Bach: St. John Passion, Mein teurer Heiland, laß dich fragen

Today being Good Friday, it seems appropriate to turn to the Passion story. It has been a fertile field for music and art.

Bach wrote two Passions. His St. John Passion was composed in 1724, within a year of his assuming the position of Kapellmeister at the St. Thomas Church in Leipzig.

Mein teurer Heiland, laß dich fragen (“My precious Savior, let me ask”) features a bass soloist, continuo (cello and harpsichord), and chorus. The aria occurs in the Passion immediately after Christ’s death.

As the bass sings a florid melody, the chorus enters intermittently with successive phrases of the chorale. The cello adds a third element. This technique of combining a chorale with an elaborate melodic line was a popular Baroque form and may be familiar to you from works like Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring or many of Bach’s Chorale Preludes for organ. It’s easier to appreciate the intricacy of weaving these elements together if you are already familiar with the chorale tune, which might otherwise be somewhat obscured.

Although the soloist and chorus blend together, they sing separate texts and follow their own musical logic throughout. (This post has been updated with a new video.)