On Passion Sunday our choir and a stylish chamber orchestra performed Bach’s St John Passion.
It is interesting to note the unmistakable styles of religious music in different countries – the baroque operatic rhythms of Monteverdi, the tumbling curly angels of Haydn, the French elegance all the way from Charpentier to Fauré, the glories of Tudor church music, Purcell and on to Handel and further.
This is a Northern Passion, of Bosch and Breughel, of crowds appearing and disappearing in the darkness, of brutal soldiers with steel helmets half-revealed in an eerie yellow light, of a suffering Christ with every wound clearly on view. The crowd is a main character in the plot, and they have some splendid material to sing.
Luther’s Bible is the other great translation to set against the King James. The Evangelist is a key figure, and Paul Robinson, with excellently clear German, made every nuance of the drama count. Another experienced singer, Martin Oxenham, gave us a Jesus of great dignity and again of clarity.
The other principal character, Pilate, was sung by a recent addition to the choir, Nicholas Mogg. A young singer, he gives promise of an interesting career, and he handled Pilate’s exasperation and disdain, particularly on his key line “What is Truth?” extremely well. As did Paul Robinson when he reached the moment “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews”.
It is noticeable, in the many continuo sections, how important the lower strings are. The two cellos and bass gave warm and rich support to the singers, and David Moore’s organ continuo was a vital link in keeping the music flowing.
The arias and ariosos were divided between the small group of singers who provided the choir. But there was nothing small about their performance – or the volume they produced. Whether sneering “Hail, King of the Jews”, distractedly asking where to go, or singing the classic chorales, they added greatly to the atmosphere.
All the young soloists contributed to the performance. To mention some, there were poignant arias from Aidan Coburn, Amy Lyddon was particularly agile in the change of speed when the Lion of Judah appears in the alto aria “It is finished”, and Rosemary Galton showed a fresh clear sound “I will follow Thee”, one of Bach’s best soprano arias.
Meanwhile James Sherlock was holding all this together easily as Director of the performance. He communicated his enjoyment of working with his forces, as he does at Sunday services.
When Pilate sang “Behold the Man”, we did. And surely that was the point.