Good Friday or Passionis Domini
29 March 2024 – Today is Good Friday or Passionis Domini, the opener of Easter weekend, and the end of Lent. A very important liturgical holiday, marking the death of Jesus Christ. The performance of a passion oratorio was customary at that time, with notable works from composers like Händel, Telemann or Fasch.
Bach's Matthaeus Passion, BWV 244, is of course a monumental work, often performed and well-loved around the world. It was probably first performed for the Vespers of Good Friday on April 11th, 1727, in the Thomas Kirche in Leipzig.
I've chosen a recording by John Eliot Gardiner, the English Baroque Soloists and the Monteverdi Choir, but there are so many great recordings to choose from, like the minimalistic recording by La Petite Bande, where the soloists also perform the choir parts as was possibly the case in Bach's time.
Music for today
- Passio secundum Matthaeum, BWV 244
(first performance 11 April 1727, Leipzig period)
Extra information
The Netherlands Bach Society website has more information and a performance of BWV 244, the Matthaeus Passion:
https://bachvereniging.nl/en/bwv/bwv-244/. You can also find this performance on their Youtube channel: httpss://youtu.be/ZwVW1ttVhuQ
Playlist
WBC26-Good Friday or Passionis Domini
Choose one of these streaming services to listen to this playlist:
Image of the day
Central panel of the altarpiece in the Herderkirche in Weimar. The remarkable triptych was begun by Lucas Cranach the Elder in 1552/53, shortly before his death, and completed in 1555 by his son Lucas Cranach the Younger. It is regarded as a major work of art of the 16th century in Saxony and Thuringia. You can see Martin Luther on the right holding a bible.