Having the opportunity to scrutinize, analyze, and appreciate the musical and textual choices made by Bach before each concert has enhanced my experience as an audience member astronomically: I have come away with a much better understanding of how to be an engaged listener and an enhanced appreciation for musical interpretation.
Moments that were of particular note to me in the Canata concert were the way in which the words“Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen” extended into each other for a little longer than Bach wrote in his score, perhaps to prolong the sense of grief evoked in the listener. I was surprised at the choices made with the words “Angst and Not” – initially more tentative, but, when repeated, more aggressive. I was impressed, later in the same Cantata, at how the singer was able to make the wavering “ei” melisma in “alle Pein”sound so much like great suffering, a feature that can only be realized during live performance. I also enjoyed the duets I could hear between the picollo and the soprano during BWV103, which was more playful than I had expected given the theme of pain and suffering that pervaded the three Cantatas (although, notably, this aria was about healing!).
I was a little surprised by the more dramatic interpretation given of the St. John Passion. For instance, the bass singing the part of Jesus was more expressive than I expected, using his hands and facial expressions to enhance his performance. The tenor who sang the aria following Jesus’ condemnation to death was incredible, although again more dramatic than I expected him to be – I in fact appreciated this break from the more sombre, less expressive mood of the piece. It was also interesting to notice the movements for which the soloists would come out front as opposed to staying with the rest of the chorus (which I thought was possibly linked to Professor Heller’s proposition on the role of time in the St. John Passion, although this was not always the case – at one point, the singer voicing Jesus came out to the front). I was also interested to notice that the theme from the initial soprano aria kept returning in the chorus’ line — perhaps Bach was trying to blur the boundary between what it means to be a good believer versus how easy it was to fall into the trap of condemning Jesus to death.
Finally, it is so cool to be able to attend these performances in the places Bach might have come up with many of his ideas!! It felt particularly awesome that I had been in Weimar the very same day as I attended the “Art of Dying” cantatas alongside Ruth and Vito — BWV161 was initially written and performed there!!
In all, having had the opportunity to go over the music before the concert greatly enhanced my listening experience, and I am looking forward to putting this skill to use in my future concert-going endeavours.
