An Easter Celebration: St. Matthew Passion (Incline Village)
Imagine St. Matthew Passion as a grand, sacred musical — an emotionally charged drama where music and text weave together like a theatrical masterpiece.
The opening chorus feels like the dramatic overture of a musical, setting the stage for the Passion story with haunting beauty. From there, Bach unfolds the final days of Christ with a script-like libretto drawn from the Gospel of Matthew, interwoven with arias, chorales, and duets that serve as reflective soliloquies and ensemble numbers.
The Evangelist, like a narrator in a musical, guides the audience through the events, while Jesus’ lines are accompanied by a glowing halo of strings, setting him apart as the divine protagonist. The chorus shifts roles fluidly, sometimes acting as the angry mob calling for crucifixion, sometimes as the sorrowful faithful, and other times offering poetic reflections in hymn-like chorales.
Arias such as “Have mercy, Lord, on me” and "Out of love my Savior is dying” feel like deeply personal ballads, offering moments of raw emotion much like a musical’s showstopping solos. The final chorus, "We sit down in tears”, acts as the moving finale, leaving the audience in reflective silence.
Bach’s St. Matthew Passion is not just an oratorio — it is a sacred drama, filled with powerful character moments, emotional highs and lows, and an intricate musical score that makes it one of history’s most profound theatrical works of faith.
