Good Friday is far behind us now as we celebrate the week of Cantate, the 4th Sunday after Easter. Nevertheless, I've found myself continuing to reflect on the Passion of our Lord, more specifically, on Bach's St. Matthew Passion and St. John Passion. I was privileged to hear both of these masterpieces performed this past Lent here in nearby Frankfurt. The music, the text, but most especially Bach's ingenious combination of the two have truly taken hold of me. I have both Passions on CD and have the luxury, therefore, of listening to favorite parts over and over again. And I've noticed that the more time I've spent listening to these Passions and studying the librettos the more "favorite parts" I discover.
In both the Matthew and John Passions, there is a particular scene that I have found especially gripping. The scene has to do with my namesake Peter, or in the German, Petrus. Each Passion depicts in song Jesus' prediction of Peter's threefold denial, the denial itself, the crowing of the rooster, and Peter's subsequent bitter weeping. Then, after an aria in each case (the well-known alto solo "Erbarme dich" in Matthew and "Ach, mein Sinn" in John) follow two beautiful chorales. These chorales are what have especially made an impression on me of late. Below are the texts of the chorales. I hesitate to even attempt a translation since the poetry of the German is so beautiful, but for those of you who can't read German I've provided a literal, non-poetic, non-rhyming translation as well.
St. John Passion
Petrus, der nicht denkt zurück, Peter, who doesn't think back,
Seinen Gott verneinet, Denies his God,
Der doch auf ein' ernsten Blick Yet who, at a grave glance
Bitterlichen weinet. Bitterly weeps.
Jesu, blicke mich auch an, Jesus, glance at me as well,
Wenn ich nicht will büßen; When I don't want to repent;
Wenn ich Böses hab' getan, When I have done evil,
Rühre mein Gewissen. Stir my conscience.
St. Matthew Passion
Bin ich gleich von dir gewichen, Should I also deviate from you,
Stell' ich mich doch wieder ein; I will nonetheless place myself (by you) again;
Hat uns doch dein Sohn verglichen For your Son has indeed redeemed us
Durch sein' Angst und Todespein. By his anguish and torment of death.
Ich verleugne nicht die Schuld, I do not deny the guilt,
Aber deine Gnad' und Huld But your grace and favor
Ist viel größer als die Sünde, Is much greater than the sin,
Die ich stets in mir befinde. Which I constantly find within me.
Now that you have the text before, you need to hear the music. I've found a couple pretty good recordings on Youtube...
This first one contains the whole scene of Peter's denial in the St. John Passion; the chorale is towards the end at starting at about 4:40.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wob_RH5xEEo
And here's a nice recording of the chorale in the St. Matthew Passion.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gxdJ1E75vA
In the St. John chorale, I simply love the switch from narration about Peter's denial to the personal prayer to Jesus that he would also look upon us as he did upon Peter in order to bring us to repentance. This is what Bach's Passions are able to do so masterfully; they bring the hearer right into the Passion itself and make the hearer a part of the story. This is brought out above all in the chorales. At times we as hearers identify ourselves with those who crucified the Lord, or with Judas who betrayed him, or with Peter who thrice denied him. And at other times, the chorales are earnest prayers, calls to repentance, or confident confessions of faith. Here, for instance, we learn to avoid the instinct to perhaps self-righteously accuse Peter from afar ("How could he deny Christ?") and rather to identify with him, recognizing our own guilt and rightly sorrowing over our sins.
In the St. Matthew chorale, I love the escalation that takes place in the second half, beginning with "I do not deny the guilt." In this confession of sins one senses an almost prideful attitude toward the sin but only because of the statement which comes next: "But your grace and favor is much greater than the sin which I constantly find within me." This is not arrogance but faith. It's an insistence on God's mercy. It's holding God at his word. It reminds me of the Canaanite woman who did not mind the insults Jesus threw at her, calling her a dog. "Yes, Lord" (I do not deny the guilt,) she responded, "yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master's table" (But your grace and favor is much greater than my sin). This escalation from confession to a claiming of God's grace is likewise represented exquisitely in the music, as the choir's volume strengthens in and the melody soars upward.
These wonderful pieces of music (and so much more than music!) are invaluable sources of prayer and meditation. What a rich musical heritage we have as Lutherans in that Bach is one of ours!
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| Some computer art that I put together combining the sentiments of these two chorales. |
