The St Matthew Passion (also frequently but incorrectly
referred to as St Matthew's Passion; German:
Matthäus-Passion), BWV 244 is a Passion, a sacred
oratorio written by Johann Sebastian Bach in 1727 for
solo voices, double choir and double orchestra, with
libretto by Picander (Christian Friedrich Henrici). It
sets chapters 26 and 27 of the Gospel of Matthew (in
the German translation of Martin Luther) to music, with
interspersed chorales and arias. It is widely regarded
as one of the masterpi...(+)
The St Matthew Passion (also frequently but incorrectly
referred to as St Matthew's Passion; German:
Matthäus-Passion), BWV 244 is a Passion, a sacred
oratorio written by Johann Sebastian Bach in 1727 for
solo voices, double choir and double orchestra, with
libretto by Picander (Christian Friedrich Henrici). It
sets chapters 26 and 27 of the Gospel of Matthew (in
the German translation of Martin Luther) to music, with
interspersed chorales and arias. It is widely regarded
as one of the masterpieces of classical sacred music.
The original Latin title Passio Domini nostri J.C.
secundum Evangelistam Matthæum translates to "The
Passion of our Lord J[esus] C[hrist] according to the
Evangelist Matthew".
Little is known with certainty about the creation
process of the St Matthew Passion. The available
information derives from extant early manuscripts,
contemporary publications of the libretto, and
circumstantial data, for instance in documents archived
by the Town Council of Leipzig.
Many composers wrote musical settings of the Passion in
the late 17th century. Like other Baroque oratorio
passions, Bach's setting presents the Biblical text of
Matthew 26–27 in a relatively simple way, primarily
using recitative, while aria and arioso movements set
newly written poetic texts which comment on the various
events in the Biblical narrative and present the
characters' states of mind in a lyrical, monologue-like
manner.
The St Matthew Passion is set for two choirs and two
orchestras. Both include two transverse flutes (Choir 1
also includes 2 recorders for No. 19), two oboes, in
certain movements instead oboe d'amore or oboe da
caccia, two violins, viola, viola da gamba, and basso
continuo. For practical reasons the continuo organ is
often shared and played with both orchestras. In many
arias a solo instrument or more create a specific mood,
such as the central soprano aria No. 49, "Aus Liebe
will mein Heiland sterben", where the absence of
strings and basso continuo mark a desperate loss of
security.
Bach revised the Passion by 1736, for a performance on
Good Friday 30 March 1736. This is the version (with
some possible later adjustments) that is generally
known as the St Matthew Passion, BWV 244. In this
version both choirs have SATB soloists and chorus, and
a string section and continuo consisting of at least
violins I and II, viola, gamba and organ. The woodwinds
are two traversos, oboes and oboes d'amore for each
choir, and in addition for choir I two oboes da
caccia.
Source: Wikipedia
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Matthew_Passion).
I created this arrangement of the last Aria: "Mache
dich, mein Herze, rein" (Make yourself pure, my heart)
for Piano Trio (Violin, Cello & Piano).
