OPINION
4A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, JUNE 26, 2015
DWIGHT CASWELL — For The Daily Astorian
Musicians at Astoria Music Festival’s performance of St. John’s Passion Saturday. Left to right: Hideki Yamaya. Leslie Green, Keith Clark and Adaiha MacAdam-Somer.
Bach’s vision was realized perfectly
St. John’s Passion
resounded at The
Liberty Theater
A
By DENISE REED
t the end of many of Johann Sebastian
Bach’s music manuscripts are three
letters — SDG, for the Latin: Soli Deo
Gloria: for God’s glory alone. J.S. Bach
was a church musician and it really takes a
full-time liturgical church musician to ap-
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involved in a position such as this.
For three years, I worked in such a po-
sition. The average CEO or executive di-
rector’s deadlines were nothing compared
to the church musician’s task of produc-
ing and preparing music every week, as
called for on the liturgical calendar. Many
times I prayed for the coming Sunday to
be pushed back a week as I endeavored to
regularly prepare six choirs singing a va-
riety of music for at least two services a
week that were televised.
No pressure, right?
Bach was employed full time with
the churches in Liepzig most of his
life. The contract of his employment as
the cantor of St. Thomas and the other
minor churches of Liepzig began with
“That my life will be a good example
to the boys at the schools and be com-
mitted loyally to teaching and informing
them.” Today, this would constitute the
terms of employment for one job. But
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boys were to be educated, performance
and accompaniment duties and leading
rehearsals and composing music that co-
incided with the lessons and sermon of
each week, in two major cities of 17th
century Germany.
“I will perform music is such a way
that it will not take too much time and not
sound like an opera, but rather to encour-
age the listeners to pray and worship God.”
That tall order is from Bach’s contract as
Kappellmeister.
Herein lies the statement of what Bach
is required to do with the music he com-
poses and performs. Not only was he re-
quired to work for SDG, but also, IEA
(pro ipsa elavatio anima) — to elevate the
souls of the worshipers.
REFERENCES
DWIGHT CASWELL — For The Daily Astorian
Oliver Mercer who plays the evangelist in St. John’s Passion, sings with alto Erica
Brookhyser at the Astoria Music Festival Saturday.
B
ach comes as close to
on the text of St. Mark, —
Only a
opera as he is allowed
lost and never recovered.
full-time
to in the passions he wrote
And the St. John’s.
— as we heard in the St.
In his comparison of the
liturgical
John’s Passion at the Liberty
passions, Schweitzer asserts
church
Theatre last Saturday.
that in the St. John’s, the
musician
As the players gathered
events are more spun out
on stage, there was no re-
and dramatic in form, so the
can
semblance to opera. No
text has no point of repose.
designed set, back drops, appreciate
Bach composed a continu-
the
costumes, colored lights or
ous stream of music to this
props. Instead the audience
text, and we only experience
workload
was presented with a bare
a break after the conclusion
and
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ble that would soon morph
sacrifice
liver Mercer’s portrayal
into the sonorous sound of
in
Bach’s
of the evangelist was
the 17th century, with 12
position.
exceptional, Singing clearly
singers and soloists. The
and crisply in German, the
keyboard/organ in particu-
lar was strange and small compared to the emotion in his voice was captivating. Mer-
Liberty’s Steinway Grand that we are most cer’s slight movement in the direction of the
singers made it clear that the chorus would be
used to seeing.
The drama in Bach’s music — revealed commenting on the action and words of the
at the very beginning — needed no staging performers. It was as if he was just hearing
to draw the listener into this very dramatic WKLVIRUWKH¿UVWWLPHDQGZDVWDNHQDEDFN
Richard Zeller, playing the role of Jesus
story that leads to Christ’s death and burial.
7KH(QVHPEOHRI2UHJRQZLWKPDJQL¿FHQW used his deep sonorous bass to convey the
soloists added words to Bach’s setting of humble statements of Jesus when ques-
tioned, and the familiar words predicting
the Bible text from the book of John.
what is to come.
ach wrote four passions, or as Albert
Singing words of joy, Amy Hansen’s
Schweitzer claimed, only three. The voice was rich and clear. Other soloists ex-
St. Luke’s Passion was written by another hibiting their beautiful bel canto technique
composer but performed by Bach in his se- could easily have been transported to any
ries of passion performances. He did com- 17th century opera of Handel or other Bach
pose the St. Matthew’s Passion, which is contemporaries. Bach’s contract forbade
the most familiar. Also the passion based him to use the bel canto form.
O
B
J. S Bach, by Albert Schweitzer in Two
Volumes — Dover Publications Inc.
Johann Sebastian Bach — The Learned
Musician, by Christoph Wolff- W.W. Norton
& Company
Johann Sebastian Bach — His Like in
Pictures and Documents, by Hans Conrad
Fischer — Hanssler Illustrated Book
Bach Barenreiter Urtext — Jo-
hannes-Passion, BWV 245 — Vocal Score
Keith Clark’s small but mighty Baroque
ensemble supported the singers. The oboist,
Melissa Pina, when accompanying Hansen
and the contralto soloist, Erica Brookhyser,
was like another voice, creating a duet that
would have been just as beautiful without
the words. The cellist and viola di gamba
instrumentalist, Adaiha MacAdam-Somer
performed an instrumental duet with the
bass soloist with such grace and impeccable
coordination. These combinations of voice
and instrument creating one idea or emo-
tion, propelled us forward — riding on the
stream of Bach’s music.
Charged with sounding like a Baroque
boys chorus of 12 voices, the Ensemble of
Oregon achieved their goal graciously.
Bach had two purposes in all of his mu-
sic — to dedicate it to the glory of God and
to elevate the souls of the worshipers and
listeners.
I
believe the purpose of all composers
and performers is to take the listener to
another place — wherever they envision
that place to be.
Many thanks to Keith Clark and the
Astoria Music Festival for bringing this
remarkable performance of the St. John’s
Passion to Astoria. It carried us back to
the 17th century and gave us a glimpse of
Bach’s world as a church musician. Bach,
the greatest Baroque composer, was the
epitome of his highest calling as a messen-
ger of God through music.
Dr. Denise Reed is director of the North
Coast Chorale .
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