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medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture John Briggs <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > Well, no. Bach's Passions derive directly from the mediaeval recitations of the Passion story during the Masses of Holy Week, rather than from the Passion Plays. thanks, John. being Thespianately Challenged, this is not a distinction i would have thought to make. > Bach's 'performance practice' is somewhat controversial, but the latest thinking is that there was one voice to a part, with the soloists forming the chorus (the St Matthew Passion has a double chorus). yes, i had the opportunity to see a very nice performance of the St. John here in Bloomington (Indiana) winter before last. and that set me wondering --not for the first time-- whether there might have been any "acting out" by the singers in the Authentic Performances. making it a kind of opera, i suppose. >Only the Evangelist is really identified with the part as a character, the other performers generally have multiple roles as well as the soloists singing the arias not 'in character'. ? i don't recall that, in the performance i saw, but it would certainly make sense, from an "economical" point of view. best from here, christopher ********************************************************************** To join the list, send the message: join medieval-religion YOUR NAME to: [log in to unmask] To send a message to the list, address it to: [log in to unmask] To leave the list, send the message: leave medieval-religion to: [log in to unmask] In order to report problems or to contact the list's owners, write to: [log in to unmask] For further information, visit our web site: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/medieval-religion.html