By Nancy Plum
The season of Lent, and in particular Holy Week, has often been an occasion for somber music depicting the Passion of Jesus, and very few compositions capture the gravity of these events quite like Johann Sebastian Bach’s St. Matthew Passion. A fusion of texts from the New Testament Gospel of Matthew, Lutheran hymns, and poetry of Bach’s time set in recitative, aria, and ensemble structure, Bach’s towering masterpiece has been considered a pinnacle of the sacred oratorio’s genre and a supreme challenge for any chorus.
Princeton University Chamber Choir rose to the task this past weekend, tackling Bach’s complex music and pathos at Richardson Auditorium on Saturday afternoon. Conducted by Gabriel Crouch and accompanied by the acclaimed period instrument orchestra The Sebastians, this presentation combined refined singing and instrumental playing with a historically stylistic approach to successfully meet a three-hour musical challenge.
Bach composed St. Matthew Passion shortly after being appointed cantor of two significant churches in Leipzig, with responsibilities including composing pieces for Sunday and major religious holiday services. This Passion was for Good Friday, although its exact premiere date has been open to debate over the past several centuries. Bach scored the Passion for double chorus and double orchestra, with principal solo characters of Jesus, Judas, Peter and Pilate, all dramatically held together by an Evangelist narrator. Bach’s score also included Lutheran chorales familiar to 18th-century congregations connecting the anguish of the narrative to the congregation — this was everyone’s story.
Leading the account was tenor Julian Gregory, currently a member of renowned King’s Singers, as the Evangelist. The narration was sung in Baroque recitative style, requiring exact diction, and often lightly accompanied. Gregory sang the intricate verses with a light, clear and articulate sound, fitting the clear-cut and well-defined character of the performance. Quiet with the text when required, he provided a solid anchor for the great deal of vocal and instrumental activity going on around him. The use of supertitles aided in keeping the audience engaged in the often very brisk narration.
No other role in St. Matthew Passion changed character and mood as much as that of Jesus, sung by bass-baritone Kevin Deas. Decisively strong in one moment and reflectively despondent the next, Deas took his time on key texts, especially conveying hope in the face of despair in his final aria. During choruses of particular poignancy, both Gregory and Deas turned toward the choral singers, as if their characters recognized the significance of those particular words.
There were also numerous smaller solo roles, cast with both undergraduate and graduate students from the Choir as well as guest artists. Among overall strong performances, there were a number of standouts, including mezzo-soprano Emma George, who was especially pensive in a Part I aria delicately accompanied by two flutes, bassoon, cello, and organ. George sang the key “Ebarme dich” aria, reflecting Peter’s remorse over denying Jesus, with sensitivity, accompanied by continuo violin played by Daniel Lee.
Christopher Jackson commandingly sang the role of Judas, in addition to a substantial aria of acceptance in the oratorio’s first part. Mezzo-soprano Jacqueline Horner-Kwiatek expressively conveyed an aria of tears and reflection, accompanied by the obbligato playing of violinist Nicholas DiEugenio. Countertenor Timothy Keeler, a Princeton graduate and director of the vocal ensemble Chanticleer, brought the scene of Golgotha to life. The use of countertenor in these reflective passages brought a haunting quality to the musical palette. Through many of the solo numbers, conductor Crouch stepped back from leading the music, allowing the singers and instrumentalists to govern their own pacing. The large number of soloists from the chorus showed the depth of the University choral program and provided the students with the opportunity to perform with world-class instrumentalists.
The Sebastians, recognized for their expertise in the Baroque and Classical eras, brought twenty instrumentalists to accompany the Chamber Choir and soloists, divided into double orchestras. The foundation of any major Baroque work is the continuo accompaniment of lower strings and organ, and each of the instrumental ensembles in Saturday’s concert included an organ, solidly played by Jeffrey Grossman and Kerry Heimann. Both orchestras also included several Baroque oboes adding elegant color to the texture, especially Priscilla Herreid’s graceful oboe d’amore accompaniment to tenor Dhruv Goel’s aria of devotion. Throughout the performance, the Sebastians were crisp and accurate, expertly supporting the other musicians.
The 45-member University Chamber Choir took a light approach to the vocal lines, enabling the choristers to effectively sustain the considerable amount of music. Phrase endings and internal cadences were consistently well tapered, and the singers provided a forceful sound when necessary. Conducting without a baton, Crouch derived great flexibility from the score, taking occasional pauses between vocal movements for dramatic effect.
Because of its sheer enormity, Bach’s St. Matthew Passion is performed judiciously, and certainly not often at the college level. The work can be appreciated for the artistry alone, and Saturday afternoon’s presentation gave a very full house at Richardson Auditorium the chance to hear stylistically accurate Bach, as well as a text appropriate for the Lenten season.
The Princeton University Glee Club can be heard on Friday, April 17 and Saturday, April 18, at 7:30 p.m. at Richardson Auditorium. This concert will feature the Glee Club with the Princeton University Orchestra in performances of Leonard Bernstein’s “Chichester Psalms” and Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9. Ticket information can be obtained by visiting tickets.princeton.edu.