J. S. Bach's St. Matthew Passion BWV 244 Movements 21-28: Analysis

Wen Peng
MUS 321
Dr. Robert Zappulla
03 / 14 / 2019
J. S. Bach’s St. Matthew Passion BWV 244 movements 21- 28
Analysis:
21. Recitative, Evangelist, Jesus, ‘And he went a little farther ( Und ging hi nein wenig)’
- B major → G minor, 2Vn Va Bc

- I strings and continuo Jesus falls down on his face in prayer (the vocal line naturally drops
too)' my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me... 1
22. Recitative, Bass, 'The Saviour falls down before his Father (Der Heiland fallt vor
seinem Vater nieder)’;
- D minor → B♭ major, 2Vn Va Bc

- free text; II strings and continuo
- This comments with a falling figure in all the upper strings, play incessantly and at regular
intervals except once, at the words ‘up to God’s grace’, when it changes direction. 2
1
Steinitz, Paul. Bach's Passions. Masterworks of Choral Music. New York: C. Scribner's
Sons, 1978.
2
Sons, 1978
23. Aria, Bass, ‘Willingly will I submit (Gernc will ich mich bequemen)’;
- G minor, 2Vn Bc
- free text; II strings and continuo
- This aria contains splendid sweeping phrases played on all the violins, and with the
previous number, creates quite a long, undramatic break in the scene in the Garden of
Gethsemane. 3
- But the change of thought which it provides is nicely calculated.
- we need such a break before the scene rushes to its climax in No. 32 and 33.
24. Recitative, Evangelist, Jesus, ‘And he cometh unto the disciples (Und er kam zu seinen
Jungem)’;
- F major → B minor, 2Vn Va Bc

- I strings and continuo
- The words and music of Jesus's first prayer (No.27) are transposed upwards and
embellished, and thereby intensified here when, in deeper anguish, he repeats it.4
25. Chorale, ‘What my God wills (Was mein Gott will)’; tutti
- B minor, 2Ft 2Ob 2Vn Va Bc
- This chorale is particularly appropriate here, as its text contains almost the same words
as those used by Jesus at the end of No.30, ‘thy will be done (so geschehe dein Wille)’.
- The particularly strong cadence (dominant and tonic progressions) attached to the last two
phrases underlines the strong conviction of the words.
26. Recitative, Evangelist, Jesus, Judas, lAnd he came and found them asleep again (Und
er kam und fand sie aber schlafend)’;
- D major → G major, 2Vn Va Bc
- In spite of his warning (‘Watch and pray’) in No.30, Jesus finds the disciples asleep
again—the musical phrase is almost identical with that of No.30 (see Ex. 16).
3
Franklin, Don O, and Daniel R Melamed. 1989. Bach Studies. Cambridge England:
Cambridge University Press.
4
Sons, 197
- When he returns to the disciples after going away to pray a third time, the action and
music quicken. A ‘great multitude (cine grosse Schar)’ arrives from the chief priests and
elders, led by Judas Iscariot.
- Jesus is seized and led into Jerusalem, but not before he has challenged Judas to say
why he has come—a sustained chord and a relaxed phrase beginning ‘Friend... (Mein
Freund...)’. 5
27a and b.
a. Duct, Soprano, Alto, (My Jesus now is taken (So ist mein Jesus nun gefangen); with
Chorus II, ‘Leave him, stop! (Lasst ihn, haltet!); E minor, 2Ft 2Ob 2Vn Va B
- In the East, women were traditionally hired to lament when an occasion called for it.6
- This duet for soprano and alto soloists without continuo could be a realistic and greatly
transcended version of such wailing, or it could represent two of the disciples.
- The woodwind ornaments give the piece its character, and if the singers do not copy
them just because they happen to be written into the instrumental and not into the vocal
parts, the effect is weakened.
- The Lamentation is three times assailed by Chorus with shouts of 'Loose him, stop,
(Lasst ihn, haltet, bindet nicht!)’.
- This is the most dramatic treatment imaginable of a Lutheran tradition, examples of
which were first heard in milder form in No. 25 and 26.
b. leading to Double Chorus, ‘Have lightnings and thunders vanished into the clouds?
(Sind Blitze, sind Donncr in Wolkcn verschwunden?); E minor, 2Ft 2Ob 2Vn Va Bc
- The second, double chorus section, ‘Have lightning and thunders vanished into the
clouds? (Sind Blitze, sind Donner in Wolken verschwunden?)’ ,
5
Sons, 1978
6
Rilling, Helmuth. Johann Sebastian Bach, St. Matthew Passion. Practical Choir
Rehearsals. Frankfurt: H. Litolff, 1976.
- to quote Geiringcr, one of the most violent and grandiose descriptions of unloosed
passion produced in the baroque era’.
- The sharp contrast with the duet and its lack of a basso continuo, incessant semiquavers
in the continuo, shrieking woodwind, scales and arpeggios, and choral writing which
includes fugato (imitation) and strong choral hammer strokes all contribute to the
unique effect produced by this extraordinary movement.7
28. Recitative, Evangelist, Jesus, and behold, one of them (Und siche, Einer aus denen)
- F♯ major → C♯minor, 2Vn Va Bc

- The setting of the final moments before Jesus reaches the palace of the High Priest
contains as many varied ideas as does the text itself.
- The description of cutting off the servant's ear in bars 4 and 5 — a zigzag phrase moving
up a fourth, down a third, up a second and down a fourth — and Jesus’s reminder at
the end that his arrest was foretold by the prophets — three smooth shapely phrases
based on slow-moving diatonic harmony — are particularly fine examples of baroque
expression.8
7
Sons, 1978
8
Sons, 1978

J. S. Bach's St. Matthew Passion BWV 244 Movements 21-28: Analysis

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

J. S. Bach's St. Matthew Passion BWV 244 Movements 21-28: Analysis

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

J. S. Bach's St. Matthew Passion BWV 244 Movements 21-28: Analysis

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Wen Peng

Dr. Robert Zappulla

J. S. Bach’s St. Matthew Passion BWV 244 movements 21- 28

- B major → G minor, 2Vn Va Bc

- D minor → B♭ major, 2Vn Va Bc

- F major → B minor, 2Vn Va Bc

- F♯ major → C♯minor, 2Vn Va Bc

You might also like