#Ich folge dir gleichfalls plus

I am particularly fond of the opening chorus, one of the most dramatically agitated pieces ever written by this composer. Bach created monumental opening and closing choruses that first announce, then summarize the narrative on a scale appropriate to its significance. It’s time we broke down The Passion According to Saint John into its constituent parts. Did Bach have this in mind from the outset? Incidentally, that part of the story comes well after “Ich folge dir,” casting the aria’s innocent vows and entreaties into a darker, but more realistically human perspective. To Bach, Peter’s denial of Jesus and his pain at what he has done are so important that the Saint John Passion he lifted words from Matthew and moved them into the text so as to intensify the narrative and heighten this moment. There is the sad figure of Judas, of course, but just now I am thinking of Peter. To take just one obvious and dramatic example in the Passion story: betrayal. Bach’s sacred compositions deal with issues that go beyond matters of faith and dogma. Works of art and the work of artists do not exist in a protected vacuum they are part of the fabric of life, and life is a mixed-up mess that gives us incredible richness and beauty and lovingkindness but also Dachau and Golgotha. You may want to read his whole essay when you have time. In “ Sacred Texts in a Secular World,” an introductory note to Choral Masterworks, Steinberg explored this cultural turn with considerable sensitivity, offering a personal appreciation of choral music in light of (and in spite of!) his experiences as an émigré who narrowly escaped the Holocaust. The notion that Jews were responsible for the death of Jesus circulated freely in 18th-century German communities churchgoers were no more likely to raise eyebrows at John’s pointed depiction than fish would have taken special note of water in their habitat. On the other hand, they would scarcely have noticed something that draws increasing attention these days, namely what Michael Steinberg termed the Fourth Gospel’s “anti-Judaic tone” in its account of the Passion. And they readily grasped the import of the congregational hymns scattered throughout. When it came to hearing this music, those faithful Lutherans enjoyed several advantages: They knew their Bible stories. Bach’s special music, which probably struck some congregants as unduly modish and complicated, was meant to instruct and inspire, to drive home the lengthy sermon they would also endure. They came to worship - to pray, praise, and reflect. It will have been cold in the sanctuary, the pews hard. John Passion did so by attending a three-hour church service on the most somber day of the Christian year. His Saint John Passion, given on Good Friday of 1724, was the first major work he created in his new post.

#Ich folge dir gleichfalls plus

(He almost lost the gig - read more here.) A vital part of Bach’s work was the composition of new music for nearly every Sunday of the year, plus special occasions. Thomas’ School in Leipzig, and by extension director of music at Leipzig’s four most important churches. Obtaining your next Positive Bach Experience will take a bit more effort.įirst, some history: Johann Sebastian Bach was not yet 40 in 1723 when he landed his dream job, Kantor at St. They are too long they’re sung in a foreign language and they seek to arouse beliefs you may not have, emotions you’d rather not acknowledge. Nevertheless, when it comes to Bach’s Passions the odds are stacked against you. You may well revere Janos Starker’s classic recording of the Bach Cello Suites, of which Michael Fremer opined, “You don’t have to know a bourrée from a crème brûlée to be moved by this” - which is not just a slick remark, it’s also the spot-on truth. I’m using the gentle “Ich folge dir” to introduce a major work by a major composer that presents major obstacles to modern listeners. Enable my path, and do not stop drawing, shoving, imploring me,” the last few words prompting vivid pictorialisms in the soprano line. The text continues with “and will not let you my life, my light.