The night before last a good friend from church and I had the privilege of attending Bach's St. Matthew Passion at St. Vincent de Paul Parish in Chicago. This was the debut of Chicago Bach Project,** which celebrates Bach and all that inspired his work and faith. It is anticipated that the St. Matthew Passion will now become a new Chicago tradition.
Bach truly is the best of the best. He was an absolute genius at creating atmosphere and mood and certainly didn't hold back this gift when composing what many consider to be his crowning work — St. Matthew Passion. As an aside, did you know that Bach signed most of his works with the initials S.D.G., which stood for Soli Deo Gloria, meaning, "To God alone the Glory"?
I immensely enjoyed the whole of the St. Matthew Passion, but especially the second half. My eyes welled up when the choirs sang, "Truly this man was the Son of God." It is said that the two bars containing these words are the greatest in the history of music, and after Wednesday evening, I can't but wholeheartedly agree.
Following is the section leading up to these famous "two bars." I'll begin where the chorale sings a verse from the very moving hymn, O Sacred Heart Once Wounded:
Chorale:
When once I must depart,
do not depart from me!
When I must suffer death,
then draw Thou close to me!
When I shall be most full
of fear at heart,
then may Thy power rend me
from my fears of fear and pain.
Evangelist:
And behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain, from the top to the bottom. And the earth did quake, and the rocks rent, and the graves opened, and many bodies of the saints which slept there arose. And they went out of their graves after His resurrection, and came unto the holy city, and appeared unto many. Now when the centurion, and those who were with him to watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what happened there, they feared greatly and said:
Chorus:
Truly, this was the Son of God!
As we remember all that the Son of God endured on our behalf, may we be moved to live for His glory alone.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4ZjrTObyEw&feature=related
**And the reviews are in (4/28/11): http://sdgmusic.org/music/chicago-bach-project
Bach truly is the best of the best. He was an absolute genius at creating atmosphere and mood and certainly didn't hold back this gift when composing what many consider to be his crowning work — St. Matthew Passion. As an aside, did you know that Bach signed most of his works with the initials S.D.G., which stood for Soli Deo Gloria, meaning, "To God alone the Glory"?
I immensely enjoyed the whole of the St. Matthew Passion, but especially the second half. My eyes welled up when the choirs sang, "Truly this man was the Son of God." It is said that the two bars containing these words are the greatest in the history of music, and after Wednesday evening, I can't but wholeheartedly agree.
Following is the section leading up to these famous "two bars." I'll begin where the chorale sings a verse from the very moving hymn, O Sacred Heart Once Wounded:
Chorale:
When once I must depart,
do not depart from me!
When I must suffer death,
then draw Thou close to me!
When I shall be most full
of fear at heart,
then may Thy power rend me
from my fears of fear and pain.
Evangelist:
And behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain, from the top to the bottom. And the earth did quake, and the rocks rent, and the graves opened, and many bodies of the saints which slept there arose. And they went out of their graves after His resurrection, and came unto the holy city, and appeared unto many. Now when the centurion, and those who were with him to watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what happened there, they feared greatly and said:
Chorus:
Truly, this was the Son of God!
As we remember all that the Son of God endured on our behalf, may we be moved to live for His glory alone.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4ZjrTObyEw&feature=related
**And the reviews are in (4/28/11): http://sdgmusic.org/music/chicago-bach-project
i want to go!!! i never knew about the SDG thing thats really cool! ive seen it but never knew what it meant..
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