Notes on the St. Matthew Passion 
.PP
1.
.PP
This composition must properly be understood as a variation
on the Haggadah, that is, as an exposition of the perplexities
which arise out of the triangle of man's relationship to his 
fellow human beings as a community, the relationship of the
individual to God, and the relationship of the community to God.
It is fair to say, I think, that the traditional Haggadah
does not resolve these perplexities, and it seems to me to be
essential if one cares about Judaism to be open to alternative
accounts of the implications of Passover. Matthew, the author to whom
the scriptural text is attributed, was a Jew, and his writing lends
itself to no interpretation other than the expression of specific
Jewish experience.
.PP
2.
.PP
The opening chorus of the Passion is set in Jerusalem, at the
Wailing Wall of the Temple. The opening line "Kommt ihr To#chter,
helft mir klagen," is correctly translated, "Come ye daughters,
help me wail." The ambiguity of the circumstance that the words
grammatically in the first person singular are in fact sung by a
multitude of voices is resolved as follows. The author of the text,
Picander, intended symmetrical introductory ariosos by a single
daughter of Jerusalem whose exhortations and questions would be
answered by a chorus of her sisters. Bach, however, adhered to this
scheme only for the opening piece of the second part of the Passion,
"Ach wo ist mein Jesus hin?" (Oh where has my Jesus gone?)
.PP
It is awkward to attempt to explain in retrospect Bachs reason
for diverging from his librettist's intention, especially
since there is no evidence that Bach ever made any attempts
at conceptual rationalization of his compositions.
The numerous opening choruses of his cantatas attest
to his preference for orchestrated choral introductions.
Furthermore, and perhaps most important,
the fusion of the individual and social voices in the opening chorus
reflects the circumstance that the expansion of 
individual consciousness over the entire social universe,
which is implicit in the request, "Help me to wail," 
has in fact already received its musical implementation.
.PP
The melodies of this chorus are remarkable, first of all,
for the syncopated rhythm of the figured bass. The alternating
quarter and eighth notes, if properly performed, evoke the
awesome sounds of muffled funeral drums. (compare Haendels
funeral March from Saul.) This somber rhythm is periodically
relieved by a scale of thirteen notes rising from a low E
to middle C, a progression which suggests either the ascent
of the ladder of the cross, or less likely, the emergence
from a grave. The wailing voices are most eloquently expressed
in the rising and falling figures of the vocal lines which
linger upon sustained notes to reflect patience (Geduld)
when it is mentioned in the text.
.PP
The antiphonal pattern of the chorus reflects the catechetical
style of Protestant religious instruction.
The chief daughter of Jerusalem, envisioned by the librettist Picander
as the leader of a Greek chorus, is inadvertently cast in the role
of a catechizing Sunday School teacher.
She begins by exhorting her sisters to wail with her, and is then
interrogated by them concerning the object of her mourning.
The lesson is taken directly from the prophet. As the libretto states:
.nf

Seht ihn, Wen? Den Bra#utigam       See him whom: the bridegroom.
Seht ihn, Wie? Als wie ein Lamm     See him how: like a lamb.
Seht es, Was? Seht die Geduld       Look at what: his patience.
Seht Wohin? Auf unsere Schuld       Look where: upon our guilt.

.fi
.na
Implicit in this text is the loneliness, the emotional and social
isolation of the individual who because of his sensitivity or
perceptiveness sees a reality to which others are oblivious.
The request "Help me to wail" is therefore akin to the question
"Will you not watch with me?"
.PP
The relationship of the chief of the daughters of Jerusalem 
to lamented bridegroom is not clear. Is she his bride? Are
some or all of the other daughters whose compassion she enlists
also to be his brides?
The opening aria of the second part, "Ach wo ist mein Jesus hin,"
(Ah, where has my Jesus gone) indicates that at this time at least
"my" Jesus is the "friend" of the chief of the mourners, and the
other daughters offer to help her to find him. Whether their
complicity in the search is to be rewarded with a more intimate
relationship to the bridegroom remains unanswered, and is, in
any event, a speculative question, since he is lost.
However, in the final chorus, Wir setzen uns mit Tra#nen nieder,
(We sit down in tears) all differences among the women with 
respect to their relationship to the bridegroom have vanished.
.PP
The summons to lamentation clearly implies that those to whom
the call is directed are detached. In point of fact, they had
overlooked and ignored him who was suffering even though he was
in their midst, and they were witnesses, perhaps even authors
of his distress. The summones to recognize the man who is
despised and rejected as the representative of God is the
message of Isaiah, and it is also Isaiah who compares the
relationship of God to his people with the relationship of
the bridegroom to his bride.
.PP
This description of God in his relationship to his people
as a bridegroom, seems to me to constitute an original
individualisation of religious experience, inasmuch as
the relationship of the bridegroom to the bride is also
a fundamentally individual one.
In a theological context, the appearance of the bridegroom
is a rediscovery of individuality.
The Psalms, the sacrifice if Abraham, the lamentations of Job
are surely expressions of individual experience,
but the Passover trdition had hitherto only depicted
the sufferings of the entire people. To consider the suffering
of an individual in the context of Passover implies an entirely
new interpretation of the religious tradition.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Aus diesem Text erklingt dann auch die Einsamkeit des Erkennenden.
So ist das "Helft mir klagen" dem "Wachet bei mir" verwandt.
Es ist nicht klar wie der beklagte Bra#utigem des Eingangschors
sich zu der Hauptkla#gerin verha#lt. Ist er ihr Bra#utigam,
oder ist er der Bra#utigam einer, oder vieler Ungenannten.
Sind der To#chter die zum Klagen aufgerufen werden
alle zum Brautstand erwa#hlt, oder nur eine, oder keine?

Die Eingangsarie des zweiten Teils, "Ach wo ist mein Jesu hin?"
besagt dass zu dieser Zeit jedenfalls "mein Jesus" der "Freund"
der Hauptkla#gerin ist, und dass die anderen To#chter ihr helfen werden
ihn zu suchen. Ob diese anderen To#chter durch das Mitsuchen selbst
eine engere Beziehung zu dem Bra#utigam bekommen,
muss dahingestellt bleiben,
und ist vielleicht auch nur eine theoretische Frage, da er verloren ist.
Im Schlusschor, jedoch, sind alle To#chter Zions in der Trauer vereint,
und alle Unterschiede zwischen ihnen in Bezug auf den Bra#utigam
sind aufgehoben.

The one to be mourned is the bridegroom
of Isaiah 63:5. "As the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride,
so shall thy God rejoice over thee." That bridegroom appears not
in the conventional splendor, but one
who is "brought as a lamb to the slaughter", (Isaiah 53:7)
and who is patient in suffering.  (Isaiah 53:7).
He is the man of God who is despised and rejected, (Isaiah 53:3)
and who has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows, (Isaiah 53:4).
This prophetic vision of the man of God is echoed in the
ripieno chorale, sung by children's angel voices
which arch over the composition like a celestial canopy:

"O! Lamm GOttes, unschuldig               O lamb of God, innocent
Am Stamm des Creutzes geschlachtet,       Butchered on the pole of the cross
Allzeit erfunden geduldig,                At all times found to be patient
Wiewohl du warest verachtet,              Although you were despised,
Alle Su#nd hast du getragen,              All sins you have borne,
Sonsten mu#sten wir verzagen,             Else we should despair.
Erbarm dich unser o JEsu!                 Take pity on us, O Jesus
.PP
3.
.PP
Der Aufruf zum Klagen besagt auch die Teilnahmslosigkeit der Aufgerufenen. 
Tatsa#chlich hatten sie den Leidenden nicht beachtet,
obgleich er doch unter ihnen war, und sie die Zeugen,
vielleicht sogar die Urheber dieses Leidens waren.
Der Aufruf den Leidenden, den Verschma#hten zu erkennen,
ist die Botschaft Jesajas, und Jesaja ist es auch der
die Beziehung des Gottes zu seinem Volk mit der Beziehung
des Bra#utigams zu seiner Braut vergleicht.
.PP
Die Beschreibung des Gottes
in seiner Beziehung zum Volk als Bra#utigam,
scheint mir als die urspru#ngliche Individualisierung
des religio#sen Erlebnisses, wie denn auch das Verha#ltnis
des Bra#utigams zur Braut das urspru#nglich individuelle ist.
.PP
In der ju#dischen Theologie ist die Erscheinung des Bra#utigams
ein erneuter Durchbruch zum Individuellen.
Die Psalmen, die Hiobsklagen sind gewisslich
die Ausspru#che einzelner Menschen,
aber die Tradition des Osterfestes
hatte bisher nur die Leiden des ganzen Volkes bedacht,
und beim Osterfest das Leiden eines Einzelnen zu beklagen
ist eine vo#llig neue Wendung des religio#sen Erlebens.
.PP
Vorausgesetzt dass man das Bild des Gottes als Bra#utigam
nicht lediglich als Schrulle der Religionsu#berlieferung beiseite legt,
ergibt sich als unvermeidlich die Frage, ob das gesammte Volk als
Braut vorgestellt wird, und dementsprechend die Beziehung eine
monogame ist, oder ob der Gott eine Beziehung zu jedem einzelnen
Mitglied unterha#lt und die Beziehung somit polygam ist. 
Das Gleichnis der klugen und to#richten Jungfrauen la#sst
auf die letztere Hypothese schliessen, na#mlich, dass der Gott
sich mit jeder der klugen Jungfrauen seriatim verma#hlt,
und dass vom Standpunkt der Bra#ute jedenfalls, von einer
monogamischen Eifersucht auf den Bra#utigam nicht die Rede sein kann.
.PP
Ich deute diese Metaphorik vom go#ttlichen Bra#utigam
als eine Verbildlichung welche vor allem dazu dient
das jeweilig Besondere und Einzelne des religio#se Erleben hervorzuheben,
und den jeweiligen Bezug dieses Erlebens auf die einzelne Seele zu betonen.
Man ko#nnte behaupten dass die Individualisierung
welche im Geschlechtsakt zum Ausdruck kommt,
den unmittelbarsten Ausdruck menschlicher Vereinzelung ausmacht,
und dass dementsprechend des Menschen Erleben seiner Geschlechtlichkeit
die Quelle seines Selbstbewusstseins ist.