Arts & Events

Compared with his later St. Matthew Passion (1729), Johann Sebastian Bach’s St. John Passion (1724) may today seem somewhat stodgy. But to the congregation of St. Nicholas Church in Leipzig who heard the St. John Passion performed on Good Friday of 1724, this work must have seemed revolutionary. Only recently appointed Kappelmeister in Leipzig, (after this post was turned down by Georg Philipp Telemann and Christoph Graupner), Bach no doubt sought to show Leipzig what he could do; so for his inaugural work in Leipzig he transformed the musical account of Christ’s Passion from plainchant and an occasional chorale sung by the congregation to a multidimensional work with choruses, recitatives, arias, and chorales. 

On Saturday-Sunday, January 10-11, 2015, the Berkeley Community Chorus and Orchestra, led by Music Director Ming Luke, presented two performances of Bach’s St. John Passion at Berkeley Community Theatre. Opening with a chorus, “Herr, unser Herrscher/Lord, thou art master,” the St. John Passion begins by glorifying Christ’s name and establishing the theme of Christus Victor, i.e., of the victoriously resurrected Christ who overcomes even his crucifixion. Amidst the counterpoint lines of this chorus, there are repeated outcries on the word “Herr/Lord.”  

For these performances, Berkeley Community Chorus and Orchestra used the original German text for the large Chorus numbers and solo arias, but English was used for the spoken recitatives and sung chorales. Tenor Brian Thorsett took the role of the Evangelist, who narrates Christ’s Passion. Bass Paul Thompson took the role of Jesus, a largely speaking role. The first large solo aria, for alto, was capably sung here by mezzo-soprano Danielle Reutter-Harrah, who has performed with American Bach Soloists. This aria, “Von den Stricken meiner Sünden/From the shackles of my sins,” is accompanied by cellos and oboes. Next came a solo aria for soprano, impressively sung here by Jennifer Paulino, accompanied by two flutes. There followed the narration of Peter’s three denials of Christ, with baritone Jeffrey Fields speaking the role of Peter. As a commentary on Peter’s denials, tenor Brian Thorsett sang the plaintively beautiful solo aria “Ach, mein Sinn/Ah, my soul,” followed by a brief chorale before intermission. 

As Part II begins, the story of Christ’s interrogation and flagellation is recounted. The tempo picks up when Pontius Pilate asks a mob what accusations they bring against Jesus. The mob responds with angry, agitated singing in which they declare, “If this man were not a malefactor we had not brought him here before thee.” When Pilate asks Jesus if he is King of the Jews, Jesus replies, “My kingdom is not of this world.” When Pilate, finding no fault in Jesus, offers the crowd to name Jesus as the man to be released, the Jews respond, “Nicht diesen, sondern Barrabam!/Not this man, give us Barrabas!”  

As a commentary on the flagellation of Jesus, baritone Jeffrey Fields sang the solo aria “Betrachte, meine Seel/Bethink thee, my soul,” which was immediately followed by tenor Brian Thorsett singing a solo aria lamenting the blood-spattered body of Christ and hailing the sign of God’s grace in a rainbow that appears. Here, as in general, Brian Thorsett’s solo arias were the high points of this St. John Passion. Thorsett’s angelic tenor and clear German diction admirably conveyed both the text and, more importantly, the emotion of the text. Speaking of diction, it must be mentioned that the large Berkeley Community Chorus, two hundred strong, did not always clearly project the words of the text, whether singing in English or German. Though they sang beautifully, one wished for more clarity of diction – or simply better acoustics to carry their voices from the specially built stage risers out into the audience. From the chorus, one word did in fact sound out loud and clear – “Kreuzige!/Crucify!” This word, shouted by the Jewish priests, and reiterated in their admonishment, “Weg, weg mit dem, kreuzige ihn!/Away with him, crucify him!,” was sung in agitated, angry fashion by the chorus just before Jesus was led away to Golgotha carrying his cross.  

As Jesus dies upon the cross, mezzo-soprano Danielle Reutter-Harrah movingly sang the mournful solo aria, “Es is vollbracht!/It is fulfilled. The end is come,” accompanied by a cello solo played by Andres Vera. Midway through this aria, however, the tone shifts, the violins join in, and the music becomes more lively as Jesus is praised for putting up a heroic fight. The final re-statement of “Es is vollbracht,” however, is intensely sobering. There follows a solo aria by baritone Jeffrey Fields in which this singer delivered perhaps his best singing in an otherwise lackluster performance.  

Then a mournful arioso was splendidly sung by tenor Brian Thorsett, followed by another mournful aria impressively delivered by soprano Jennifer Paulino. In a final shift of tone, the entire chorus then delivered a sad yet peaceful tribute, “Rhut wohl, ihr heilingen Gebeine/Rest well, sacred bones.” In this chorus, as in the final chorale in the final chorale that follows, the theme of Christus Victor is once again declared, and the resurrection of Christ is celebrated as the hope of all mankind for eternal life. 

Conductor Ming Luke often paused between musical numbers, thereby creating a disconcerting dead time, with the result that Bach’s St. John Passion seemed to proceed in fits and starts. Given that what drama there is in this work lies more in the Gospel’s stark narrative than in the music itself, which strikes a mournful tone throughout, the lack of dramatic continuity and musical flow inherent in Conductor Luke’s awkward pauses made for a choppy, sluggish rendition of Bach’s St. John Passion, which, notwithstanding, still managed some inspiring moments, largely thanks to tenor Brian Thorsett.