Victor Lederer

I decided to attend, for the first time in my life, a live performance of Bach's St. Matthew Passion, and as I know it to be a long and complex work I wanted to find the perfect, reasonably-concise introduction that would adequately prepare me to properly appreciate the work.

In the online search that led me to this book, I stumbled upon a remarkable review written for The Telegraph by Damian Thompson (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/bookreviews/5131824/Bachs-St-Matthew-Passion-by-Victor-Lederer-Review.html). His closing paragraph stayed with me:

"Some people think you shouldn’t read while listening to a piece of music: I used to know a critic who would sneer if you so much as glanced at the programme during a concert. What nonsense. One of this book’s many virtues is that it unfolds at roughly the same pace as the St Matthew Passion itself. I read it in tandem with Paul McCreesh’s superlative recording with the Gabrieli players. It was as if I was hearing the music for the first time."

Taking my cue from Thompson, I read the 39-page intro/overview chapter in the morning, and then took the book with me to the performance in the afternoon. Pages 40-107 are basically a brilliantly written play-by-play that opens up the work in a way that mere program notes and/or a translated libretto can't. There was more than enough time during the 3-hour performance to rotate my attention between the performers, the libretto text in the program, and the commentary in the book.

I then read the final chapter, which gives the reception history and performance history of the work, after returning home from the performance.

Whether you have this book open on your knee at a live presentation of Bach's St. Matthew Passion, or open in your lap as you listen to a recording of it at home, I venture to say that it will open up aspects of the work that you never considered, no matter the level of your musical education.

Thanks to Lederer's book my appreciation of this Bach masterwork has been expanded enormously. I am so happy that I took the trouble to seek it out.… (mais)