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wohl.” The pathos filled aria, “Es ist vollbracht” (It is finished) has become perhaps one
of the most celebrated of Bach‟s arias; however, prior to the middle of the Twentieth
Century, only three recordings featured the aria. 332
Several of these recordings feature unlikely performing forces or practices. For
example, in the early 1930s a 300-member chorus from Brussels Royal Conservatory
presented the work in French 333 while a recently published recording from 1938 reveals
that Austrian conductor, Erich Kleiber, led the Buenos Aires Colon Theatre Orchestra
and Chorus in a performance of the St. John Passion in Buenos Aires, Argentina. There
were those conductors that were ahead of their time. For example, German musicologist
Fritz Stein recorded in the late 1930s excerpts of the St. John Passion that, according to
Towe, were performed attentive to stylistic performance. 334
The year 1950 was not only a milestone for celebrating the bicentennial
anniversary of Bach‟s death but also served as the year two recordings were issued that
advanced the popularity of the St. John Passion. Austrian conductor Ferdinand
Grossman‟s 1950 recording is virtually complete except he decided against taking the
repeats of the da capo opening and concluding choruses. In the fall of 1950, a true
complete interpretation conducted by Robert Shaw was made of the St. John Passion. 335
However, this recording would also fall short for purists because Shaw chose to perform
the work with an English translation. Regardless of how successful these recordings
were, it should be tempered with the realization that they were completed twelve years
after the first complete recording of the St. Matthew Passion and an unbelievable thirty
years after the Mass in B minor. 336 This additional fact could be interpreted by many as
part of an overall perspective on the inadequacy of the St. John Passion.
With the early efforts of a few performances in the nineteenth and early twentieth
century and a tremendous advancement in the later part of the twentieth century, much
progress has been made in establishing the St. John Passion as a masterpiece in its own
right. It is safe to say that for over a century Bach‟s Mass in B minor was the undisputed
chef d‟oeuvre. In the passion genre, the St. Matthew took ranking over its earlier sister,
332
Towe, “St. John Passion,” 11.
333
Ibid.
334
Ibid.
335
Towe, “St. John Passion,” 12.
336 Ibid.
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