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St. Matthew Passion Bach Cantata Series
St. Matthew Passion Bach Cantata Series

2009-2010 BACH CANTATA SERIES

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Palm Sunday 2010 Performance of the

ST. MATTHEW PASSION

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The Bach Cantata Series at Saint Luke Church proceeds from the desire of the parish to share with Chicago music lovers its hospitable liturgical and musical setting as a natural home for these great choral works. Professional soloists and instrumentalists join the Saint Luke Bach Choir under the direction of Dr. Mark Bangert for presentations of selected cantatas in the context of sung Vespers.

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Unique to these performances is attention to those details which enable fuller appreciation of Bach's intent with these works: commissioned translations which assist the hearing of word-tone relationships; written commentary as a way to provide notice of the musical devices Bach employs; and attention to those hymns and texts which prompted the composition of these cantatas.

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A special feature in Saint Luke's 125th anniversary year is the Palm Sunday performance of the St. Matthew Passion; and new to this year's series is the daylong Festival of the Resurrection conference in which the cantata fuels the presentations and the performance concludes the day. The cantata is repeated the following Sunday morning for a post-Easter celebration.

With the support of underwriters as well as patrons, friends and sponsors Saint Luke Church is able to offer this concert series to the Chicago area without admission charges.

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The church is wheelchair accessible.

 

2009-2010 Schedule

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On this, the Day of Saint Luke, the parable of the Good Samaritan, on which Cantata 77 is based, serves not only to encapsulate the entire Gospel of Luke, but it also provides a pattern by which believers can address life with integrity towards God and others. This cantata is known for its skillfully constructed opening chorus in which the "great commandment" is presented by the chorus, while instrumentally underlined with a hymn tune melody in double canon revealing insightful commentary. Truth be told, the remaining movements are equally compelling with the sounds of two oboes chattering in one aria and another featuring the regal sounds of the trumpet. The message and means of this work reward on every level.

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For November 1, All Saints Day, one hopes for a cantata such as this, for it reaches out to the image of the Good Shepherd, the one who has promised to deal kindly with loss through death. Bach writes four very moving arias, each distinct, each with its own charm, and each contributing to a fulsome whole. The resulting sense of satisfaction allowed him to dispense with any thought of large scale choral additions. At hand are virtuosic writing for the piccolo cello, the rewarding sound of oboes dueting around a well-known hymn tune, and one section that, with its warmth and intimacy, has been called "one of the most impressive arias" in all the literature.

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Bach's Lutheran bloodline shows itself in this hymn-based cantata for Advent. He was so fond of this hymn by Luther that he wrote two cantatas based on it. This, his second, focuses on the "great exchange," coined by Luther himself - that God becomes human and humans can share in the divine. A rousing opening chorus enacts the welcome of the Savior with winds and strings exchanging musical greetings while the choir gives meaning to all the excitement. Two subsequent arias unfold the Christ mystery with additional insight and musical perspective. All together, the various moments of the cantata enlist one's awe over the miracle that is at the center of the Advent/Christmas season. It becomes clear that Luther has found his soul-partner in Bach.

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Considered by many to be the highest achievement of the composer, this musical history of Jesus' passion and death together with devotional commentary by Bach's contemporary, J. F. Picander, and selected hymn stanzas is scored for soloists, two choirs, two orchestras and children's choir. It is offered free of charge as a gift from Saint Luke Church in observance of its 125th anniversary. There will be a sizeable break between the two sections of the Passion..

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This cantata for the time after Easter serves with the Matthew Passion to embody the "paschal mystery," that miraculous linking of Jesus' death and his resurrection. Such linkage is the subject of an all-day conference at Saint Luke, the Festival of the Resurrection, taking place on April 9. The cantata will conclude the day and serve in part to fuel the presentations during the conference. Bach's work is the first of nine he composed based on texts by his only female librettist - a marvel in and by itself. His inventiveness around these nine cantatas shows up in this cantata with the use of piccolo flute (a very small recorder) and in the sudden disruption of a profoundly conceived opening chorus. The music is infectious, prompting the desire for more, and (NOTE THE DATES AND TIMES) luckily one can hear it twice!

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Devotional writers from the generation after Luther thought of Holy Communion as the way by which a believer could personally experience the Holy Spirit. On Pentecost, then, it follows to engage a cantata that is based on one of the all time favorite communion hymns, "Soul, adorn yourself with gladness." This work further explores Holy Communion as a "foretaste" of the heavenly wedding feast, as the composer, ever mindful of dances and feasts, uses at least three different dance forms to shape the movements. A substantial opening chorus employs a wide palette of sound, while the arias challenge singers, the flutist and the cellist with music fit for a celebration. Throughout one is never far from the hymn that started it all, a gift that leads to the feast itself.