Schutz: Matthew Passion

• Beginning:

  Schutz uses dissonance and harmony to convey the emotional depth of Christ's suffering: Eb - D clash between tenors and altos and harmony in the second chorus with cadences
• Chorus:

  -When the chorus are disciples, their music is controlled and imitation occurs regularly

  -When they are an angry crowd, their imitation overlaps, sometimes occurring at the same time

  -Final chorus there is significant dissonance: Ab - G clash between bass and alto- reflects the anguish and tragedy of Jesus' death and Peter's betrayal
• End:

  Repeating words that break the idea of only using words from the bible used only at times of tension. For example 'My god' is repeated three times by Jesus and the Evangelist when Jesus is on the cross. Symbolises anguish and tragedy by physically breaking away from the holy text.
• Throughout:

  -Only uses words from the bible with a couple of exceptions. This links to the idea that Lutheran works are supposed to be a direct communication to god, therefore the music needs to be as true to religion as possible

  -Jesus is sung by a bass and his melodic lines are often in the shape of an arch, giving an impression of tranquillity and holiness

  -Wide tessitura when the Evangelist sings about Peter's denial of betraying Jesus, and falls in paired notes for a description of Peter weeping
• Throughout:

  -Tenor's role as false witnesses sing in canon a major second apart, reflecting the untruthfulness of their statements.

  -Homophonic throughout

  -Modal harmony

  -Fairly limited chromaticism

  -Liturgical use
• Context:

  • Early Baroque
  • No instrumentation
  • Large group of soloists
  • SATB choir