GENTIAN PASSION

In the musical context, the superiority of Easter over Christmas does not require lengthy justifications. The works written during Lent, preparing for the experience of the mystery of Easter, are among the most moving, not only for religious or spiritual reasons, but also purely musical. The story of the Passion of Christ acquired a musical setting already in the Middle Ages, later more passions arose, and their crowning (although not at all the end of this thread in the history of music) are two preserved passions by Johann Sebastian Bach. The Passion according to St. John originated first and was performed on Good Friday 1724 in Leipzig. The text of the Passion consists of two chapters of the Gospel of St. John, to which the composer added fragments from the Gospel of St. Matthew. Janov's passion is full of drama and extraordinary tension — built from the first bars. The story of Jesus' Passion begins with the scene of the capture and ends with the scene of his burial. Both of Bach's passions, preserved to our times, are an indispensable element of musical preparations for Easter. We are still looking for the best performances and interpretations, but perhaps most of all the great wisdom that comes from the music of Bach — a brilliant composer and a deeply believing Lutheran. The story of Jesus' Passion becomes a universal reflection on the essence of suffering, forgiveness and hope. The theme keeps coming back in the work of composers — also in the 20th and 21st centuries, but every subsequent writer with a passion looks towards Bach.

Fig. Ilona Stenyk