The Sun.
London, England, 1860-09-05 00:00:00

TER HOLY PLAYS IN BAVARIA.

• -
A writer in i contemporary says:—The Passions-
Spiel originated in a vow made by the inhabitants
of Oberammergau in 1633—0 n .tiwiredeliverance
from a plague whi*eavaged the will* itAhe dis-
trict, but fell wain' -"Se al violence olzikeir village
years for ever the last
—to represent eveve - .
scenes of the life of the 11,819iour. At that time such
representations were netOncommon ; now this is
probably the only one remaining.
Into the early history or process of the play I
need not enter here. Thom who wish for informa-
tion of that nature may consult Das Passions-Spiel
zu Ammergau vonL. Clcirtes, a pamphlet lately pub-
lished at Munich, and containing a very clear and
apparently an accurate account of the whole sub-
lect upto 1850. The first representation took place
in the following year, 1634. The interval origi-
nally fixed has been rigidly adhered to, with but
one exception, and since 1680 the representations
have taken place regularly every ten years. But
it appears that it is only during the three last that
it has assumed at all its present proportions.
Oberammergau, as its name implies, is the upper
one of the two villages which lie in the plain or
.meadow of the Ammer, enclosed between some of
the hills in the lower northern part of the Tyrolese
Alps, 40 or 60 miles south-west of Munich. It
contains about 1,200 inhabitants, living in some
200 houses, and, with the exceptions of the parson
and his curate and the upper and under school-
master, there is probably not a single resident who
is above the grade. of a simple artificer. In this
resides one of the chief marvels of this marvellous
performance, which is, in pursuance of the original
vow, confined, not to the inhabitants only, but to
the absolute natives of the village ; even Unteram-
mergauers are prohibited from sharing in the
labours or the honours of that which was vowed by
Oberammergau only.
The theatre in which the performances now take
' place—formerly they were held in the churchyard
—is erected in a meadow just outside the village.
It is a temporary building, formed of rough deal
planks. The audience part is an enclosure of about
am feet wide by 140 long, sloping gradually up-
wards from the stage. It is open to the sky, ex-
cept at the back where it is partly covered by a
raised gallery for reserved seats, and is capable of
accommodating, in all, between 4,000 and 5,000 per-
sons. The stage is very capacious. First, an ample
proscenium, about 80 feet wide by 30 in depth ; then
a large centre hall, with two wings pierced by
arches, leading into a spacious street or courtyard
on each side. Between the hall and the arch on
either hand is a balcony, 10 or 12 feet from the
ground, to hold eight or nine persons. At the back
are extensive dressing-rooms, and stores for the
, very numerous dresses and other articles used in
the play. The front of the hall and side screens is
decorated in a plain style with arches, columns,
pediments, &c., and the drop curtain represents the
perspective of a street not unlike Fleet-street, look-
ing to Temple-bar. The whole of this was designed
and executed by the village carpenter—a plain
though very intelligent and pleasant person, with-
out any foreign aid whatever.
The text ofithe drama is the production of a priest,
or rather, probably, of successive priests, of the
parish. In regard to this considerable mystery is
preserved, both as to its authorship and its contents.
The songs of the chorus are printed and sold as a
programme, but the parts of the solo performers are
not be obtained. Of course, a large portion con-
sists of the actual words of the Gospels, but at least
an equally large part is invented. The performance
embraces the entire Sacred History, from the entry
of Christ to Jerusalem to His appearance to Mary
Magdalene in the garden after His Resurrection,
and every step in the narrative is preceded and il-
lustrated by a representation of the scene or scenes
in the earlier history which typified, or are supposed
to have typified it. These are not, like the scenes
they typify, accompanied by either action or dia-
logue. They are, in fact, tableaux, silent and rigid,
. and so far similar to poses plastiques—a term which
I several times heard applied to them. They take
place in the centre hall, and during the three or
four minutes of their exposure the chorus, drawn
. up in line on the proscenium, sing verses, explain-
: ing and enforcing the resemblance intended.
Some of these were quite new to me, and most
happily chosen. Thus, before the Last Supper, ap-
peared successively two tableaux-1. The manna
descending on the host of the Israelites. 2.
The two spies bearing into the camp the huge
bunch of the grapes of Esheol. The agony in the
garden and the betrayal of Christ were in like man-
ner ushered in by-1, Adam gaining his bread by
the sweat of his brow ; 2, loab stabbing Amasa
. under the rocks of Gibeon, while in the act of kiss-
ing him; and 3, by Samson betrayed by his wife
into the hands of the Philistines. The condemna-
tion of the Saviour by Caiaphas, on the evidence of
the false witnesses, was preceded by the similar
condemnation of Naboth at the command of Jezebel;
the ultimate sentence to crucifixion, by the release
of Joseph from durance, and his exaltation as Go-
vernor over Egypt, and so on. There were in all
25 of these tableaux, some of them containing more
than 150 figures, and they appeared to afford great
satisfaction to the spectators.
I have said that these tableaux preceded the scenes
in the sacred drama itself, typified by them. Of
those scenes there were in all 17. I shall enumerate
only tholost remarkable, though it is difficult to
distingaiiili where all were so truthful and so for-
cible :-1. The Triumphal Entry of Christ to Jeru-
salem; the children and people shoutin g "Hosanna!"
and strewing clothes and branches. This introduced
the Saviour and Apostles, and firmed in itself an
admirable introduction to the whole. There were
certainly not less than 200 persons in the crowd,
including 70 or 80 children. 2. The long and ani•
mated debates in the Sanhedrin, including- the furi-
ous evidence of the expelled money-changers, and
later the interview with Judas, when the contract
was,ratified between him arid the priests by the pay-
ment-Of the 30 pieces of silver. Nothing could be
more characteristic, real, and unaffected than these.
3. The Last Supper and the washing of the Apos-
tles' feet. Here the table was arranged on the
model of the well• known picture of Leonardo da
Vinci- 4. All the scenes in which Christ was
brought successively before Annas, Caiaphas,
Pilate, and Herod. The " Ecce Homo" (copied. it
struck me, from 'Van Dyck). The Scourging, &c.
In some of thesa as many as 250 persons were at
once on the scene,—infuriated mobs of priests,
money-changers, Roman soldiers, &c.; and, vio-
lent as were the passions personified, there
was not the least approach to rant, nor the slightest
transgression into irreverence or improbability. In
the course of these scenes a striking occurrence was
the contrast of Brabbas—a brutal and squalid
figure—with the noble form and countenance of the
sacred sufferer—the latter formed more after the
model of those of Albert Durer than of any other
painter—at least such was my impression. Both
Pilate and Herod were admirably represented, but
especially the former. 5. The whole long proces-
sion, at the slowest pace, from Pilate's house to
Golgotha, our Lord an.O.the thieves carrying their
crosses; His interview, with His mother and the
other women of Jerusgell•
This contained the
only legendary or traditional incident in the whole
Performance to which therefore the most rigid
Protestant, as such, could object—namely, the
wiping of Christ's face by St. Veronica; but there
Was no attempt to show the miraculous impression
of the sacred countenance on the handl-
xerchief
which forms the point of the legend, and tlite action
was in itself a most natural and becoming one. 6.
.of the last dreadful scene—the uprearing of the
three crosses with their living burdens, and all the
cruel incidents of that most cruel and lingering
death—l know not how to speak. I only know
that irreverence or incongruity was a feeling which
, never once entered my mind. It certainly was not
perceptible on any of the faces within my reach,
and the long-drawn sob or sigh which escaped
from the whole mass of spectators, a.s from one man,
- when the sacred corpse was at last carried out of
',. view, was one of the mose genuine and remarkable
• tributes to the reality of the whole representation
% that can be imagined. The fierce blaze of the after-
noon
sun, in the full heat of which the two last
scenes took place, gave additional vividness to the
representation of sufferings which derived half their
torture from the fever and thirst by which they were
accompanied. 7. Whether it was that the subsequent
scenes were really less forcibly presented or not I
do not know, but certainly they did not equal what
. had preceded them. More artifice was necessary in
the nianagementof the tomb and of the supernatural
incidents of the Resurrection. There was an unne-
cessarily long scene between the nriests and Pilate,
and the illustrative tableaux seemed neither so good
nor so appropriate as before. Perhaps the truth is
that after so tremendous it denouement even that
termination must have the effect of an anti-climax.
At any rate, one was, now hot and exhausted, and
the termination of the whole at a' few minutes be-
' fore four was felt by every one as a relief, The per-
formance began at eight, and thus lasted nearly
eight hours, without any interval for refreshment,
The only character which calls for any remark,
as being, to a certain degree, different from the e,r-
, dinary Conception, was that of Judas. He was not
exrtPited as- the haracned villain whirl: Plibpom-
oiry take him to bk steadily foreseeing a Con-
t plating throughout ghout the trAnenslous consequences
its treachery ; but rather'. as a narrow-minded,
.1 pulsive, vindictive man, ".ally puzzled and en-
enoyed at what he conceived 0 he the "" waste" of
. "the 300 pence on the Preeiou ointment, and stung
rf
:. to the quick by the reproof s 3 publicly administered
t h
to him by Christ. Under 6 influence of these
h feelings he at last consents ia the suggestions and
F; entreaties of the priests and'iloney-changers. But
he never really believes that,, sbat does happen will
a a,
i e