Bach, Bach, and more Bach please

[Freyja]

Almost at the end of the first part, Jesus and His disciples are still in the Gethsemane Garden; Jesus had asked His disciples to stay awake while He retired to pray, but when He comes back, He finds them asleep; as He is admonishing them, Judas approaches and kisses Him, which was the clue for the arresting officers to signal the Man they had to seize. Thus, the officers come and arrest Him. After a duet between Soprano and Alto mourning over such injustice, comes this earth-shattering piece, here masterfully interpreted by, in my opinion, the best choir in the world: the Thomanerchor of Leipzig (Bach's very own) under the direction of Professor Georg Christoph Biller.

Sind Blitze, sind Donner in Wolken verschwunden? Eröffne den feurigen Abgrund, o Hölle, Zertrümmre, verderbe, verschlinge, zerschelle Mit plötzlicher Wut Den falschen Verräter, das mördrische Blut!

Have lightnings, has thunder vanished in the clouds? Open your fiery abyss, O Hell, Smash, destroy, swallow up, dashed to pieces With sudden fury The false betrayer, the murderous blood!

 

[Freyja]

In the second part Jesus is taken to the Great Priest Caiphas for interrogation, while Peter waits outside the palace, hanging out with the servants; as prophesized by Jesus, "before the cock crows, you will deny me thrice", and so it happens. Peter realizes what he has just done, and weeps bitterly, which gives the background to the most famous Alto aria in this work, one of the most achingly beautiful pieces of music ever written in history: Erbarme dich

Julia Hamari, accompanied by Otto Buchner's violin. Not a word I can say would ever do them justice

Erbarme dich, Mein Gott, um meiner Zähren willen! Schaue hier, Herz und Auge weint vor dir Bitterlich.

Have mercy, My God, for the sake of my tears! Look here, My heart and eyes weep before you Bitterly.

 

[Sagittarius A-Star]

Bach - 8-bit St John Passion - opening chorus

 

[Freyja]

After hearing testimonies of false witnesses, the High Priests and the Elders decide that Jesus should be crucified as punishment, and hand Him over to Pontius Pilate the next morning. Judas realizes the extent and consequences of his betrayal, tosses the 30 silver coins he received for it, and hangs himself. The Priests retrieve the coins and buy a plot of land from a potter, thus fulfilling Jeremiah's prophecy. Meanwhile Jesus refuses to defend Himself in front of Pilate, despite further accusations. And so comes another intimate Aria for Soprano and obbligato traverse flute, with oboe da caccia playing the continuo part: Aus liebe will mein heiland sterben.

The following is a wonderful version with a pan flute, where the oboe has been substituted by an accordion, without taking a comma from its magnificence:

Aus Liebe, Aus Liebe will mein Heiland sterben, Von einer Sünde weiß er nichts. Dass das ewige Verderben Und die Strafe des Gerichts Nicht auf meiner Seele bliebe.

Out of love, Out of love my saviour is willing to die, Of any sin he knows nothing So that eternal ruin And the punishment of judgement May not remain upon my soul.

 

[Sagittarius A-Star]

St Matthew Passion: 1. Kommt, ihr Töchter, helft mir klagen (piano transcription)

 

[Freyja]

The crowd adamantly keeps demanding that Jesus be crucified, and another prisoner (Barrabas) be set free. Pilate, even having a sneaking suspicion of Jesus' innocence, decides to satisfy the crowd's wishes for fear of an uprising, washes his hands, and surrenders Jesus to the crowd after having Him scourged. And another Alto Aria ensues: Können Tränen meiner Wangen.

Können Tränen meiner Wangen Nichts erlangen, O, so nehmt mein Herz hinein! Aber lasst es bei den Fluten, Wenn die Wunden milde bluten, Auch die Opferschale sein!

If the tears on my cheeks can Achieve nothing, O then take my heart! But let it for the streams, As the wounds gently bleed Also be the sacrificial cup!

La Hamari, outstanding again:

 

[Freyja]

After a long agony, Jesus finally dies in the Cross. The last arrangement of the Passion Chorale is played, and then the Evangelist starts telling how the veils in the temple were torn to pieces, and the earth trembled, and the graves were opened, and the dead rose up and appeared to many people in the city. The captain of the guards who were watching Jesus, after seeing what had just happened, was overcome with fear and exclaimed: He truly was the son of God.

This is the absolute climax of the whole work, and it's hard to hold back tears at this point. Bach depicts this moment with the most beautiful bars ever written:

Wahrlich, dieser ist Gottes Sohn gewesen.



Other several readings, for comparison:

 

[Freyja]

In the evening, Joseph of Arimathea went to Pilate and asked him to have Jesus' body, so he could give Him a proper burial, and so comes the final Aria of the SMP, the gorgeous Mache dich, mein Herze, rein, for Bass.

Mache dich, mein Herze, rein, Ich will Jesum selbst begraben. Denn er soll nunmehr in mir Für und für Seine süße Ruhe haben. Welt, geh aus, lass Jesum ein!

Make yourself pure, my heart I want to bury Jesus himself within me, For he now within me Forever Shall have his sweet rest. World, depart from my heart, let Jesus enter!

Walter Berry

 

[Sagittarius A-Star]

J.S.Bach - Johannes Passion - Eugen Jochum 1967

 

[Freyja]

And here comes the end to this towering Masterwork. The final Recitatives and the wonderful Chorus Wir setzen uns. Overwhelming, powerful, moving. Bach is just so above and beyond anybody else, it is almost impossible to think that a human being can achieve such encompassing, universal, stylistic and academic perfection. Such was the Man

Bass: Nun ist der Herr zur Ruh gebracht. Chor: Mein Jesu, gute Nacht! Tenor: Die Müh ist aus, die unsre Sünden ihm gemacht. Chor: Mein Jesu, gute Nacht! Alt: O selige Gebeine, Seht, wie ich euch mit Buß und Reu beweine, Dass euch mein Fall in solche Not gebracht! Chor: Mein Jesu, gute Nacht! Sopran: Habt lebenslang Vor euer Leiden tausend Dank, Dass ihr mein Seelenheil so wert geacht'. Chor: Mein Jesu, gute Nacht! Chor: Wir setzen uns mit Tränen nieder Und rufen dir im Grabe zu: Ruhe sanfte, sanfte ruh! 　　　　 Ruht, ihr ausgesognen Glieder! Euer Grab und Leichenstein Soll dem ängstlichen Gewissen Ein bequemes Ruhekissen Und der Seelen Ruhstatt sein. Höchst vergnügt schlummern da die Augen ein.

Bass: Now is the Lord brought to peace. Chorus: My Jesus, goodnight! Evangelist: The trouble is over, which our sins caused for him. Chorus: My Jesus, goodnight! Alto: O sacred bones, See how I weep for you with penance and remorse That my fall has brought you into such distress! Chorus: My Jesus, goodnight! Soprano: As long as life lasts Have a thousand thanks for your sufferings For having valued so highly the salvation of my soul. Chorus: My Jesus, goodnight! Chorus [S, A, T, B]: We sit down with tears And call to you in your tomb Rest gently, gently rest! Rest, you exhausted limbs! Your grave and tombstone For our anguished conscience shall be A pillow that gives peace and comfort And the place where our souls find rest. With the greatest content there our eyes will close in sleep.

 

[Freyja]

Bach - 8-bit St John Passion - opening chorus

Bach sounds good even in this silliness!!

St Matthew Passion: 1. Kommt, ihr Töchter, helft mir klagen (piano transcription)

Though it results impossible to do the work full justice in this instrument, it is a very good arrangement.

 

[Freyja]

J.S.Bach - Johannes Passion - Eugen Jochum 1967

I love that guy's channel, and I'm subscribed to it!! He has some magnificent recordings, specially one of Prof. Leonhardt that I listen to over and over. Quintessential.

That Jochum recording is a true gem!

 

[Freyja]

This is the recording I was talking about. If Bach is God, Gustav Leonhardt is His Prophet

One of my desert island picks.

 

[Sagittarius A-Star]

That Jochum recording is a true gem!

I have this 1967 Jochum recording on CD. I like, how good Ernst Haefliger sings as evangelist.

Also, I am glad that I found yesterday the 1956 recording of Cantata BWV140 on youtube. This recording was never released on CD.

 

[Freyja]

Haefliger is a treasure, and even more so paired with Berry as Christus. They just don't make them like that anymore :(

I listened again to his Benedictus from the B minor Mass. It is truly out of this world. He and Laubenthal are the ones for me in this particular aria. As much as I love historically informed performances, and for the most part like to keep my Bach in such fashion, the truth is that all of those performances from older times had a special quality and feeling that I can't express with words. Incredibly moving.

Here are both of those magnificent tenors, for comparison.

 

[Sagittarius A-Star]

Another very good tenor was Fritz Wunderlich.

Messe in h-Moll, BWV 232, Benedictus


Fritz Wunderlich sings Bach Christmas Oratorio BWV 248 (1965)

 

[Sagittarius A-Star]

As much as I love historically informed performances, and for the most part like to keep my Bach in such fashion, the truth is that all of those performances from older times had a special quality and feeling that I can't express with words.

I find, that in many of today's historically informed performances the music is played too fast.

Bach's Music 30% FASTER in 50 Years!!! Where will it end?

 

[pinball1970]

The fact this is so simple does not mean it is easy to create. You run out of adjectives with Bach so I will stick to beautiful.

 

[Sagittarius A-Star]

The Art of Fugue in D minor BWV 1080 (Helmut Walcha, Organ)

 

[BWV]

This is how Bach is supposed to sound on guitar

 

[pinball1970]

This is how Bach is supposed to sound on guitar

Bach would have liked that.

 

[Sagittarius A-Star]

Complete Bach Cello Suite No 1 G maior BWV 1007 (Rostropovich)

 

[pbuk]

Haefliger is a treasure, and even more so paired with Berry as Christus. They just don't make them like that anymore :(

I listened again to his Benedictus from the B minor Mass. It is truly out of this world. He and Laubenthal are the ones for me in this particular aria.

Here are both of those magnificent tenors, for comparison.

They were indeed magnificent tenors. However for me, magnificent tenors are not what I want to hear when I listen to Bach.

Compare with the approriately pitched (in more than one sense) performance on John Eliot Gardiner's 2015 recording: I can find only a sample freely available on line (YMMV):

Edit: this is from a complete video of a performance by the same company live in Paris (the CD was recorded live in London).


Edit 2: If you like this interpretation and you live in Europe then you will be disappointed to hear that John Eliot Gardiner has just completed a European tour of this work with the Monterverdi Choir and English Baroque Soloists, including Nick Pritchard (the tenor in the 2015 recording and concert linked above), however if you live in the US then you are lucky as it is coming there in October.
https://monteverdi.co.uk/bach-mass-in-b-minor

 

[Hornbein]

 

[lavinia]

This is one of my favorite Cantatas.

 

[lavinia]

Another of my favorite Cantatas. It brings tears. I've tried playing it on the piano but playing the chorus's voice is tough.

 

[pinball1970]

Another of my favorite Cantatas. It brings tears. I've tried playing it on the piano but playing the chorus's voice is tough.

One of my favourites too. This Danish fella is a great classical guitar player. A very nice version.

 

[lavinia]

One of my favourites too. This Danish fella is a great classical guitar player. A very nice version.

Lovely playing.

 

[Hornbein]

 

[Hornbein]

This gets my vote as the most beautiful performance of music ever recorded. The Dusseldorf Symphony Orchestra.



It is famous in Japan (the country that spends the world's higher percentage of GDP on music).

 

[pinball1970]

Wow! that is much faster than Per-Olov version.

 

[pbuk]

Wow! that is much faster than Per-Olov version.

I would rather say the Per-Olov version (at about 60 bpm) is slower than normal; hers (at about 76 (edit: listened again) 80 bpm) a little faster.

 

[Sagittarius A-Star]

 

[Hornbein]

This gets my vote as the most beautiful performance of music ever recorded. The Dusseldorf Symphony Orchestra.



It is famous in Japan (the country that spends the world's higher percentage of GDP on music).

I misremembered, it's the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra.

In Tokyo I went to see chamber orchestras every chance I got. The musicality of a quartet with the fullness of an orchestra. The only advantage of a large orchestra is that it's louder. But chamber orchestras are less popular. You can sit close, so it's actually louder.

 

[BWV]

I misremembered, it's the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra.

In Tokyo I went to see chamber orchestras every chance I got. The musicality of a quartet with the fullness of an orchestra. The only advantage of a large orchestra is that it's louder. But chamber orchestras are less popular. You can sit close, so it's actually louder.

And modern orchestras did not exist in Bach's day, even Mozart and Haydn symphonies had much smaller ensembles than a modern symphony orchestra