florida state university college of music performance practice

This present study will examine all of the choruses and chorales within the St.
John Passion as well as two additional movements, “Eilt, ihr angefochtnen Seelen” and
“Mein teuer Heiland, laß dich fragen” that feature solo voices and choir. The performing
forces, tempo, duration, dynamics, articulation, ornamentation, rhythm and pitch will be
examined and discussed.
It is the expectation of this dissertation to answer several questions that have
emerged through researching the significant literature related to the dissertation topic.
Does the evidence of durations suggest that within the last twenty-five years are
performances, using recordings as evidence, are becoming faster or slower? Can a
connection be drawn between particular nationalities who consistently represent an
inclination of being fast or slow within the St. John Passion? Do the interpretations of
the St. John Passion show a trend of individuality or generalization in recordings? Do
recordings in the past twenty-five years demonstrate tendencies that are often associated
with romantic expressiveness? How do the actualization of performance reconcile with
the theoretical body of literature? Meaning, does the research within performance
practice and Bach find their way into the recordings studied? Lastly, how do conductors
who have performed the St. John Passion more than once show degrees of uniformity or
divergence in their interpretation?
Tendencies toward individuality or generalization
Alan Blyth, in his book, Choral Music on Record, chides that the
“internationalisation of musical performance” seems to proliferate near identical
recordings that shy away from individual expressions to a more generalized approach. 339
Additionally, one cannot forget Richard Taruskin‟s evaluation that the HIP Movement
declines the personal (personal interpretations) for the objective (generalized), cookie
cutter approach. 340 However, in examining thirty-eight recordings of the St. John Passion
a wealth of personal and individual expressions were found. For example, Simon
339 Alan Blyth, ed. Choral Music on Record. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991, vii.
340 Personal expressions of the St. John Passion have also been realized through staging the work. For
example, the English National Opera and Chorus, conducted by Stephen Layton, presented a staged
version of the St. John Passion in London Coliseum in April 2000 and again in March of 2002. On
American shores, conductor Robert Spano led the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (reduced orchestra) and
Chamber Chorus in a staged performance of the Passion in March 2007.
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