Search - David Wright, Johann Sebastian Bach, Reinhard Keiser :: Bach: St. Mark Passion

Fortunately for those musicologists and listeners who take special delight in the mysteries of lost or unfinished works by great masters, the music of Bach's St. Mark Passion, of which only the libretto exists, is largely reconstructible. Evidence suggests that the music primarily consisted of parodies, that is, preexisting music adapted to fit new texts. Some clever sleuthing reveals the probable--or definite--sources, which, according to editor Andor Gomme, are found in several cantatas and in the Trauer-Ode. Naturally, there are places where scholarly speculation is required, and Gomme provides details of his decisions in the extensive liner notes. The music he chooses is not all Bach. The unreconstructible recitatives and Gospel narrative sections are taken from the St. Mark Passion of Reinhard Keiser, a contemporary from whom Bach was known to have borrowed musical ideas. No Bach lover should be afraid of this very substantial, well-conceived, and expertly performed work. Besides being offered a lot of rarely heard and lovely music in new settings (the alto aria "Falsche Welt" is a wonderful example), we're also treated to some familiar and always welcome chorales and a refreshingly different traversal of the Passion story to set beside Bach's beloved St. Matthew Passion and St. John Passion. --David Vernier