Introduction to Part 2 (No. 30)
After the sermon, the second part of the Passion opens with an Aria with Choir, which functions as an introduction (“exordium”). It’s set for the alto solo in Coro 1 in dialog with the choir in Coro 2. One flute, one oboe d’amore, strings and continuo in Coro 1 accompany the alto while the strings and continuo double the voices of the choir in Coro 2.
The text reminds us that Jesus has just been taken captive. In reference to “bride and groom” imagery from the Song of Songs, the “Daughter of Zion” is lamenting the loss of Jesus and the choir responds by offering their help to look for him. The words of the choir come straight from the first stanza of Song of Songs, chapter 6. The music is set in a slow triple time which lends it a character of hopelessness or aimless search. The choral interventions have a very different character from the solo alto line – the former has a lighter character and comes across as a bit detached (maybe uninvested?), while the latter reflects deep pain and anguish, heralded by the opening long note on “Ach!”
The movement ends in a suspension, leading to the first scene of Part 2.
Jesus is Tried Before the High Priests (Nos. 31-37)
The narration resumes with Jesus in front of the High Priests, scribes and elders, who are looking for false witnesses against Jesus without success. Peter is observing from a distance.
The chorale that follows the first portion of recitative, for both Coros together, was also used by Bach in Part 5 of the Christmas Oratorio. Picander (or Bach?) chose a stanza of the hymn in which the words prompt the listener to identify directly with Jesus.
The next segment of recitative introduces new solo roles – the two false witnesses and the High Priest. The witnesses’ false testimony is presented as an arioso with a fugato theme at the octave where the alto voice is followed by the tenor in short succession – a clever representation of the same false statement given twice. After the question by the High Priest, the last note of the recitative is left unharmonized to represent Jesus remaining silent.
Next, an arioso/aria pair invites reflection, set for the tenor in Coro 2. The recitative is accompanied by short chords by the oboes and continuo, illustrating Jesus’ silence, while the poetry reflects on staying silent in face of false accusations (a reference to Psalm 39). The aria that follows limits the accompaniment to a very active continuo line, assigned explicitly to the cello. Both the voice and the continuo line alternate between longer notes and jagged or rapid patterns, as the text urges for “Patience!” (“Geduld!”) in front of falseness and mockery. J. E. Gardiner describes this powerful movement as the “struggle between moral outrage and the tactical imperative to remain silent”.
Resuming the action, the Evangelist narrates the interrogation of Jesus by the High Priest. Upon Jesus’ responses, the High Priest accuses him of blasphemy and turns to the priests and scribes for confirmation. The choirs have two interventions representing this crowd: first, responding to the High Priest, they state “He deserves to die!” in a quick, 8-voice imitative texture leveraging both choirs in succession. Shortly after, addressing Jesus, they deliver a mocking left-and-right series of “who hit you?”.
And as is often required, in a split-second they transform into the believers for the chorale that follows, consoling Jesus and assuming the sins of the mockers as their own. This chorale is a different stanza of the same Paul Gerhardt hymn from 1647 that appeared in the Passover scene (Part 1).
Matthew 26, 57-68
Peter Denies Jesus (Nos. 38a-40)
The next scene, short but powerful, is the one describing Peter’s denial of Jesus. It introduces yet two additional minor roles – the maids who recognize Peter. Once after the other, as they call him out, they put him in the position of uttering the first two denying statements. After that, a group of bystanders also recognize Peter. Bach gives their accusatory words to Choir 2. Peter denies Jesus for the third time and the rooster crows, which is word-painted in the Evangelist’s line twice: first with a high, repeated note as it happens, and then with an upward figure as he cites Jesus’ prophecy in reported speech. This recitative ends with the Evangelist describing Peter’s bitter weeping with a very expressive melisma.
The aria that follows is one of the best-known in the entire Passion. It’s an alto aria with solo violin and strings, in which the singer identifies with Peter. The violin opens with a sorrowful, grieving 8-bar introduction that seems to emerge from the Evangelist’s previous melisma, floating high on top of a pulsating, pizzicato basso continuo line in ternary tempo. The aria has a directionless, wandering character similar to what we heard in the opening of Part 2. When the voice enters, it’s as if it tries to imitate the instrumental line but can’t quite do it – after the first motif, the violin comes to its help and takes over. Perhaps a representation of the frailty of human condition, and the salvation offered by Jesus’ sacrifice?
The scene closes with Stanza 5 of a chorale by Johann Rist from 1642, also used by Bach in Cantata 55. In the cantata, the tenor aria which precedes the chorale also opens with the words “Erbarme dich” and is in many ways reminiscent of the one in the Passion. It was composed by Bach one year before and features solo flute instead of the violin.
Matthew 26, 69-75
