St. John's Passion at Wheaton

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On March 22 at 8 PM, Wheaton College was graced with the Baroque specialists of Emmanuel Music in Boston joined by our very own peers in the Wheaton Chorale and Chamber Singers, to perform  Johann Sebastian Bach’s St. John’s Passion. I personally (and am a little ashamed to admit) had yet to attend a musical performance or any religious experience for that matter in our very own Cole Chapel. The whole atmosphere and feeling in the air had changed once the performance began. One definitely did not have to be a religious minded listener to feel the electric spirituality and vibe that filled the room. The dramatic music told a story even when the words were not in English. The intensity and clarity of the notes and melodies flowed together so well, that it was very clear I think to anyone that this was a highly religious experience. 

This may be due to my own Catholic/Christian background and that is what I associate religious music to sound like, but it left me wondering if there is a universal in religious music. When listening to the Qur’an recitation one can feel an energy that you could feel in the St. John’s Passion music. What is it that makes music religious, it may be socially and culturally constructed. It is possible for people to have religious experiences to music that are not stereotypically religious, and the music resonates so much with them that it creates a religious or spiritual experience. Yet it still seems to me after St. John’s Passion that there could be underlying religious universals in music.

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