Bach wrote an astounding 1,127 pieces during his life (1685–1750), a stunning testament to his creativity and industry.2 His prolific composing career was more than a matter of artistic genius; it was a product of his Christian faith. Bach was raised a Lutheran in post-Reformation Germany and was an avid student of the Bible and other religious writings. The many annotations in his well-worn Bible reflected his desire to serve God through music, and he declared at the age of twenty three that his life’s mission was to write “Well-regulated church music to the glory of God.”3 This calling, along with his zeal for Scripture and immense musical talent, led Bach to write music drenched with theological meaning, much of which points directly to Jesus’ crucifixion. Specifically, Bach’s “St. John’s Passion” and “St. Matthew’s Passion” boldly explore the meaning of the cross.
Cross-like structures appear throughout Bach’s music. He has been called “The supreme composer of the Christian Cross, itself a metaphor at once vertical and horizontal,”4 and his writing is simultaneously harmonically and rhythmically complex.5 In considering the details of his work, Bach’s music includes chiastic structures, note patterns appearing as visual crosses in sheet music.6 Also, Bach once explained of his piece “Symbolum” that the resolution of a particular dissonant chord is really “Christ [absolving] the cross bearers of their crosses.”7 Indeed, the cross concept permeates Bach’s pieces.
Bach’s “St. John’s Passion” and “St. Matthew’s Passion” not only reference Jesus’ crucifixion but also examine its implications. These massive choral works were written in 1724 and 1727, respectively, for Good Friday church services. These two pieces lyrically and musically describe the nature of the cross. “St. John’s Passion” is said to reflect Bach’s personal exploration of the Gospel of John.8 It focuses on the cross’ connection with the forgiveness of sin, Jesus’ oneness with Yahweh and Christ’s glory through suffering.9
In “St. John’s Passion,” Bach emphasizes the forgiveness of sin through the artistic description of a rainbow. The lyrics of this particular piece are translated from German “Consider how his back so stained with bleeding in every portion doth heaven imitate . . . the world’s most lovely rainbow, arching, as God’s own sign of blessing stands!”10 Like God’s rainbow promising peace to Noah in the Old Testament, the rainbow described in these lyrics promises that Jesus’ blood is “God’s own sign of blessing.”11 Simultaneously, Bach “Paints the rainbow vividly,” using a mellifluous twisting scale pattern.12 The cohesive music and lyrics of the rainbow symbol explain the cross’ ability to annul sins and reconcile mankind to God.
The rainbow is also one of the many ways “St. John’s Passion” connects Jesus’ cross with Yahweh, the God of the Old Testament. Bach confirms this link in the opening lyrics of the composition, translated “Lord, our Lord’s glory in all the land is wonderful!”13 These words imitate the opening phrase of Psalm 8 “O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!”14 The topic of the composition, Jesus’ crucifixion, is introduced by praising Yahweh. This connection is brought even further when a specific musical phrase is first concluded with a lyric reference to Yahweh, and later repeated identically, but with a lyric reference to Jesus “The Incarnate Word.” Musical and lyrical parallelism connect the cross with Yahweh; they show Bach’s belief in Jesus’ divinity.15
In “St. John’s Passion,” Bach further connects Yahweh and Jesus to show that Jesus is most glorified, as the Son of God, in his crucifixion. This is particularly evident in Bach’s “Jesus of Nazareth” chorus, a brief melody that appears several times through the composition with varying lyrics. The initial melody has lyrics “Jesus of Nazareth.” Later, its lyrics question Jesus’ identity, appearing multiple times in the part of the composition describing Jesus’ trial before Pilate. Finally, the lyrics reflect the “Royal inscription” given to Jesus when crucified: “Jesus of Nazareth, King of Jews.” After his identity has been questioned throughout the piece, the “Jesus of Nazareth” choruses resolve in declaring Jesus to be divine royalty.16 Jesus is most glorious in his situation of most agony. This lyrical transformation takes place along with a transition in key signature. The “Jesus of Nazareth” choruses go from being in tonalities with many flat notes to tonalities with sharp notes.17 Bach typically uses flats to represent the mundane, human world and sharps to represent the divine, in this specific context Jesus during his crucifixion.18 Bach sets the cross as Jesus’ place of exaltation in spite of his physical suffering.
Whereas “St. John’s Passion” focuses on the aspects of the cross that have the greatest personal importance for Bach, “St. Matthew’s Passion” offers a more strictly Lutheran interpretation of Jesus’ crucifixion. Bach was well educated in Martin Luther’s teachings and he seems to have used portions of Luther’s “How to Meditate on the Passion of Christ” as the basis for the presentation of the cross in “St. Matthew’s Passion.”19 The components of the cross that Bach emphasizes in this composition are Jesus’ suffering, love for mankind and offer of salvation.20
Martin Luther believed “When we meditate on the Passion of Christ in the right way, we see Christ and are terrified at the sight.”21 Bach invokes such a sense of fear in his musical depiction of the crucifixion in “St. Matthew’s Passion.” Throughout the piece, low instruments’ short, fast notes signify “Jesus’ spiritual torment.”22 The movement “O Golgotha” modulates into flatter and flatter tonalities, symbolizing the rebellion of the sinful world at Jesus’ crucifixion. Like Luther, Bach incites fear of God by a focus on the cross’ torment.23
In “St. Matthew’s Passion,” Bach also expresses Luther’s entreatment to “Look how full of love God’s heart is for you. It was this love that moved Him to bear the heavy load of your conscience and sin.”24 Bach uses oboes to remind listeners of the connection between Christ’s love and the cross; oboes’ sweet timbre counters the tumult of fearsome movements like “O Golgotha.” Most notably, oboes are used in the movement “From Love” with other high-pitched instruments to create a supportive musical texture similar to a typical Baroque accompaniment, or “basso continuo.” A typical “basso continuo” consists of basses and other low instruments, but using high wind and string instruments for this function gives the movement an otherworldly air. Scholars interpret this as a musical depiction of Christ’s love and protection for mankind, and through this Bach emphasizes Christ’s love as an important aspect of the cross.25
In light of Jesus’ suffering for love, Luther encourages hearers to “Take your sins and throw them on Christ. Believe with a joyful spirit your sins are His wounds and sufferings. He carries them and makes satisfaction for them.”26 In “St. Matthew’s Passion,” Bach echoes these Lutheran sentiments in the movement “See Jesus,” which encourages believers to search for atonement in the cross. In this movement, lyrics describe Jesus’ outspread arms and nodding head and the arms figuratively embrace onlookers. The nodding head confirms believers’ forgiveness and salvation, which is Bach’s expression of Luther’s concluding concept.27
Bach’s theology permeates many layers of his “St. John’s Passion” and “St. Matthew’s Passion.” As Bach scholar Martin Geck puts it “Bach did not use the words of the Bible just for a few oratorical works but … set to music its rhymed paraphrases with the utmost emphasis and unfailing energy.” He calls this “Not craft or aestheticism but credo.”28 Essentially, Bach’s work is more than an outburst of musical creativity; it is a thoughtful expression of a deep faith. This fact challenges today’s performers and listeners to consider the religious intent behind such classical music. In these two pieces, music and meaning are inseparable. To truly appreciate Bach’s artistry, it is necessary to consider his music’s spiritual purposes, through which historical sacred music comes to life. Church music can no longer be viewed as merely aurally pleasing; it is a powerful medium of theological instruction and spiritual expression.