Response to St. John's Passion in Cole Chapel
Attending the performance of Bach's St. John's Passion in the Chapel yesterday was a really spiritual experience, I think, regardless of what background from which you come as an audience member. I've been to dozens of musicals and concerts but never to an operatic performance, and I think it speaks a lot to what we've been studying about Qur'an recitation.
(Any music theorists in the class? I just got dizzy trying to read that)
It was a bit difficult to get into at first, since the whole piece is written and performed in German. But coming from a Catholic background, I am very familiar with the story of Jesus Christ's betrayal, his walk to Calvary, and crucifixion. So it became much easier to follow along and to understand the emotion behind the words. This really brought me back to the performative nature undertaken by a lot of Catholic traditions. At Good Friday Mass, a tradition occurs much like Bach's John's Passion in which laypeople, the presiding priest, and other members of the Church come together on the altar (which transforms itself into a stage) and recite the Passion of Jesus. It isn't typically sung like it was last night, but it's acted out very much like a play. As a child, it was one of my favorite Masses to attend because I got to participate. Just as the Chorus in Bach's Passion acted as the Jewish people condemning Christ to death, so do the laypeople in the pews at Church function in that same role.
Why are these performative elements necessary to so melancholy a subject in the Catholic faith? Melancholy as it may be, it is one of the crucial elements of the faith--Christ died on the cross for our sins, and it's important for Catholics to remember that as they go about their daily lives. Thus, I think it makes perfect sense to create a sort of stage play setting for the remembrance of such an important event--and for Bach to have chosen to make an opera out of it.
I think opera, or at least the one I listened to yesterday, shares a lot in common with what we've been discussing concerning Qur'an recitation. As I followed along with the lyrics in the program, I noticed the singers were not simply reading the German words and making musical notes out of them. Rather, they would drag out certain words or make a particular note higher or lower depending on the intended emotion behind it. For example, a lot of the arias would drag out words like "heaven" and "kingdom" to emphasize the devotional components of the piece. Also, the Evangelist (essentially the Narrator) would lower or raise his voice depending on whether or not he was conveying sadness or pity or devotion. Obviously there is a lot of control involved in how the singers project their voices, but, as with Qur'an singing, it almost sounds improvised in that notes can be dragged out, clipped, heightened or lowered seemingly at the singer's discretion within a given measure. These performers were quite literally reciting the Passion of Christ, emphasizing the words or phrases they felt emulated the emotion or important religious aspects behind the words, which I think definitely plays into Qur'an recitation.
I would definitely be interested in seeing or listening to other versions of the Passion to see if different conductors or directors take different approaches to the work. Overall, it was a very enlightening experience with many parallels to be drawn to what we are working on in class.
(Any music theorists in the class? I just got dizzy trying to read that)
It was a bit difficult to get into at first, since the whole piece is written and performed in German. But coming from a Catholic background, I am very familiar with the story of Jesus Christ's betrayal, his walk to Calvary, and crucifixion. So it became much easier to follow along and to understand the emotion behind the words. This really brought me back to the performative nature undertaken by a lot of Catholic traditions. At Good Friday Mass, a tradition occurs much like Bach's John's Passion in which laypeople, the presiding priest, and other members of the Church come together on the altar (which transforms itself into a stage) and recite the Passion of Jesus. It isn't typically sung like it was last night, but it's acted out very much like a play. As a child, it was one of my favorite Masses to attend because I got to participate. Just as the Chorus in Bach's Passion acted as the Jewish people condemning Christ to death, so do the laypeople in the pews at Church function in that same role.
Why are these performative elements necessary to so melancholy a subject in the Catholic faith? Melancholy as it may be, it is one of the crucial elements of the faith--Christ died on the cross for our sins, and it's important for Catholics to remember that as they go about their daily lives. Thus, I think it makes perfect sense to create a sort of stage play setting for the remembrance of such an important event--and for Bach to have chosen to make an opera out of it.
I think opera, or at least the one I listened to yesterday, shares a lot in common with what we've been discussing concerning Qur'an recitation. As I followed along with the lyrics in the program, I noticed the singers were not simply reading the German words and making musical notes out of them. Rather, they would drag out certain words or make a particular note higher or lower depending on the intended emotion behind it. For example, a lot of the arias would drag out words like "heaven" and "kingdom" to emphasize the devotional components of the piece. Also, the Evangelist (essentially the Narrator) would lower or raise his voice depending on whether or not he was conveying sadness or pity or devotion. Obviously there is a lot of control involved in how the singers project their voices, but, as with Qur'an singing, it almost sounds improvised in that notes can be dragged out, clipped, heightened or lowered seemingly at the singer's discretion within a given measure. These performers were quite literally reciting the Passion of Christ, emphasizing the words or phrases they felt emulated the emotion or important religious aspects behind the words, which I think definitely plays into Qur'an recitation.
I would definitely be interested in seeing or listening to other versions of the Passion to see if different conductors or directors take different approaches to the work. Overall, it was a very enlightening experience with many parallels to be drawn to what we are working on in class.
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