florida state university college of music performance practice

in a lower key of D major; however, in Dürr‟s opinion this has not been conclusively
determined. 255
Other modifications Bach made in the second performance included the insertion
of the Bass aria (movement 11+), “Himmel reiße, Welt erbebe” after the chorale
(movement 11) “Wer hat dich so geschlagen,” and this aria is also believed to have its
provenance in the Weimar period. Tenor aria (movement 13 II ) “Zerschmettert mich, ihr
Felsen und ihr Hügel” replaced “Ach, mein Sinn” (movement 13 I ); Tenor aria (movement
19 II ) “Ach windet euch nicht so, geplagte Seelen” replaced both Bass aria, “Betrachte,
meine Seel” (movement 19) and Tenor aria, “Erwäge, wie sein blutgefärbter Rüucken
(movement 20) from version 1. The seven-bar dramatic telling of the ripping of the
temple veil in Movement 33 “Und siehe da, der Vorhang im Tempel zerriß” replaced its
earlier version. Dürr suggests that this altering had textual implications in that the new
text, Matthew 27: 51-52, flows better into the tenor arioso (movement 34), “Mein Herz,
in dem ganze Welt” than the previous Mark 15: 38 text. 256
The chorale chorus “Christe, du Lamm Gottes, (movement 40 II ) replaced the
straightforward chorale in version 1, “Ach Herr, laß dein lieb Engelein” (movement
40 I ). 257 This extensive chorale chorus was used previously in the cantata Du wahrer Gott
und Davids Sohn (BWV 23) that served as Bach‟s audition piece for the Leipzig post.
This prior use contributes to speculation that perhaps it was at some time part of another
Passion from the Weimar period. 258 However, at this point this is mere speculation with
no concrete evidence substantiating this idea.
Several enigmas present themselves with the 1725 version. First, why did Bach
feel compelled to produce a different version, with textual insertions that are more
apocalyptic 259 in tone, of the St. John Passion? There are those who feel the additions of
the elaborate chorale choruses in version 2 corresponded with the 1724-1725 cantata
cycle. Dürr cautions that while this could be the case, it must be remembered that for a
Good Friday evensong, there would not have been a chorale sermon, for which the
255
Dürr, Johann Sebastian Bach’s St. John Passion, 5.
256
Ibid.
257
Ibid.
258
Ibid.
259
Daniel R. Melamed, “Bach‟s St. John Passion: Can We Really Still Hear the Work – and
Which One?” in The World of Baroque Music, George B. Stauffer, ed. Bloomington: Indiana University
Press, 2006, 235-252.
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