP, 1657) , Methodus Oder Bericht/ Wie Nechst Göttlicher Verleyhung die Knaben und Mägdlein auf den Dorffschafften/ und in den Städten/ die üntere Classes der Schul- Jugend im Fürstenthum Gotha/ Kürtz-und nützlich unterrichtet werden können und sollen (Gotha: Christoph Reyher, 1697) Sachs, Hans, Die ganz Passio, in idem, Sehr herrliche schöne und warhaffte Gedicht geistlich unnd weltlich allerley Art (Nürnberg: Christoff Heußler, 1558) Saubert, Johann, DYODEKAS emblematum sacrorum: Der Dritte Theil (Nürnberg: Bal- thasar Caymoxen, 1625) Scandello, Antonio, Antonio Scandello: Johannespassion 1561, Klaus Beckmann, ed. (Stuttgart: Carus, 1998) Selle, Thomas, Passion nach dem Evangelisten Johannes: mit Intermedien für Solostim- men, Chor und Instrumente, Gerber, Rudolf, ed. (Wolfenbüttel: Möseler Verlag, 1934) Selnecker, Nikolaus, Christliche Psalmen, Lieder und Kirchengesänge (Leipzig: Beyer, 1587) Stockmann, Paul, Der Christen Leib-Stücke/ Oder Historia von dem Leiden Christi/ Also auffgesetzet und abgefasset/ daß ein iedes Gesetz einen Theil von der Historien und desselben Theils Nutzen zugleich in sich begreifft (Leipzig: Henning Köler, 1641) Tacitus, Cornelius, Histories, Book II, ed. Rhiannon Ash (Cambridge: University Press, 2007) Vopelius, Gottfried, ed., Neu Leipziger Gesangbuch/ Von den schönsten und besten Lie- dern verfasset/ In welchem Nicht allein des sel. Herrn D. Lutheri und andere mit Gottes Wort/ und unveränderter Augsburgischer Confession überein stimmende … und gebräuchliche Gesänge/ Lateinische Hymni und Psalmen/ Mit 4. 5. bis 6. Stimmen/ deren Melodeyen Theils aus Johann Herman Scheins Cantional, und andern guten Autoribus zusammen getagen/ theils aber selbsten componiret … / Mit Fleiß verfertiget und herausgegeben von Gottfried Vopelio (Leipzig: Christoph Klinger, 1682) , Geistreicher Lieder-Schatz, oder Leipziger Gesang-Buch (Leipzig: Johann Frie- drich Braun, 1715) Vulpius, Melchior, Karl Ziebler, ed. Matthäus-Passionvon1613fürSoliloquentenundChor zu vier und sechs Stimmen (Kassel: Bärenreiter, 1948) Walther, Johann Gottfried, Musicalisches Lexicon/ oder/ Musicalische Bibliothec (Leip- zig, Wolffgang Deer: 1732) 306 bibliography

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3 Secondary Source Material: Books

Albrecht-Birkner, Veronika, Reformation des Lebens. Die Reformen Herzog Ernsts des Frommen von Sachsen-Gotha und ihre Auswirkungen auf Frömmigkeit, Schule und Alltag im ländlichen Raum (1640–1675), Leucorea-Studien zur Geschichte der Re- formation und der Lutherischen Orthodoxie 1 (Leipzig: Evangelische Verlagsanstalt, 2002) Appold, Kenneth G., Abraham Calov’s Doctrine of Vocatio in its Systematic Context, Beiträge zur historischen Theologie 103 (Tübingen: Mohr-Siebeck, 1998) Axmacher, Elke, ‘Aus Liebe will mein Heyland sterben’: Untersuchungen zum Wandel des Passionsverständnisses im frühen 18. Jahrhundert, Beiträge zur theologischen Bachforschung 2 (Neuhausen-Stuttgart: Hännsler, 1984) , Praxis Evangeliorum: Theologie und Frömmigkeit bei Martin Moller (1547–1606), Forschungen zur Kirchen- und Dogmengeschichte 43 (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck und Rupprecht, 1989) Barrett, Charles Kingsley, The Gospel according to Saint John (London: SPCK, 1978) Beyer, Frank, and Trautmann, Christoph, eds., 51. Bachfest der Neuen Bachgesellschaft: Bachfest-Vorträge 1976 (Kassel: Bärenreiter, 1976) Bieringer, Reimund, Pollefeyt, Didier, Vandecasteele-Vanneuville, Frederique, eds., Anti-Judaism and the Fourth Gospel: Papers of the Leuven Colloquium (Assen: Royal van Gorcum, 2001) Blankenburg, Walter, ed., Heinrich Schütz in seiner Zeit. Wege der Forschung 614 (Darm- stadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, 1985) , Johann Walter: Leben und Werk (Tutzing: Schneider, 1991) Blume, Friedrich, Geschichte der evangelischen Kirchenmusik (Kassel, Bärenreiter, 1965) Blumenberg, Hans, Matthäuspassion, Bibliothek Suhrkamp 998 (Frankfurt: Suhrkamp, 1988) bibliography 307

Bornkamm, Günther, ed., Martin Dibelius: Botschaft und Geschichte, Gesammelte Auf- sätze, 2 vols (Tübingen: J.C.B. Mohr/Paul Siebeck, 1953), 1: Zur Evangelienforschung Boyd, Malcolm, Bach: The Brandenburg Concertos (Cambridge: University Press, 1993) Boynton, Susan and Reilly, Diane J., The Practice of the Bible in the Middle Ages: Pro- duction, Reception, and Performance in Western Christianity (New York: Columbia University Press, 2011) Brown, Raymond E., The Gospel according to John: Introduction, Translation and Notes, Anchor Bible, 2 vols (London: Geoffrey Chapman, 1971) Bultmann, Rudolf, Das Evangelium des Johannes, Kritisch-exegetischer Kommentar über das Neue Testament 2 (Göttingen: Vandenhoek & Ruprecht, 1941) Butler, Gregory, Stauffer, George, Greer, Mary Dalton, eds. et al., About Bach (Cham- paign: University of Illinois Press, 2008) Butt, John, ed., The Cambridge Companion to Bach (Cambridge: University Press, 1997) , Bach’s Dialogue with Modernity: Perspectives on the Passions (Cambridge: Uni- versity Press, 2010) Chancey, Mark, Greco-Roman Culture and the Galilee of Jesus, Society for New Testa- ment Studies Monograph Series 134 (Cambridge: University Press, 2005) Chafe, Eric, Tonal Allegory in the Vocal Music of J.S. Bach (Berkeley: University of Cali- fornia Press, 1991) , Analyzing Bach Cantatas (New York: Oxford University Press, 2000) , Bach’s St John Passion and the Cantatas for Spring 1725 (New York: Oxford University Press, forthcoming) Clement, Albert A., ed., Das Blut Jesu und die Lehre von der Versöhnung im Werk Johann Sebastian Bachs, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (Amsterdam: North Holland, 1995) Copland, Aaron, Copland on Music (Garden City: Doubleday, 1960) Cox, Howard H. ed., The Calov Bible of J.S. Bach, Studies in Musicology 92 (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1985) Crüsemann, Frank, Studien zur Formgeschichte von Hymnus und Danklied in Israel, Wis- senschaftliche Monographien zum Alten und Neuen Testament 32 (Neukirchen- Vluyn: Neukirchener Verlag, 1969) Dall’Albero, Claudio, ed., Carlo Milanuzzi da Santa Natoglia: Sacred music (Milano: Rugginenti, 2008) Deschner, John, eds. et al., Our Common History as Christians: Essays in Honor of Albert C. Outler (Oxford: University Press, 1975) Dürr, Alfred, Johann Sebastian Bach’s St John Passion: Genesis, Transmission and Mean- ing (Oxford: University Press, 2000) , The Cantatas of J.S. Bach, revised and translated by Richard D.P. Jones (Oxford: University Press, 2005) 308 bibliography

Eco, Umberto, The Role of the Reader: Explorations in the Semiotics of Texts (Blooming- ton, Indiana University Press, 1979) Emans, Reinmar and Sven Hiemke, eds., Bach Handbuch, vol. 3: Bachs Oratorien, Pas- sionen und Motetten (Laaber, Laaber-Verlag: 2009) Feil, Ernst, Religio: Die Geschichte eines neuzeitlichen Grundbegriffs im 17. und frühen 18. Jahrhundert, 3 vols. (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck und Ruprecht, 2001) Festschrift für Friedrich Smend: Zum 70. Geburtstag dargebracht von Freunden und Schü- lern (Berlin: Merseburger, 1963) Finke-Hecklinger, Doris, Tanzcharaktere in Johann Sebastian Bachs Vokalmusik: Stu- dien zu ihrer Rhythmik und ihrer Chronologie, Tübinger Bach-Studien 6 (Trossingen: Hohner, 1970) Franklin, Don O., ed., New Bach Studies (Cambridge: University Press, 1989) Felix, Werner, TitelundWidmungenBachscherWerkealsmusikpädagogischeundmusik- ästhetische Dokumente (Berlin: Akademie Verlag, 1993) Gasch, Stefan, Lodes, Birgit, Tröster, Sonja, eds. et al., Senfl Studien I, Wiener Forum für ältere Musikgeschichte 4 (Tutzing: Hans Schneider, 2012) Geck, Martin, Johann Sebastian Bach: Johannespassion BWV 245, Meisterwerke der Musik: Werkmonographien 7, Musikgeschichte 55 (München: Wilhem Fink Verlag, 1991) , Johann Sebastian Bach: Life and Work (Boston: Harcourt, 2007) Glöckner, Andreas, Die Musikpflege an der Leipziger Neukirche von 1699 bis 1761, Beiträge zur Bachforschung 9 (Leipzig: Nationale Forschungs- und Gedenkstätten Johann Sebastian Bach, 1990) Göllner, Theodor, Die mehrstimmigen liturgischen Lesungen, Münchner Veröffentli- chungen zur Musikgeschichte 15 (Tutzing: Schneider, 1969) HaCohen, Ruth, The Music Libel against the Jews (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2011) Hagenmaier, Monika, Holtz, Sabine, eds., Krisenbewußtsein und Krisenbewältigung in der frühen Neuzeit, Festschrift Hans-Christoph Rublack (Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang, 1992) Halberstam, Chaya T., Law and Truth in Biblical and Rabbinal Literature (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2010) Hamm, Berndt, Der frühe Luther: Etappen reformatorischer Neuorientierung (Tübingen: Mohr-Siebeck, 2010) Hammerstein, Reinhold, Diabolus in Musica: Studien zur Ikonographie der Musik im Mittelalter, Neue Heidelberger Studien zur Musikwissenschaft 6 (Bern: Francke, 1974) Heinemann, Michael, and Hans Joachim Hinrichsen, eds., Bach und die Nachwelt, 4 vols. (Laaber: Laaber, 2000) Hesse, Ludwig Friedrich, Verzeichniß gebohrner Schwarzburger, die sich als Gelehrte bibliography 309

oder als Künstler durch Schriften bekannt machten, 3 vols. (Rudolstadt: Verlag der Hof-Buch und Kunst-Handlung, 1805–1828) Hirschmann, Wolfgang, Jahn, Bernhard, eds., Johann Mattheson als Vermittler und Initiator: Wissenstransfer und die Etablierung neuer Diskurse in der ersten Hälfte des 18. Jahrhunderts (Hildesheim: Georg Olms, 2010) , Johann Mattheson: Texte aus dem Nachlass (Hildesheim: Georg Olms, 2011) Hoffmann, Winfried, Schneiderheinze, Armin, eds., Bericht über die wissenschaftliche Bach-Konferenz zum V. Internationalen Bachfest der DDR in Verbindung mit dem 60. Bachfest der Neuen Bachgesellschaft, Leipzig, 25. bis 27. März 1985 (Leipzig: VEB Deutscher Verlag für Musik, 1985) Holl, Karl, Gesammelte Aufsätze zur Kirchengeschichte, 3 vols. (Tübingen: Mohr-Sie- beck, 1928) Huvelin, H. Christol, M., Gautier, G., eds. et al., Mélanges de Numismatique, offerts à PierreBastienà l’occasionde son75eanniversaire (Wetteren: Editions Numismatique Romaine, 1987) Jones, Richard D.P., The Creative Development of Johann Sebastian Bach, 2 vols. (Oxford: University Press, 2006), 1: 1695–1717: Music to Delight the Spirit Jung, Volker, Das Ganze der Heiligen Schrift. Hermeneutik und Schriftauslegung bei Abraham Calov, Calwer theologische Monographien B/18 (Stuttgart: Calver Verlag, 1999). Junghans, Wilhelm, Johann Sebastian Bach als Schüler der Partikularschule zu St. Michaelis in Lüneburg: Oder Lüneburg eine Pflegestätte kirchlicher Musik, Programm des Johanneums zu Lüneburg (Lüneburg: Stern, 1870) Kevorkian, Tanya, BaroquePiety:Religion,Society,andMusicinLeipzig,1650–1750 (Alder- shot: Ashgate, 2007) Kroschel, Samuel, Die Arnstädter lateinische Schule zur Zeit der Reformation (Arnstadt: Emil Frotscher, 1885) , Die Gräfliche Erziehungsanstalt im Barfüßerkloster zu Arnstadt und Arnstädter Abiturienten des 16. und 17. Jahrhunderts (Arnstadt: Emil Frotscher, 1890) Küster, Konrad, ed., Bach Handbuch (Kassel: Bärenreiter, 1999) Leaver, Robin A., Music as Preaching: Bach, Passions, and Music in Worship, Latimer Studies 13 (Oxford: Latimer House, 1982) , Johann Sebastian Bach as Preacher: His Passions and Music in Worship (St Louis: Concordia, 1984) , Bachs theologische Bibliothek: Eine kritische Bibliographie (Neuhausen-Stutt- gart: Hännsler, 1985) [cited as: BB] , J.S. Bach and Scripture: Glosses from the Calov Bible (St Louis: Concordia, 1985) , Luther’s Liturgical Music: Principles and Implications, Lutheran Quarterly Books (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2007) 310 bibliography

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4 Secondary Source Materials: Articles

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Breig, Werner, ‘Zu den Turba-Chören von Bachs Johannespassion’, HamburgerJahrbuch für Musikwissenschaft 8 (1985), pp. 65–96 Burnett, Andrew, ‘The Coinage of King Agrippa I of Judea and a New Coin of King Herod of Chalcis’, in: H. Huvelin, M. Christol, G. Gautier, eds. et al., Mélanges de Numismatique, offerts à Pierre Bastien à l’occasion de son 75e anniversaire (Wetteren: Editions Numismatique Romaine, 1987), pp. 25–38 Chafe, Eric T., ‘Key Structure and Tonal Allegory in the Passions of Johann Sebastian Bach: An Introduction’, Current Musicology 21 (1981), pp. 39–54. , ‘Bach’s St John Passion: Theology and Musical Structure’, in: Don O. Franklin, ed., New Bach Studies (Cambridge: University Press, 1989), pp. 75–122 Chavel, Charles, ‘The Releasing of a Prisoner at Passover’, Journal of Biblical Literature 60.3 (1941), pp. 273–278 Cook, John Granger, ‘Envisioning Crucifixion: Light from Several Inscriptions and the Palatine Graffito’, Novum Testamentum 50 (2008), pp. 262–285 Copland, Aron, ‘The Pleasures of Music’, in: idem, Copland on Music (Garden City: Doubleday, 1960), pp. 23–51 Crawford, D., ‘Gaspar de Albertis and Holy Week Liturgies in Renaissance Bergamo’, Third International Musicological Society Study Session on “Cantus Planus”, Tihány, Hungary,19–24September1988 (Budapest: Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Institute for Musicology, 1989), pp. 415–429 Dibelius, Martin, ‘Individualismus und Gemeindebewußtsein in J.S. Bachs Passionen’, in: Günther Bornkamm, ed., Martin Dibelius: Botschaft und Geschichte, Gesammelte Aufsätze, 2 vols (Tübingen: J.C.B. Mohr/Paul Siebeck, 1953), 1: Zur Evangelienfor- schung, pp. 359–380 Dienst, Karl, ‘Olearius, Johannes’, in: BBKL, 6: col. 1191–1192 Dürr, Alfred, ‘Der Passionsbericht des Johannes in Bachs Deutung—Aus der Sicht des Musikwissenschaftlers’, in: Ulrich Prinz, ed., Johann Sebastian Bach: Johannes- Passion, BWV 245—Vorträge des Meisterkurses 1986 und der Sommerakademie J.S. Bach 1990, Schriftenreihe der internationalen Bachakademie Stuttgart 5 (Kassel: Bärenreiter, 1993), pp. 166–185 Eisenberg, Christian, ‘Psalm 8 und der Eingangschor von J.S. Bachs Johannespassion’, in: Musik und Kirche 59.5 (1989), pp. 241–245 Eitner, Robert, ‘Scandello, Antonio’ in: ADB, 30: cols. 475–476 Emans, Reinmar, ‘A Tale of Two Cities: Cantata Publication in Bologna and Venice, c. 1650–1700’, in: Michael Talbot, ed. et al., Aspects of the Secular Cantata in Late Baroque Italy (Farnham: Ashgate, 2009), pp. 79–110 Engelhardt, Walter, ‘Das Arioso “Betrachte, meine Seel” der Bachschen Johannespas- sion (Nr. 31)’, in: Musik und Kirche 27 (1957), p. 136 Fischer, Kurt von, ‘Die Passionshistorien von Heinrich Schütz und ihre geschichtlichen Voraussetzungen’, Musik und Gottesdienst 20 (1966), pp. 48–59, republished in: Wal- bibliography 315

ter Blankenburg ed., Heinrich Schütz in seiner Zeit, Wege der Forschung 614 (Darm- stadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, 1985) Freyse, Conrad, ‘Das Porträt Ambrosius Bachs’, Bach-Jahrbuch 46 (1959), pp. 149–155 , ‘Sebastians Gesangbuch’, Bach-Jahrbuch 45 (1958), pp. 123–126 Ganzhorn-Burkhardt, Renate, ‘Zur Bedeutung der Choräle in Bachs Johannespassion’, Musik und Kirche 53.2 (1983), pp. 64–73 Geck, Martin, ‘Bach’s art of church music and his Leipzig performance forces: contra- dictions in the system’, Early Music 11 (2003), pp. 558–571 Geltinger, Christian, ‘Ziegler, Christiane Mariane von, geb[orene] Romanus’, in: BBKL 16: col. 1548–1588 Glöckner, Andreas, ‘Johann Sebastian Bachs Aufführungen zeitgenössischer Passions- musiken’, Bach-Jahrbuch 66 (1977), pp. 75–119 , ‘Zur Echtheit und Datierung der Kantate BWV 150 “Nach dir, Herr, verlanget mich”’, Bach-Jahrbuch 74 (1988), pp. 195–203 Godman, Stanley, ‘Bachs Bibliothek: Die noch vorhandenen Handexemplare’, Musica 10 (1956), pp. 756–761 Greer, Mary Dalton, ‘From the House of Aaron to the House of Johann Sebastian: Old Testament Roots for the Bach Family Tree’, in: Gregory Butler, George Stauffer, Mary Greer, eds. et al., About Bach (Champaign: University of Illinois Press, 2008), pp. 15–34 Helmbold, Hermann, ‘Die Söhne von Johann Christoph und Johann Ambrosius Bach auf der Eisenacher Schule’, Bach-Jahrbuch 27 (1930), pp. 49–55 Heyde, Herbert, ‘Contrabassoons in the Seventeenth and early Eighteenth Century’, The Galpin Society Journal 40 (1987), pp. 24–36 Hiemke, Sven, ‘Bach-Deutungen im Umfeld der kirchenmusikalischen Erneuerungsbe- wegung’, in: Michael Heinemann and Hans Joachim Hinrichsen, eds., Bach und die Nachwelt, 4 vols. (Laaber: Laaber, 2000), vol. 3 Hoffmann-Axthelm, Dagmar, ‘Bach und die perfidia Iudaica: Zur Symmetrie der Juden- Turbae in der Johannes-Passion’, in: Basler Jahrbuch für historische Musikpraxis, 13 (1989), pp. 31–54 Holl, Karl, ‘Die Geschichte des Wortes Beruf’, in: idem, Gesammelte Aufsätze zur Kir- chengeschichte, 3 vols. (Tübingen: Mohr-Siebeck, 1928), 3, pp. 194–195 Hoppe, Günther, ‘Köthener politische, ökonomische und höfische Verhältnisse als Schaffensbedingungen Bachs (Teil 1)’, Cöthener Bach-Hefte 4 (1986), pp. 13–62 Jansen, Martin, ‘Bachs Zahlensymbolik, an seinen Passionen untersucht’, Bach-Jahr- buch 34 (1937), pp. 96–117 Kaiser, Rainer, ‘Johann Sebastian Bach als Schüler einer “deutschen Schule” in Eise- nach?’, Bach-Jahrbuch (80) 1994, pp. 177–184. Kirste, Reinhard, ‘Theologische und spirituelle Ermöglichungsansätze für Bachs Werk unter besonderer Berücksichtigung des Verständnisses von Wort und Geist bei 316 bibliography

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, ‘Why do Lutherans sing? Lutherans, Music and the Gospel in the first century of the Reformation’, Church History (82.1) 2013, pp. 69–89 , ‘“Musica est optimum”: Martin Luther’s Theory of Music’, Music and Letters 94.4 (2013), pp. 573–605 Lowe, Malcolm, ‘Who were the ΙΟΥΔΑΙΟΙ?’, Novum Testamentum 18.2 (1976), pp. 101– 130 Luke, K., ‘The Setting of Psalm 115’, Irish Theological Quarterly 34.4 (1967), pp. 347–357 Mahlmann, Theodor, ‘Moller, Martin’, in: BBKL, 6: cols. 45–48 Marissen, Michael, ‘The Character and Sources of the Anti-Judaism in Bach’s Cantata 46’, Harvard Theological Review 96.1 (2003), pp. 63–99 Marshall, Robert, ‘Bach the Progressive: Observations on His Later Works’, Musical Quarterly 63.3 (1976), pp. 313–357 Martin, Just, ‘Deutschland um 1600’, Schütz-Jahrbuch 26 (2004), pp. 89–107 Melamed, Daniel R., ‘Johann Sebastian Bach and Barthold Heinrich Brockes’, in: idem, ed., J.S. Bach and the Oratorio Tradition, Bach Perspectives 8 (Champaign: University of Illinois Press, 2011), pp. 13–41 Meyer, Ulrich, ‘Johann Sebastian Bachs theologische Äußerungen’, Musik und Kirche 47.3 (1977), pp. 112–118 Miller, Roark, ‘New Information on the Chronology of Venetian Monody: The “Raccolte” of Remigio Romano’, Music and Letters 77.1 (1996), pp. 22–33 Minear, Paul S., ‘J.S. Bach and J.A. Ernesti: A Case Study in Theological and Exegetical Conflict’, in: John Deschner eds. et al., Our Common History as Christians: Essays in Honor of Albert C. Outler (Oxford: University Press, 1975), pp. 131–155 Moser, Hans Joachim, ‘Zum Bau von Bachs Johannespassion’, Bach-Jahrbuch 29 (1932), pp. 155–157 , ‘Diabolus in Musica’, Musikerziehung 6.3 (1953), pp. 131–147 Oefner, Claus, ‘Musical life of the Towns and Courts in Central Germany around 1700’,in: Christoph Wolff, ed., The World of the Bach Cantatas: Johann Sebastian Bach’s Early Sacred Cantatas (New York and London: W.W. Norton, 1997), pp. 35–48 Pegah, Rashid, ‘The Court of Brandenburg-Culmbach-Bayreuth’, in: Samantha Owens, ed., Music at German Courts, 1715–60: Changing Artistic Priorities (Woodbridge: Boy- dell, 2011), pp. 389–412 Pelikan, Jaroslav, ‘“Blut ist ein ganz besondrer Saft: Am farbigen Abglanz haben wir das Leben”. The Aria “Erwäge, wie sein blutgefärbter Rücken” in J.S. Bach’s Saint John Passion’, in: Albert Clement, ed., Das Blut Jesu und die Lehre von der Versöhnung im Werk Johann Sebastian Bachs, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (Amsterdam: North Holland, 1995), pp. 205–213 Petzoldt, Martin, ‘Christian Weise d[er] Ä[ltere] und Christoph Wolle—zwei Leipziger Beichtväter Bachs, Vertreter zweier auslegungsgeschichtlicher Abschnitte der aus- gehenden lutherischen Orthodoxie’, in: idem, ed. et al., Bach als Ausleger der Bibel: 318 bibliography

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Schulze, Hans-Joachim, ‘Johann Christoph Bach (1671–1721), “Organist und Schul Col- lega in Ohrdruf”: Johann Sebastian Bachs erster Lehrer’, Bach-Jahrbuch 71 (1985), pp. 55–81 , ‘Carl Philipp Emanuel Bachs Hamburger Passionsmusiken und ihr gattungs- geschichtlicher Kontext’, in: Hans Joachim Marx, ed., Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach und die europäische Musikkultur des mittleren 18. Jahrhunderts, Bericht über das internationale Symposium der Joachim Jungius-Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften, Ham- burg, 29. September–2. Oktober 1988 (Göttingen: Vandenhoek & Ruprecht, 1990), pp. 333–343 , ‘J.S. Bachs Johannes-Passion in der Spätfassung von 1749’, in Ulrich Prinz, ed., Johann Sebastian Bach: Johannes-Passion, BWV 245—Vorträge des Meisterkurses 1986 und der Sommerakademie J.S. Bach 1990, Schriftenreihe der internationalen Bachakademie Stuttgart 5 (Kassel: Bärenreiter, 1993), pp. 112–127 , ‘Die Bach-Kantate “Nach dir, Herr, verlanget mich” und ihr Meckbach-Akrosti- chon’, Bach-Jahrbuch 97 (2010), pp. 69–93 Serauky, Walter, ‘Die “Johannes-Passion” von Joh[ann] Seb[astian] Bach und ihr Vor- bild’, in: Bach-Jahrbuch 41 (1954), pp. 29–37 Siegele, Ulrich, ‘Bach and the domestic politics of Electoral Saxony’, in: John Butt, ed. et al., The Cambridge Companion to Bach (Cambridge: University Press, 1997), pp. 17–34 Siegmund, Bert, ‘The Court of Saxony-Gotha-Altenburg’, in: Samantha Owens, ed., Music at German Courts, 1715–60: Changing Artistic Priorities (Woodbridge: Boydell, 2011), pp. 197–221 Smend, Friedrich, ‘Die Johannes-Passion von Bach. Auf ihren Bau untersucht’, in: Bach- Jahrbuch 22 (1926), pp. 105–128 , ‘Bachs Himmelfahrts-Oratorium’, in: Karl Matthäi, ed., Bach-Gedenkschrift (Zürich: Atlantis, 1950), pp. 42–65 , ‘Was bleibt? Zu Friedrich Blumes Bach-Bild’, Der Kirchenmusiker 13 (1962), pp. 178–188 Spitta, Philipp, ‘Die Arie “Ach mein Sinn” aus J.S. Bachs Johannes-Passion’, in: Viertel- jahresschrift für Musikwissenschaft 4 (1888), pp. 471–478 Steiger, Lothar, ‘“Wir haben keinen König denn den Kaiser”—Pilatus und die Juden in der Passionsgeschichte nach dem Johannesevangelium mit Bezug auf Heinrich Schütz und Johann Sebastian Bach: Oder die Frage nach dem Antijudaismus’, in: Musik und Kirche 64 (1994), pp. 264–271 , ‘“Die Jüden aber schrieen: Kreuzige ihn!” Theologische Anmerkungen zum Antijudaismus in der Johannespassion’, in: Renate Steiger, ed. et al., Die Quellen Johann Sebastian Bachs, Bachs Musik im Gottesdienst: Bericht über das Symposium 4.-8. Oktober 1995 in der Internationalen Bachakademie Stuttgart (Heidelberg: Manu- tius, 1998), pp. 303–318 320 bibliography

Steiger, Renate, ‘Bach und Israel’, in: Musik und Kirche 50 (1980), pp. 15–22 , ‘Johann Sebastian Bachs Kantaten zum 10. Sonntag nach Trinitatis und die Frage nach dem Antijudaismus’, in: Arndt Meinhold and Angelika Berlejung, eds., Der Freund des Menschen: Festschrift für Georg Christian Macholz zur Vollendung des 70. Lebensjahr (Neukirchen-Vluyn: Neukirchener-Verlag, 2003), pp. 283–323 Strom, Jonathan, ‘Pietism and Revival’, in: Joris van Eijnatten, ed. et al., Preaching, Sermon and Cultural Change in the Long Eighteenth Century, A New History of the Sermon 4 (Leiden: Brill, 2009), pp. 173–218 Trautmann, Christoph, ‘“Calovii Schrifften. 3 Bände” aus Johann Sebastian Bachs Nach- laß und ihre Bedeutung für das Bild des lutherischen Kantors Bach’, Musik und Kirche 39 (1969), pp. 145–160 Trocmé-Latter, Daniel, ‘The Psalms as a mark of Protestantism: The Introduction of liturgical Psalm-Singing in Geneva’, Plainsong and Medieval Music 20 (2011), pp. 145– 163 Troxler, Walter, ‘Olearius. Johann Gottfried’, in: BBKL 6: col. 1189–1190 Wahlde, Urban von, ‘The Johannine “Jews”: A survey’, New Testament Studies 28 (1982), pp. 33–55 Wallmann, Johannes, ‘Abraham Calov: theologischer Widerpart der Religionspolitik des großen Kurfürsten’, in: Stefan Oehmig, ed., 700 Jahre Wittenberg: Stadt, Univer- sität, Reformation (Weimar: Hermann Böhlau, 1995), pp. 303–311 , ‘Das Luthertum und die Juden in der Leibnitzzeit’, in: idem, Pietismus und Orthodoxie: Gesammelte Aufsätze (Tübingen: Mohr-Siebeck, 2010), pp. 318–338 Walter, Meinrad, ‘Die Bibel, Bach, die Juden—und wir: Zum Verständnis der Johannes- Passion Bachs (BWV 245)’, in: Württembergische Blätter für Kirchenmusik 60 (1993), pp. 210–212 Werthemann, Helene, ‘Bachs Fundament “aller gottgefälliger Kirchenmusik”’,in: Frank Beyer and Christoph Trautmann, eds., 51. Bachfest der Neuen Bachgesellschaft: Bach- fest-Vorträge 1976 (Kassel: Bärenreiter, 1976), pp. 3–17 , ‘Jesus Christus, vorgestellt zu einem Gnadenstuhl durch den Glauben in seinem Blut’, in: Albert A. Clement ed., Das Blut Jesu und die Lehre der Versöhnung im Werk Johann Sebastian Bachs, Verhandelingen der Koninklijke Nederlandse Akade- mie van Wetenschappen, Afdeling Letterkunde, New Series, Vol. 164 (Amsterdam: North-Holland, 1995), pp. 63–78 Williams, Jefferson B., Schwab, Markus J. and Brauer, A., ‘An early first-century earthquake in the Dead Sea’, International Geology Review 54.10 (2011), pp. 1219–1228 Wolff, Christoph, ‘Die musikalischen Formen der Johannes-Passion’, in: Ulrich Prinz, ed., Johann Sebastian Bach: Johannes-Passion, BWV 245—Vorträge des Meisterkurses 1986 und der Sommerakademie J.S. Bach 1990, Schriftenreihe der internationalen Bachakademie Stuttgart 5 (Kassel: Bärenreiter, 1993), pp. 128–141 , ‘Bach’s pre-Leipzig Cantatas: Repertory and Context’, in: idem, ed., The World bibliography 321

of the Bach Cantatas: Early Sacred Cantatas (New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 1997), pp. 3–18 , ‘Bible and Hymnal in Johann Sebastian Bach’, in: Carlos R. Messerli, ed. et al., Thine the Amen: Essays on Lutheran Church Music in Honor of Carl Schalk (Min- neapolis: Kirk House Publishers, 2005), pp. 111–122 Wollny, Peter, ‘Genres and Styles of Sacred Music around and after 1700’, in: Christoph Wolff, ed., The World of the Bach Cantatas: Early Sacred Cantatas (New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 1997), pp. 19–33 Wustmann, Rudolf, ‘Zu Bachs Texten der Johannes- und Matthäus-Passion’, Monatss- chrift für Gottesdienst und kirchliche Kunst 15 (1910), pp. 126–131 , ‘Tonartsymbolik zu Bachs Zeit’, Bach-Jahrbuch 8 (1911), pp. 60–74 Zahn, Dieter, ‘Zu den Rezitativen in Johann Sebastian Bachs Johannes-Passion und ihrer Ausführung’, Musik und Kirche 41.1 (1977), pp. 9–14

5 Secondary Source Materials: Unpublished Dissertations

Birke, Joachim, Die Passionsmusiken von Thomas Selle (1599–1663) (Heidelberg Univer- sity: Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation, 1957) Heuchemer, Dane Owen, Italian Musicians in Dresden in the Second Half of the Sixteenth Century, with an Emphasis on the Lives and Works of Antonio Scandello and Giovanni Battista Pinello di Ghirardi (University of Cincinnati: Unpublished Doctoral Disser- tation, 1997) Jones, Tamsin D., Passions in Perspective: An Analytical Discussion of the three Passion Settings of Heinrich Schütz (1585–1672) against their Historical and Stylistic Back- grounds (Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation: Birmingham University, 2000) Lloyd, Rebecca, Bach among the Conservatives: The Quest for Theological Truth (Unpub- lished Doctoral Dissertation: King’s College London, 2006) Rossin, Thomas, The Calov Bible of Johann Sebastian Bach (Unpublished Doctoral Dis- sertation: University of Minnesota, 1992) Index of Names

Abraham (Patriarch), 133, 295, 297 Brown, Raymond, 176, 190 Agrippa I (King of Judea), 217, 237 Bugenhagen, Johannes, 68, 80 Anhalt-Bernburg, Princess Friderica Henrietta Butt, John, 18, 167 of, 55 Anhalt-Köthen, Prince Leopold of, 32, 54–55, Caiaphas (High Priest), 108, 112, 114, 160–162, 60, 79 171, 175–176, 190, 207, 231, 238 Annas (High Priest), see Hannas Calov, Abraham, 16, 33–35, 37–43, 135–137, Arimathea, Joseph of, see Joseph of Arimathea 196–197, 200, 205, 230, 244, 266, 291 Arndt, Johann, 153, 214, 282 Chafe, Eric, 8, 235 Asaph (Psalmist), 38, 41, 247–248 Clayton, Alfred, 2 Axmacher, Elke, 8, 78n, 88n Copland, Aaron, 5 Crüger, Johann, 156 Bach, Johann Ambrosius (Father of Johann Sebastian), 21, 24 David (King of Israel and Judah, Psalmist), 38, –, Johann Jakob (Brother of Johann 41, 247 Sebastian), 21 Deyling, Solomon, 58 –, Johann Christoph (Brother of Johann Dibelius, Martin, 175 Sebastian), 21 Dilherr, Johann Michael, 164, 175 –, Christoph (First cousin of Johann Dürr, Alfred, 2, 5, 75, 80, 142, 283 Sebastian), 24 –, Anna Magdalena, 66 Eco, Umberto, 52, 53n –, Carl Friedemann, 66 –, Carl Philipp Emanuel, 66 Fasch, Johann Friedrich, 85n Barabbas, 100, 118, 207–208 Firth, Katherine, xiv, xxi, 2–298 Barbarino, Bartolomeo, 46 Franc, Guillaume, 156n Barrett, C.K. (Charles Kingsley), 162 Franck, Salomo, 49–53 Berenburg, Princess of, see Anhalt-Bernburg, Frescobaldi, Girolamo, 27 Princess Friderica Henrietta of Berti, Giovanni, 46 Gallus, Jacobus, see Handl, Jakob Biller, Christoph (Thomaskantor), xx Gaudlitz, Gottlieb, 66n Blankenburg, Werner, 6 Geck, Martin, 58 Blume, Friedrich, 4–5 Gerber, Christian, 281 Blumenberg, Hans, 11–12 Gerhard, Johann, 33, 88, 135, 163 Boyd, Malcolm, 56n Gerhardt, Paul, 174, 222 Brandenburg-Schwedt, Christian Ludwig, Gesius, Bartholomäus, 73, 232 Margrave of, 56 Gottsched, Johann Christoph, 61 Braun, August, 27–28 Gräffenhayn, Gottfried Christoph, 30 Breitkopf, Berndhard Christoph, 66 Grandi, Alessandro, 46 Britten, Benjamin, 2 Graupner, Johann Christoph, 56 Brockes, Barthold Heinrich, 63, 77–78, 82–83, Greer, Mary Dalton, 40–41, 247 85, 162–166, 210–211, 214–215, 232, 246–249, Greff, Johannes, 69–70 274–275, 283, 293 index of names 323

HaCohen, Ruth, xx, 224 Lehmann (Leipzig Lord Mayor), 59 Hammerschmidt, Andreas, 27–29 Lloyd, Rebecca, 10–11 Handel, George Frederick, 85n, 163, 275 Loewe, Johann Jacob, 27 Handl, Jakob, 27 Lusitano, Amatus, 270 Hannas (High Priest), 100, 108, 112, 160–161, 164, Luther, Martin, xiv–xv, 11, 13, 16, 33–36, 175–176, 231 135–140, 146–150, 159–162, 170, 184, 186–188, Hassler, Hans Leo, 27 191–193, 195–197, 199, 201, 204, 208, 211, Heermann, Johann, 156–157, 180, 201, 210, 212, 216–220, 222, 229, 231–233, 239, 244–245, 248 250, 254, 257, 260–263, 266–267, 286–288, Heman (Levitical Priest), 38, 247–248 291, 293, 297 Henrici, Christian Friedrich, 50, 61, 62n, 63n. Herberger, Valerius, 243–258 Magdalene, Mary (Apostle), 127, 261–262 Herda, Elias, 21 Malchus (Servant of the High Priest), 107, 158 Herlicius, Johann David, 36 Manasseh (King of Judah), 174 Herod the Great (King of Judaea), xiv, 186, 197 Marissen, Michael, 2, 10 Heunisch, Caspar, 269, 279 Mary (Mother of Jesus), 127, 261–264 Heyden, Sebald, 141, 182 Mary (Spouse of Cleophas), 127, 261–262 Hoffmann-Axthelm, Dagmar, 9 Mattheson, Johann, 43, 47, 85n, 163, 232, 268 Holst, Imogen, 2 McGrath, Alister E., 95 Hutter, Leonhard, 22 Meiland, Jakob, 71 Mendel, Arthur, 99 Jansen, Martin, 4 Milanuzzi, Carlo, 46 Jerome (Church Father), 210 Moller, Martin, 213–214, 280, 282, 294, 296 John (Beloved Disciple), 127, 262–264 Müller, Heinrich, 154, 173, 182–183, 248 John (Disciple, son of Zebedee), 164 –, Johann, 209, 223, 269–270 Jones, Richard, 49 Joseph of Arimathea (Follower of Jesus), xvi, Neumann, Werner, 5 132, 290–292 Neumeister, Erdmann, 44, 46, 49–50, 53 Josephus, Flavius, xx, 161, 186, 188–189, 196, Nicodemus (Follower of Jesus), 171, 291–292 198, 238 Nietzsche, Friedrich, 3 Judas (Disciple), xv, 105, 147–149, 152–153, 158, Noah (Patriarch), 214 169, 181, 231n Novello, Ivor, 2

Keiser, Richard, 85n, 163 Olearius, Johannes, 16, 33, 37–38, 135– Kirste, Reinhard, 35 138, 143, 150, 153–154, 159, 171, 189– Knüpfer, Sebastian, 179 190, 191n, 192, 194–195, 199–200, 204– Kobelius, Johann August, 30, 54 206, 208, 223, 230, 241–242, 244, 254, Koopman, Ton, xiv 262–263, 265–267, 274, 282, 286, 291, Koppy (Leipzig goldleaf merchant), 76 294 Kuhnau, Johann, 51, 56, 74–75, 77 –, Johann Gottfried, 40, 44

Lange (Leipzig Councillor), 56n Paul (Apostle), 233 Lassus, Orlande de, 27 Pears, Peter, 2 Lazarus (Follower of Jesus), 163, 297 Pelican, Jaroslav, 7 Leaver, Robin, xxi, 7, 138 Peter, Simon (Apostle), xvi, xviii, 80, 107, 324 index of names

Peter, Simon (cont.), 109–110, 112–114, 158–159, Schweitzer, Albert, 3 164–171, 175–166, 180–183, 221, 245 Selle, Thomas, 73–74 Petzoldt, Martin, xx, 8, 30, 35, 75, 77, 77n, 89 Selnecker, Nikolaus, 71 Pfeiffer, August, 248 Seyfert, Johann Caspar, 225 Philo of Alexandria, 217 Shakespeare, William, xvi Picander, see Henrici, Christian Friedrich Simon Peter (Apostle), see Peter, Simon Pilate, Pontius (Roman Prefect), xv, xiv, xvii, Smend, Friedrich, 4, 81, 233–235 xviii, 80, 92, 102, 115, 106, 116, 117, 118, 132, Söderblom, Nathan, 3 141, 150, 170, 186–188, 191–192, 194–204, Spitta, Philipp, 3–4, 78, 143–144, 167 207, 217, 219–223, 225, 228–232, 236–244, Steiger, Renate, 6, 9–10 252–256, 258, 285–286, 290–291 Steiger, Lothar, 9–11 Platz (Leipzig Councillor), 58 Stockmann, Paul, 90–91, 182, 264–265, 276 Pliny the Elder (Gaius Plinius Secundus), 286 Stölzel, Gottfried Heinrich, 85n Postel, Christian Heinrich, 82–83, 85n, 232–233, 268 Telemann, Georg Philip, 56, 77n, 85n, 163 Praetorius, Michael, 27, 42 Teschner, Melchior, 256 –, Friedrich Emanuel, 74 Thebesius, Adam, 222 Trautmann, Christoph, 6 Rambach, Johann Jakob, 95, 173 Troutbeck, John, 2 Rathey, Markus, xxi Ritter, Christian, 85n Vogler, Johann Gottfried, 77n Rörer, Günther, 25 Vulpius, Melchior, 73 Rost, Johann Christoph, 75, 156 Wallmann, Johannes, 9 Saubert, Johann, 167n Walter, Johann, 15, 71–72, 76–77 Saxe-Gotha, Prince Ernst of, 36, 42 Walther, Johann Gottfried, 189 Saxe-Weimar, Duke Johann Ernst of, 30 Wecker, Christoph Gottlob, 32 Saxe-Weissenfels, Duke Johann Georg of, 30 Weise, Christian (Thomaspastor), 59, 61 Scandello, Antonio, 72 –, Christian (Zittau Schoolmaster), 76, 85, Schalling, Martin, 295–296 179–181 Scheffler, Johann, 233 Weisse, Michael, 184–185, 289 Scheidt, Samuel, 27 Wolff, Christoph, 27, 43, 45, 80 Schein, Johann Hermann, 232–233 Wright, N.T. (Tom), xx Schmidt, Johann, 58 Schulze, Hans-Joachim, 5 Ziegler, Mariane von, 61, 59n Schütz, Heinrich, 27–29, 44, 74, 142 Index of Places

Arnstadt, Latin School, 44 Köben, 156 –, New Church, 15, 30, 32, 37, 44 Köthen, 54–56, 78

Babylon, 256 Landskron, 184 Brandenburg, 174 Leipzig, New Church, 77 Breslau (Wrocław), 184 –, St Nikolai Church, 1, 17, 60–61, 74, 76–77 –, St Thomas’ Choir School, 59–60, 66–67 Cambridge, Great St Mary’s Church, xix –, St Thomas’ Church, xx, 17, 32, 58–61, Concordia Seminary, St Louis, Mo., 33, 136 66–67, 74–78 Liebfrauenkirche Halle, see Halle, Liebfrauen- Damascus Road, 154 kirche Lüneburg, St Michael’s School, 21–23, 25–30, Eisenach, Latin School, 13, 19, 26, 29, 58 55, 58, 74, 187 –, St George’s Church, 24 Emmaus, 262 Melbourne, St Paul’s Cathedral, xx –, Trinity College, The University of Fraunstadt (Wschowa), 256 Melbourne, xix–xxi Mühlhausen, St Blasius Church, 45, 48–49 Georgenkirche Eisenach, see Eisenach, St George’s Church Nikolaikirche Leipzig, see Leipzig, St Nikolai Church Halle, Liebfrauenkirche, 32 Ohrdruf, Lyceum Illustre, 21–22, 24, 26–27, 29, Isenheim, 257 56, 58

Jerusalem, Antonia Fortress, 186 Rostock, 182 –, Citadel of David, 186 –, Gabbatha, 123, 239 Strassburg (Strasbourg), 295 –, Garden of Gethsemane, 141, 160, 185 –, Golgotha, 124–125, 244–247, 249, Thomaskirche Leipzig, see Leipzig, St Thomas’ 251–252, 292 Church –, Kidron Valley, 100, 104, 147–148 Thomasschule Leipzig, see Leipzig, St Thomas’ –, Praetorium (Headquarters of the Roman Choir School Prefect, Richthaus), 116, 178, 187–188, 196, 218, 220, 222, 229, 236, 240, 254 Wartburg, 36 –, Temple, xiv–xv, 130, 154, 172, 247, Weimar, 15, 49–51, 54 279–282 –, Via Dolorosa, 103, 106n Index of Bach’s Works by BWV Number

Klavierbüchlein für Wilhelm Friedemann BMV 81, Cantata Jesus schläft, was soll ich Bach, xxi hoffen, 144n BWV 599–644, Orgel-Büchlein, 43, 296 BWV 84, Cantata Ich bin vergnügt mit meinem BWV Anh. 3, Cantata Gott, gib dein Gerichte Glücke, 63 dem König, 64 BWV 87, Cantata Bisher habt ihr nichts gebetet BWV 4, Cantata Christ lag in Todes Banden, 45, in meinem Namen, 62 47 BWV 103, Cantata Ihr werdet weinen und BWV Anh. 4, Cantata Wünschet Jerusalem heulen, 62 Glück, 63 BWV 105, Cantata Herr, gehe nicht ins Gericht, BWV Anh. 4a, Cantata Wünschet Jerusalem 144n Glück, 64 BWV 106, Cantata Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste BWV Anh. 10, Cantata So kämpfet nun, ihr Zeit (Actus Tragicus), 48 muntren Töne, 64 BWV 108, Cantata Es ist gut, daß ich hingehe, BWV Anh. 11, Cantata Es lebe der König, der 62 Vater im Lande, 64 BWV 120a, Cantata Gott, man lobet dich in der BWV 12, Cantata Alles nur nach Gottes Willen, Stille, 63 53 BWV 125, Cantata Mit Fried und Freud fahr ich BWV Anh. 12, Cantata Frohes Volk, vergnügtes dahin, 297 Sachsen, 64 BWV 128, Cantata Auf Christi Himmelfahrt BWV 19, Cantata Es erhub sich ein Streit, 62n allein, 62 BWV 21, Cantata Ich hatte viel Bekümmernis, BWV 129, Cantata Gelobet sei der Herr, 38n 144n BWV 132, Cantata Bereitet die Wege, 53 BWV 22, Cantata Jesus nahm zu sich die BWV 134a, Cantata Die Zeit, die Tag und Jahre Zwölfe, 56 macht, 55n BWV 23, Cantata Du wahrer Mensch und BWV 145, Cantata Ich lebe, mein Herze, zu Davids Sohn, 79, 216 deinem Ergötzen, 63 BWV 31, Cantata Der Himmel lacht!, 53 BWV 147, Cantata Herz und Mund und Tat und BWV 36a, Cantata Steigt freudig in die Luft, 64 Leben, 53 BMV 46, Cantata Schauet doch, 238n BWV 148, Cantata Bringet dem Herrn Ehre BWV 66a, Cantata Der Himmel dacht auf seines Namens, 63 Anhalts Ruhm und Glück, 55n BWV 149, Cantata Man singet mit Freuden vom BWV 68, Cantata Also hat Gott die Welt geliebt, Sieg in den Hütten, 63 62 BWV 150, Cantata Nach dir, Herr verlangt BWV 70, Cantata Wachet, betet, 53 mich, 45 BWV 71, Cantata Gott ist mein König, 48 BWV 152, Cantata Tritt auf die Glaubensbahn, BWV 74, Cantata Wer mich liebet, der wird 53 mein Wort halten, 62 BWV 155, Cantata Mein Gott wie lang, ach BMV 77, Cantata Du sollst Gott deinen Herren lange, 53 lieben, 227n BWV 156, Cantata Ich steh mit einem Fuß im BWV 80, Cantata Ein feste Burg, 53 Grabe, 63 BWV 80a, Cantata Alles was von Gott geboren, BWV 157, Cantata Ich lasse dich nicht, du 53 segnest mich denn, 64 index of bach’s works by bwv number 327

BWV 159, Cantata Sehet, wir gehn hinauf gen BWV 196, Cantata, Der Herr denkt an uns, 45 Jerusalem, 63, 182n BWV 197a, Cantata Ehre sei Gott in der Höhe, BWV 161, Cantata Komm, du süße Todesstunde, 63 53 BWV 198, Cantata Laß, Fürstin, laß noch einen BWV 162, Cantata Ach ich sehe, itzt da ich zur Strahl, 61n Hochzeit gehe, 53 BWV 201, Cantata Geschwinde, ihr wirbelden BWV 163, Cantata Nur jedem das Seine, 53 Winde, 64 BWV 165, Cantata Du heiliges Geist- und BWV 205, Cantata Zerreißet, zersprenget, Wasserbad, 53 zertrümmert die Gruft, 64 BWV 168, Cantata Tue Rechnung, Donnerwort, BWV 208, Cantata Was mir behagt, ist nur die 53 muntre Jagd, 49, 53 BWV 171, Cantata Gott, so wie dein Name, so ist BWV 211, Cantata Schweiget stille, plaudert auch dein Ruhm, 63, 143 nicht, 64 BWV 172, Cantata Erschallet, ihr Lieder, 53 BWV 212, Cantata Mer han en neue Oberkeet, BWV 173a, Cantata Durchlauchtester Leopold, 64 55n BWV 216, Cantata Vergnügte Pleißenstadt, 64 BWV 174, Cantata Ich liebe den Höchsten von BWV 227, Jesu, meine Freude XVII ganzem Gemüte, 63 BWV 232, B-Minor Mass, 8, 204n BWV 175, Cantata Er rufet seine Schafe mit BMV 243, Magnificat, 204n Namen 62 BWV 244, St Matthew Passion, 63, 280–281, BWV 176, Cantata Es ist ein trotzig und verzagt 285–286 Ding, 62 BWV 244a, Passion Music, Klagt, Kinder, klagt BWV 182, Cantata Himmelskönig, sei willkom- es aller Welt, 63 men, 53, 176, 182n, 276 BWV 247, Cantata Geh, Jesu, geh zu deiner BWV 183, Cantata Sie werden euch in den Bann Pein, 63 tun, 62 BWV 248, Christmas Oratorio, 243, 258, 277 BWV 186, Cantata Ärgre dich, o Seele, nicht, 53 BWV 249a, Cantata Entfliehet, verschwindet, BWV 188, Cantata Ich habe meine Zuversicht, entweichet ihr Sorgen, 64 63 BWV 249b, Cantata Verjaget, zerstreuet, BWV 190a, Cantata Singet dem Herr ein neues zerrüttet ihr Sterne, 64 Lied, 63 BWV 846–893, Well-tempered Clavier, 54 BWV Anh. 190, Cantata Ich bin ein Pilgrim auf BWV 812–17, French Suites, 54 dem Weg, 63 BWV 1046–1051, Brandenburg Concertos, 56 BWV 193a, Cantata Ihr Häuser des Himmels, BWV 1041–1043, Concertos for solo and double ihr scheinenden Lichter, 64 Violin, 54 Index of Themes

Affekt, 28, 84, 202 French, Bach learning, 23 Alberti bass, 260 Allegorical use of voice, Baroque, 167, 180, 212, German Research Foundation, 13 271, 284 Gnadenblick (Christ’s ‘gaze of grace’), 182 Anti-Judaism, see also Jews (Die Jüden, Hoi Gnadengegenwart (God’s Presence in Music), Ioudaíoi), 9–10, 245–249 40 Ark of the Covenant, 279 Greek, Bach learning, 23 Arnstadt Cantatas, 45 Hanukkah (Festival of Lights), 172 Bach Academy, International, 8 Hebrew, Bach possibly learning, 23 Bible, Hebrew, 23 Homiletics, Lutheran, 14–15, 29 Bible, Greek, 23 Horizontabschreibung (Erosion of the cultural Book Fair, Leipzig, see Leipzig, Book Fair horizon), 11–12 Hymns, Lutheran, 24–25 Calov Bible, 14, 33–35, 37–43, 135–137, 187, 195–197, 247, 291 Intermedi, 74, 84 –, Bach’s marginalia, 38, 40–42 International Bach Academy, see Bach Cantatas, Arnstadt, 45 Academy, International –, Franck, 52–53 International Working Group for Theo- –, Geistliche Cantaten, 46 logical Bach Research (Internationale –, Leipzig, 45–47 Arbeitsgemeinschaft für theologische Bach- –, Leipzig, Annual Cycles ( Jahrgänge), forschung), 6, 8–11, 16 1723–1727, 46n, 47, 60 Israel, King of, see also Jews, King of the, xv, –, Neumeister, 44, 47–50 100, 199, 253 –, ‘reform’ 42, 47–48 –, ‘transitional’ 48–49 Jews, King of the, xv, 100, 125, 150, 196–204, Capellmeister, 35 207, 217–221, 229, 238, 241–242, 252– Catechism, Lutheran, 25 254 Christus Victor, see Lutheran Doctrine, –, (Die Jüden, Hoi Ioudaíoi), 192–193, 197, Atonement, Christus Victor 253, 286 Cross-motif, see St John Passion, Cross-motif Judah, Hero of, xvii, 129, 268–270, 273 Curriculum, Lutheran, 22 Kantaten-Jahrgänge, see Cantatas, Leipzig, Diabolus in Musica, see St John Passion, Annual Cycles ( Jahrgänge) Tritone Kantorei, Lutheran, 28

Education, Lutheran, 14, 21–23, 29 Lehrstück, see Lutheran, Teaching Drama Election, Lutheran Doctrine of, 34–35 Leicisternia, 206 Estate, Specification of Bach’s, 7, 33, 135 Leipzig, Book Fair, 17 –, Deplorable State of Music, 66–67 Formula of Concord, 58 Leipzig Cantatas, 45–47, 60 Fortspinnung, 151, 223–224 Leipziger Kirchen-Staat, 17, 72 index of themes 329

Levitical Priests (as Temple Musicians), 10, 14, –, Summa Passionis, 15, 68, 70, 77–78, 84 36, 38–40, 42, 247–248 –, Weimar, Bach’s, 54 Lord’s Prayer, 159–160 Passover, 171, 186–187, 206, 217, 240, 286, 292 Lüneburg Worship Order, 27–28 Pharisees (Jewish Group), 105, 147, 149, 291 Lutheran, Curriculum, 22 Pietism, 7, 95, 173, 282 –, Education, 14, 21–22, 29ß Pre-Enlightenment, 10–11 –, German Mass, 71 Priests, Levitical, see Levitical Priests –, Homiletics, 14–15, 29, 96 –, Kantorei, 28 Reformation, Lutheran, 29 –, Orthodoxy, 7, 16–17, 32, 37–38 –, Orthodoxy, Bach’s, 32, 35, 42 Sanhedrin (Religious Court), 171, 290 –, Responsorial Passion, 68 Schwarzburg Agenda, 44n –, Sacraments, 287 Specificatio, see Estate, Specification of Bach’s –, Teaching Drama, 15, 69–70 St John Passion, Actus Chorales, 88–91 Lutheran Doctrine, Anfechtung (Temptation, –, Augenmusik (Music for the eyes), 194, Trouble), 249–251 242 –, Atonement, Christus Victor, 16 –, Chorales, 86 –, Augsburg Confession, 58n –, Cross-motif, 152, 156, 165, 194, 207, 209, –, Deus absconditus, 94 220, 224, 227, 241–245, 252–253, 266, 286 –, Election, 34–35 –, Herzstück, 211, 233 –, Formula of Concord, 58 –, Interior Questions, 88 –, Grace, 227, 233, 257, 295, 297 –, Madrigalic texts, 85–86 –, Incarnation, 251 –, Melismas, 195, 222, 244, 267, 271, 287 –, Justification, 293 –, Schwärmer-motif, 189, 194, 238, 241, 254, –, Vocation, 32, 35, 42 260 –, Theology of the Cross, 94–96, 149 –, Tritone, 157n, 188, 207, 208, 226, 236, 241, –, Throne of Grace (Gnadenthron), 244–245, 252 297–298 Succoth (Festival of Booths), 172 Summa Passionis, see Passion, Summa Meistersinger, 69–70 Passionis

Neumeister Cantatas, 44, 47–50 Temple Musicians, 10, 14, 36–38, 41, 42 New Leipzig Hymnal, 71–72 Teutsch Gesangbüchlein, 25 New Eisenach Hymnal, 25, 36 Thirty Years’ War, 13, 36 Turba Chorus (Choral crowd scene), 70, 177, Order for Mattins and Vespers at St Michael’s 193 Lüneburg, see Lüneburg Worship Order Orthodoxy, Lutheran, 7, 16–17, 32, 37–38 Vocation, 32, 35, 42 –, Lutheran, Bach’s, 32, 58 Wahrheit (Truth), 205 Passion, Lutheran Responsorial, 68 Weimar Passion, Bach’s, 54 –, Oratorio, 68 Wittenberg Hymnal, 26 –, rhymed, 182