Passions Old And New

Setting the Passion to music is a tradition nearly as old as the story itself. As early as the fifth century, the liturgy for Holy Week included plainchant settings of the Gospel accounts. It was the task of a single deacon to present the entire Passion, distinguishing between the narrative portions, the words of Christ and the utterances of the synagoga (minor characters and the crowd) by altering the pitch and inflection of his voice. Thus, the Evangelist’s part lay in the tenor range, Christ’s in the bass and the synagoga in the alto. Although representation of the synagoga had changed considerably by the 17th century, the voice range of Christ and the Evangelist would remain unchanged for 1600 years.

Polyphonic settings of the Passion were first introduced in the 15th century but did not grow in popularity until around 1560. It was the custom to set the entire text polyphonically except for the part of the Evangelist, which was always in plainchant. A lack of delineation between the crowd and principal characters was the main weakness of this type of setting and greatly limited the dramatic quality of the story. Highly elaborate and melismatic writing was part of the Roman tradition and the settings were never meant to have a direct impact on the people. To emerging German Protestants however, personal impact was of utmost importance.

Lutherans On Board
Without a doubt, the most significant event to affect Passion writing was the Protestant Reformation. Although it seems obvious, the importance of this event to Passion writing cannot be over-emphasized. Scripture and hymns were presented for the first time, in the living tongue of the people. Music immediately became subordinate to the text as people began to expect that they would be able to hear and understand the words during Mass. Accompaniment was clear and simple, often with only one note per syllable and the complex rhythms of the polyphonic tradition were streamlined so as not to be distracting.

During the 17th century, interest in Passion setting waned in Catholic countries and it became a distinctly German Protestant activity. Protestant reformers regarded music as an integral part of church life and as a result, a large majority of German composers found themselves employed by the Lutheran church. Many of these composers had been educated in Italy and gradually began to introduce secular elements from the Italian school into the liturgy. The fledgling genre of oratorio had a distinctly sectional structure and was adapted quickly to Passion setting. This was an important development because the oratorio style provided a framework for the interpolation of non-biblical texts which in turn facilitated congregational participation. These extra texts were often set to chorale melodies already familiar to the congregation and were intended as a space for reflecting on the preceding biblical text. Bach uses this technique in his St Matthew Passion and sets meditative text to the tune of O Sacred Head Now Wounded seven times; exactly half of the total number of chorales in the Passion.

The next major development in religious composition was the introduction of instruments. It opened up countless new avenues of expression. Composers could now use combinations of instruments to lend colour to a solo vocal line, add strength to the choral parts by doubling or add interest by writing obbligato parts. Just as the oratorio style had been adopted in Passion writing, another Italian invention, opera, was gradually being incorporated into sacred compositions. The inclusion of recitative dramatically altered the presentation of the character parts (Jesus, Evangelist etc.) because they were now written in way that mimicked actual speech. Although Passions were never staged, the soloists now had a much expanded scope of expression available to portray the drama. In addition to the recitatives, composers also wrote sacred arias to provide another place for reflection on what has just happened. Chorale melodies illustrated what the congregation should be feeling and arias were a vehicle for the characters to express their reaction to the drama.

Bach’s St Matthew’s Passion is a culmination of 1500 years of passion writing. Despite being thought of as stuffy and old fashioned by his contemporaries, Bach displayed his complete mastery of Scripture, theology, hymnody, choral writing, orchestral writing, timbre and texture. The sheer number of forces required is enormous even by 19th-century standards. Bach requires two four-part choruses, and extra soprano chorus, two orchestras and two organs as well as a viola da gamba, two recorders and three different kinds of oboe. In addition to the standard tenor and bass soloists representing the Evangelist and Jesus, Bach stipulates that there be soprano, an alto, tenor and bass soloist from each chorus, bringing the total to an astounding ten. The work contains a large number of meditative interpolations and is as a result much more meditative in nature than Bach’s earlier setting of St John’s Gospel. Without resorting to hyperbolic superlatives, it is fair to say that BWV 244 is one of the most elegantly crafted compositions of the Baroque era and indeed, it is a credit to Bach’s skill that it is still one of the best loved pieces of Western art music 270 years on.

Beyond Baroque
The single most important difference between the Baroque Passions and those of the the 20th century is their purpose. During the time of Heinrich Schütz (1585-1672) and Bach, Kapellmeisters could be expected to set the Gospel accounts annually for use during the services of Holy Week. The settings were meant to be support the liturgy and illustrate the text rather than entertain the congregation. Bach’s employers at Thomaskirche instructed him to, “arrange the music that shall not last too long, and shall be of such a nature as not to make an operatic impression, but rather to incite the listeners to devotion.”

In contrast with Baroque compositions, 20th-century settings were never intended to be part of the Holy Week liturgy but rather a concert hall commentary on Christ’s suffering. Thus, in the modern settings, the audience is relegated to spectating rather than participating as they would in a service. Since the audience members were now passive onlookers, many more liberties could be taken with rhythm, tonality, text and orchestration. Perhaps even more significantly, transferring the performance from the church to the stage meant that composers were now free to experiment with visual as well as aural effects. Things like coloured lighting, costumes and dancing that were taboo in sacred performances became exciting new ways create a multi-sensorial experience.

20th Century
Relative to the Passion wasteland that was the 19th century, the second half of the 20th century was a veritable fountain of productivity. The first major setting was of St Luke’s gospel by Krystoyf Penderecki (b. 1933). It premiered in Germany in March of 1966 and was so well received that it immediately catapulted the previously unknown composer onto the international stage. It was the first Passion composition of any import in the 230 years since Bach’s St Matthew’s Passion was premiered. A true 20th century composition, St Lukas Passion is a “legitimate contemporary expression that overwhelmed its hearers and convinced them that even in a modern setting this 2000 year old text still contained the same mystery and drama that moved men and women during the earliest years of the Church.”

It would take 31 years for another composer to make such an impact with a Passion. Estonian born composer Arvo Pärt (b. 1935) chose to set St John’s Gospel in Latin to restore the neutrality of the text. Passio is a minimalist meditation born of an intensely complicated compositional process based on what Pärt calls, tintinnabuli. He immersed himself in plainchant during the 1970s and became fascinated by the vast sonic possibilities within a single note. Pärt considers the music to be subordinate to the text because “the text is stronger and it has given food for hundreds and thousands of composers and it will continue to do so.”

The Passion 2000 Project is poised to take its place as the next significant contribution to the Passion genre. In 1999, Helmuth Rilling and the Europaïsches Musikfestival Stuttgart commissioned Tan Dun, Osvaldo Golijov, Wolfgang Rihm and Sofia Gubaidulina to write a new setting of the Passion in time for the next year’s 2000th anniversary of Christ’s birth and 250th of JS Bach’s death. Each of the works would reflect what the composer felt was relevant to today both theologically and musically. It would have been quite difficult to choose four composers who were more dissimilar. In addition to their varied compositional style, each grew up in a different country speaking a different language. This, of course, was precisely the point.

It will take time to appreciate what, if any, significance these pieces will have for future writers of Passions. Although it is unlikely that Bach’s St Matthew’s Passion will ever be eclipsed, it is possible that one hundred years from now, there will be some competition for which Passion to program for the upcoming Easter season.

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