The content of these posts is drawn extensively from Markus Rathey’s Bach’s Major Vocal Works: Music, Drama, Liturgy (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2016) and Michael Marissen’s translations in Bach’s Oratorios: The Parallel German-English Texts with Annotations (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008).
You can find a beautifully-filmed recording of the St. Matthew Passion by the Netherlands Bach Society here, including an English translation of the German text. NPR Classical also presents a “guided tour” through the St. Matthew Passion here.
“Bach sets the words of institution as a love song,” writes Markus Rathey (134).
This initially sounds strange to us. After all, we are not used to categorizing Jesus’ words as “love songs”. That seems more in the realm of secular musicians, especially pop singers. I encourage you, though, to listen to this movement of the St. Matthew Passion; the video is helpful in guiding you along with the German text. This is the moment Christ institutes the Lord’s Supper on the evening of Maundy Thursday, the moment he speaks the words of institution. The movement begins a little earlier, however, when Jesus tells his disciples that the man who dips his hand in the bowl with him will betray him.
As you listen to the Evangelist narrate the action and listen to Jesus sing his words, note the difference between the accompaniments. As the Evangelist sings, we hear sparse accompaniment from the instruments, mostly a few chords. This “secco” (dry) recitative characterizes much of the biblical text in the passion. Jesus’ words, on the other hand, are always accompanied by string instruments, creating, as Rathey puts it, “the impression of a halo around his words” (114). There is only one exception to this: the words “Eli, Eli, lama asabthani” (My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?).
In the movement narrating the institution of the Lord’ Supper, we hear the accompaniment surrounding Jesus’ words change as he sings “Nehmet, esset” (Take, eat). Even to the untrained ear, the music sounds different than that which accompanied Jesus’ preceding words. No longer is it a simple accompaniment of a standard recitative. Instead, the music here becomes more song-like, the instruments flowing beautifully as they highlight this text. The bass singer representing Jesus shifts from the fast chanting of the recitative to a more song-like tone, moving more towards the sound of an aria. The melodic characteristic of this part reminds one of a love song.
Furthermore, in the meditative recitative and aria following Jesus’ words of institution, Bach composes music that follows the convention of love songs at the time. He uses two oboi d’amore in the accompaniment, a standard instrumentation for love songs at the time, and he composes the vocal part for a soprano. The recitative concludes by telling the listener that Jesus loves his own until the end. The following aria opens with a typical love song text: “Ich will dir mein Herze schenken” (I will give my heart to you). 18th-century listeners would have been familiar with these conventions, understanding that these characteristics defined love songs. They would have heard these as love songs.
Why would Bach compose the words of institution as a love song?
Perhaps because these words are a love song. Not the kind that we hear from most singers today, of course. Instead, Bach presents these words as the epitome of Christ’s love towards us. This love leads the lover, Christ, to offer his beloved, the Church, his own flesh and blood as food and drink. Remember the theme of this passion: Christ’s divine love and his human suffering. This divine love led him to human suffering, granting us a tangible manifestation of his love in his Supper.
As the reflective recitative says: “Sein Fleisch und Blut, o Kostbarkeit”. “His flesh and blood—o treasure”. For this, indeed, is our treasure—even Jesus Christ himself.
Reading questions:
1. How does Markus Rathey describe Bach’s setting of the words of institution?
2. What is the difference between the accompaniment for the Evangelist (and other characters) and the accompaniment for Jesus? Why is this?
3. How does the accompaniment for the words of institution change from Jesus’ normal accompaniment?
4. What are some conventions that Bach uses in the following meditative recitative and aria? Why did he use these?
5. Do you think Bach’s musical interpretation of the words of institution is correct?