Arts & Events

It is one of the oddities of music history that more than 75 years after the death of Johann Sebastian Bach his monumental St. Matthew Passion had long been neglected and almost forgotten. It is to the credit of Felix Mendelssohn that in 1829 he resuscitated Bach’s St. Matthew Passion by performing this work with the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra. However, Mendelssohn saw fit to hugely amplify the orchestral forces far beyond the modest scale of Bach’s own era. Thus, audiences today are more likely to encounter the St. Matthew Passion in the large-scale setting initiated by Mendelssohn than in the small-scale setting Bach himself would have performed.  

Happily, the Bay Area’s American Bach Soloists, under the leadership of Jeffrey Thomas, are devoted to presenting Bach’s music on period instruments and in as close approximation as possible to the way they would have been performed in Bach’s time. Over the weekend of February 27 through March 2, 2015, ABS gave performances of Bach’s St. Matthew Passion in four venues stretching from Belvedere to Davis. I caught their performance of this great oratorio in Berkeley’s First Congregational Church on February 28.  

Conductor Jeffrey Thomas faithfully replicated Bach’s division of his instru-mental and vocal forces for the St. Matthew Passion into two distinct yet nearly identical groups on either side of the conductor. Only rarely do both of these groups join together. Each group of vocal soloists sometimes sing individually and at other times in duets, trios, or all four together. Occasionally, they join forces in unison with the opposite vocal group. In addition, the 16-member American Bach Choir sings the large Chorales that, in Bach’s era, were sung by the church congregation, who knew these set pieces by heart. 

Occasionally, individual singers from one group will interact with the chorus of the second group, and vice versa. This sometimes creates an interesting anti-phonal effect as, for example, in the opening Chorale, “O Lamm Gottes,” (“Oh Lamb of God”), when the vocal group on the left sings “Sehet” (“See”), and the vocal group on the right replies “Wen?” (“Whom?”). Then Group I answers “den Braütigam” (“the bridegroom”). This antiphonal pattern continues with Group I singing “Seht ihn” (“See him”), and Group II asking “Wie?” (“How?”), only to be answered, again, by the first group with the words “als wie ein Lamm!” (“like a lamb!”). 

Between these two groups stands the pivotal pair of the Evangelist (St. Matthew), sung by tenor Derek Chester, and Christ, sung by baritone William Sharp. The Evangelist’s function, as in the Gospels, is to narrate the events of the Passion, while Bach gives to Christ his own words to dramatize and personalize key moments in the Passion. As the Evangelist, Derek Chester was outstanding, using his high tenor voice to great effect and with superb clarity of diction in German. Likewise, baritone William Sharp was excellent as Christ, especially in passages such as the one where Christ speaks of his forthcoming betrayal by one of his disciples.  

Early in Part I of the St. Matthew Passion comes the first Recitative, “Du lieber Heiland du” (“You dear Savior, you”), beautifully sung here by Hungarian mezzo-soprano Agnes Vojtko, who was accompanied in this passage and in the Aria that follows, “Buß und Reu” (“Penance and remorse”), by two flutes and harpsichord. Later, when the Evangelist tells of Judas offering to betray Jesus, an Aria, “Blute nut, du liebes Herz!” (“Bleed, oh dear heart!”), is sung by the Group II soprano, Clara Rottsalk. Later in Part I comes a Recitative and Aria for the soprano of Group I, Hélène Brunet, whose voice rang out impressively in the fortissimo passages but was occasionally drowned out when she sang pianissimo. The tenor of Group I, Charles Blandy, sang beautifully in his Recitative, “O Schmerz!” (“Oh anguish!”), and Aria, “Ich will bei meinem Jesu wachen” (“I will watch beside my Jesus”). Towards the end of Part I came a lovely duet for soprano Hélène Brunet and mezzo-soprano Agnes Vojtko, whose voices blended beautifully as they sang of their despair at seeing Jesus seized and bound by the authorities. There followed an agitated chorus calling for Hell to open its abyss to the traitor who betrayed Jesus. A Chorale brings Part I of the St. Matthew Passion to a close. 

After intermission, Part II began with a lament, “Ach! Nun ist mein Jesu hin!” (“Ah! Now my Jesus is gone!”), sung by mezzo-soprano Agnes Vojtko, whose singing was ever the highlight of this performance. Later, when Jesus is interrogated by the High Priest of the Jews, the countertenor of Group II, Jay Carter, sang a lovely Recitative and Aria accompanied by cello and contrabass. Later, just after Peter has denied Christ three times, came the vocal masterpiece of the St. Matthew Passion, the Aria “Erbarme dich” (“Have mercy Lord”), gorgeously sung here by mezzo-soprano Agnes Vojtko, whose rendition of this lilting melody, beautifully supported by violinists Elizabeth Blumenstock and Katherine Kyme, outshone all others I have heard. Agnes Vojtko is already a much sought-after international star vocalist.  

Moments later the bass of Group II, Joshua Copeland, sang the brief Aria, “Gebt mir meinem Jesum wieder!” (“Give my Jesus back to me!”). Then, when Pontius Pilate offers the Jews the release of either Jesus or Barrabas, the crowd answers “Barrabas.” “What then shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” asks Pontius Pilate. And the Jews reply agitatedly, “Laß ihn kreuzigen!” (“Let him be crucified!”). When Jesus is flagellated by the authorities, countertenor Jay Carter of Group II sang the plaintive Aria, “Können Tränen meiner Wangen Nichts erlangen” (“If my tears gain nothing”), accompanied by Group II violinists Tekla Cunningham and Janet Worsley Srauss. As Jesus is led to the hill of Golgatha, Simon of Cyrene takes up the cross Jesus bears, and Simon’s brief Aria is sung by Group I bass Thomas Meglior-anza. Atop the hill of Golgatha, the Evangelist tells us, Christ is nailed upon the cross.  

Agnes Vojtko sang a plaintive Recitative and Aria, the latter incorporating an antiphonal call-and-response between herself and Group II. At length, Jesus calls out in despair, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” (“My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”). Moments later, the Evangelist tells us, Jesus cried out again and yielded up his spirit, the Evangelist’s voice suddenly lowering on the final word that signals Jesus’ death. A Chorale follows, representing the voice of all Christians in hoping and praying that even in death Jesus will look after them and mitigate their pain and suffering. The final Chorus of the St. Matthew Passion expresses the hope that Jesus will rest softly in his grave. Thus ended a wonderful and authentic period performance by American Bach Soloists of Johann Sebastian Bach’s glorious St. Matthew Passion.