The wonders of the St. Matthew

Faith MattersMusic Appreciation
Written By Edward Wolfe

J. S. Bach (1685-1750)

One of the greatest pieces of music in history is Bach’s Saint Matthew Passion.

First performed in its entirety on Good Friday, 1727, the oratorio tells the story of Christ’s passion (his suffering and death) as recorded in the first Gospel of the New Testament. While much of the work is a setting of the text of the Gospel, in addition, Bach used poetry composed by artists alive at the time.

As compelling as the lyrics are, the overwhelming power of the St. Matthew is its music, or rather the interplay of music and text. An English translation is here.

Since the oratorio is almost three hours long, few members of a modern audience have heard it all. However, the exquisite craftsmanship and design of the work compel awe and admiration. When, as a teenager, I first heard this work in a recording in my family home, I was brought to speechless tears and awe.

A recorded, 16-minute lecture from Leonard Bernstein lifts the curtain just a bit on the amazing work: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=en3lxzd0Z9g

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Edward Wolfe

Edward Wolfe has been a fan of Christian apologetics since his teenage years, when he began seriously to question the truth of the Bible and the reality of Jesus. About twenty years ago, he started noticing that Christian evidences roughly fell into five categories, the five featured on this website.
Although much of his professional life has been in Christian circles (12 years on the faculties of Pacific Christian College, now a part of Hope International University, and Manhattan Christian College and also 12 years at First Christian Church of Tempe), much of his professional life has been in public institutions (4 years at the University of Colorado and 19 years at Tempe Preparatory Academy).
His formal academic preparation has been in the field of music. His bachelor degree was in Church Music with a minor in Bible where he studied with Roger Koerner, Sue Magnusson, Russel Squire, and John Rowe; his master’s was in Choral Conducting where he studied with Howard Swan, Gordon Paine, and Roger Ardrey; and his doctorate was in Piano Performance, Pedagogy, and Literature, where he also studied group dynamics, humanistic psychology, and Gestalt theory with Guy Duckworth.
He and his wife Louise have four grown children and six grandchildren.

https://WolfeMusicEd.com
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Brahms Beautiful Waltz and Intermezzo
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