Easter, 2024<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Every Christmas, Handel\u2019s Messiah<\/em> is Top-Ten in peoples\u2019 lives. In concert halls, churches, and community sings; on radio and TV we hear the oratorio, or at least the familiar \u201cFor Unto Us a Child Is Born\u201d and the \u201cHallelujah\u201d Chorus. Even if only once a year, this is a good thing, culturally and spiritually.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Handel\u2019s masterpiece encompasses, as its simple title proclaims, the entire life of the Savior, from prophesy to Resurrection. Handel lived his life in Germany, in Italy, and thence to England where he generally is embraced as a British composer. Messiah <\/em>actually was first performed in Dublin. I was privileged to see his writing desk on display in the Writers Museum in the Irish capital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n More provincial than Handel was his landsman <\/em>Johann Sebastian Bach, born the same year, 1685, only a few miles away, although the two musical titans never met. Bach\u2019s musical reach, however, arguably is greater than Handel\u2019s geographical realms; as great as that of any mortal who ever hummed a tune or wrote a melody.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They may be compared \u2013 just as Christmas and Easter may be compared in the business of our lives \u2013 but if their works may be compared, it is unfortunate that Bach\u2019s supernal religious works probably are less celebrated than Handel\u2019s Messiah<\/em>. Anyway, less \u201cfamiliar\u201d to the ears of average folks, especially during holidays. This is regrettable, because Bach wrote music of astonishing power, musically and of deep emotional import. The B minor Mass<\/em>; Magnificat<\/em>; more than 200 cantatas; motets; and two Passions, St John\u2019s<\/em> and St Matthew\u2019s.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n It might seem like I have begun with a predictable tangent before I have even begun this Easter message. But, no; I want to draw attention to the amazing way the human race\u2019s greatest composer presented the Easter story. I wish it were better known to people: more familiar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For Holy Week vespers services in Leipzig, Germany, Bach wrote the St Matthew Passion<\/em> and the St John Passion, <\/em>which were each performed in the St Thomas and St Nicholas churches on alternate years for decades. Three other Passions<\/em> apparently have been lost. Bach wrote about 1800 pieces of music in his lifetime, and about 1200 are extant. Approximately half of his output was Christian music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n His Passion<\/em>s were series of cantatas to be performed during Holy Week, and in parts during services. They were similar to oratorios or operas but without costumes or drama \u2013 singers were assigned roles, and there was a musical \u201cnarrator.\u201d The straight biblical narrative was distributed among soloists (evangelists and individual figures including Jesus, Peter, and Pilate) and choirs (various crowds, high priests, Roman soldiers, and Jews). We can appreciate the spectacle that the congregation beheld: a combination of church and theater, Greek-style drama and opera, music and voice, emotive performances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Two broad categories commend Bach\u2019s favored Passion<\/em> (possibly the work of which he was proudest of all his compositions), The Passion According to St Matthew<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Musically, it is a succession of amazing melodies, alternating gentle beauty, then tense drama, then profound emotion. It has musical motifs and phrases interlaced, reflecting the underlying themes and meanings of events during Holy Week. The combinations of solo instruments and voices; unique combinations and harmonies; and grand choruses of voices and full orchestral power are impressive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n All is outpaced, of course, by the spiritual message, the meaning of every scene and biblical phrase, and the skill of dramatization \u2013 the masterful presentation of the events \u2013 and the spiritual significance of every element. This is not a mere recitation of happenings, or a reading of Bible verses. The \u201cNarrator\u201d guides us, but Bach\u2019s composition is a stunning re-creation of the agony and ecstasy of the Crucifixion story. By the verses and voices, the St Matthew Passion<\/em> provides the points of view of all the participants and observers \u2013 including God, by quoted Bible prophesies; Jesus, by His words; and even us, dramatically through the eyes of the crowds in Jerusalem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n History came to call Bach \u201cThe Fifth Evangelist,\u201d the accolade bypassing even his spiritual mentor Martin Luther, because of his clarity of spiritual understanding and the power of his musical talent. Some 15 years ago I wrote a major biography of Johann Sebastian Bach, and with every fact I researched, every work I listened to (and listened again and again) my awe increased. He was, in the end, a theologian who could write music, the greatest that humankind has produced or heard. It will be savored as long as men have ears, in the words of H L Mencken.<\/p>\n\n\n\n My friend the Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer Edmund Morris wrote me a note wherein he called my Bach<\/em> biography superior to his own study of Beethoven, if you will permit me a little boast (well, I don\u2019t give you a choice). However, he averred that I painted a portrait of Bach as being too much of a Christian; that spirituality was not a major component of Bach\u2019s character. I am afraid that this opinion reflected more of Edmund than it did of Johann. For all of the old German\u2019s success, Bach confessed that he was proudest of being a follower of Christ; then, a husband and father in his community; then, a music-maker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And here we meet the Easter theme. We must all be proudest \u2013 first importance in our lives; the focus of all we do \u2013 of \u201cknowing Christ and Him crucified.\u201d The Easter story, the dramatic Passion<\/em>s, should be read and listened to and meditated upon, every week of the year, not only during Holy Week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Indeed, the message of the cross, the Resurrection, the Ascension, should be the themes of our lives. Church \u201cdays\u201d are useful to help us focus, motivating our faith and devotion, reminding us of how the Savior of our souls suffered on our behalf. His sorrows and pain were endured to fully identify with broken humanity. His death was a substitute for the punishment we deserve as sinners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n God became flesh and dwelt among us, a sublime mystery. And \u2013 you know the story \u2013 His Incarnate Son\u2019s resurrection from the dead is to show the promise of our eternal life. Unspeakable glory awaits us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can experience the story in what may be a new way. I recommend that you set apart a couple hours, open the link to the music video below, and let the story of Passion Week, the genius of J S Bach, and the mastery of conductor Karl Richter bathe your soul. The artistry of the performance matches the innovative music of Bach. Orchestra and choir are in a stark setting here. A giant cross above and behind the musicians changes its position amid bright and dark lighting, reflecting the tones of the unfolding Biblical text. I pray that you find the time to savor this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And have an even more blessed Easter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n + + +<\/p>\n\n\n\n