In 2014, I went to Germany with the TAMU Century Singers. I don’t have the best memory, but I remember going to the Bach-Haus in Eisenach and the Bach Museum in Leipzig, seeing Bach’s Calov Bible commentary (or just a replica) that was all marked up with his notes, and then listening to the Motets for what was actually the second time (my first time being a live performance of all 6 Bach motets by Conspirare in 2013). Very soon after our tours through Bach's world, I purchased and downloaded the album of Bach Motets by the Monteverdi Choir. When I got around to studying the text, I was blown away by the fact that Bach was using verses from the book of Romans as well as text from extra-biblical sources that were woven in to perfectly fit the thematic context. Jesu meine Freude quickly became one of my favorite pieces of music, as I immersed myself in it and the other motets. It was this Biblical and spiritual lens through which to experience his music that changed the way I would look at Bach forever. Only weeks after the Germany trip, I got to hear Conspirare perform the St. Matthew Passion at the Victoria Bach Festival. The music and the text hit me in ways that I can only assume weren’t previously possible. I’ve since come to appreciate the importance of his innovations in counterpoint and polyphony, so that I can appreciate his instrumental music almost as much as his vocal music.
Because the "sounds" of Baroque music (the timbres, instrumentation, melodic patterns, and harmonic progressions) are so idiomatic to that period and alien to our modern ears, I still sometimes have to resist "tuning out" when listening to Bach. But even so, beyond the textual depth and musical intricacy that I have to appreciate, there are moments when the music itself (melody and harmony) are just as emotionally pleasing and moving to my 21st century ears as something written today might be. One specific citation I can make here is the baritone aria Mache dich mein Herze rein from the St. Matthew Passion.
I can't casually reference that aria without talking about the text to just point out a small example of Bach's ability to take the Biblical text to the "next level." The singer of this aria is portraying the character of Joseph of Arimathea, the man who volunteers to bury Jesus' body in a proper tomb following the crucifixion. But what text does Bach have Joseph sing?
Make thyself clean, my heart,
I will myself entomb Jesus.
For he shall henceforth in me
For ever and ever
Take his sweet rest.
World, begone, let Jesus in!
Bach takes the story and actions of Joseph of Arimathea and takes the opportunity to turn it into metaphor: "burying" Jesus in our hearts, where He takes the place of the things of this world and lives within us.
In light of my new perspectives on Bach, I approach playing his music in a totally different way. I realize now that his music is more difficult than I previously thought, and yet at the same time, much easier when you allow the music to say what he wrote. I no longer taking for granted the impeccable counterpoint, the importance of every single note, and the motivation behind all that he did: soli Deo gloria.
"...with Bach -- the essential Bach -- there is no "music itself." His concept of music derived from and inevitably contained The Word..." - Richard Taruskin
