Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1957-04-15


Johann Sebastian Bach's gil
gantic masterpiece. the st. Mat
thew Passion. climaxed Palm
Sunday at the Washington Ca
thedral yesterday.
Paul Galloway, conducting a
small army of singers and in
strumentalists. gave the ave-
inspiring work a tremendously
eloquent reading, re-creating in
all its terrible majesty the i'm
mortal story OF Christ'S last
hours as envisioned by one Of
music's greatest geniuses and
most devout Christians.
Basically. the st. Matthew
Passion is a religious opera on
the grandest possible scale. The
Gospel story is divided by Bach
into a series Of scenes consisting
Of portions of the narrative-the
last supper, the betrayal, the
arrest. the trial, the crucifixion,
the death. the burial--and a
commentary upon it's meaning.
The action is advanced in
recitative secco. sung mostly by
q tenor Evangelist. Small roles
in the drama (Peter, PLATE, the
High Priest) are handled SINH
larry: Christ alone speaks in
accompanied recitative. his voice
enveloped in a shimmering halo
Of strings except in the final
moments Of his agony. when the
accompaniment Is abandoned, a
completely extraordinary touch.
Solo, Collective Elements
Some Of the scenes are arias
In which an individual expresses
horror or grief at what is taking
place: in others, the commentary
takes the form of a chorale which
reflects the collective emotion of
the entire congregation. Some
times individual and collective
elements are fused. as in the
wonderful tenor aria, Il would
beside my Lord be watching"
(sung while Christ is praying in
the Garden of Gethsemane)
which is interrupted periodically
by the chorus in alternate COM
mentary. At other times, the
chorus is the mocking throng
calling for Barabbas instead Of
Jesus. or the devout exclaiming
in passionate utterance, Truly.
truly, this was the Son Of God. 4"
On this vast canvas, filled with
epic grandeur. Bach drew his
designs. His most remarkable
achievement was perhaps the use
of the various chorales. Char
acteristic Is the wonderful PAS
sion" chorale which appears five
times during the course Of the
work In increasingly somber set
tings as the mood gradually
darkens. The last setting, i'm
mediately following the death Of
Christ, is surely one of the most
moving in all Of Bach's music.
Soprano Lois Marshall. who is
developing into one Of the great
singers Of our time, was no less
than completely magnificent.
She is blessed with a voice that
is sheer perfection. consuinmate
musicianship. and utter selfless-
ness and devotion to her art.
There is about her singing an
intensity and a purity that is
uniquely hers. This was partic-
ularly clear in her superb I'm
love my Saviour now is dying. +"
an unforgettable Interpretation.
The extraordinary quality of
Miss Marshall's vocalism was
closely Appropriated by con-
tralto Eunice Alberts. a consum-
mate artist in her own right.
who reached heights of express
siveness unusual even for her in
the "Ah, Golgotha" recitative
and aria.
Steffe Is Big Factor
One Of the biggest factors in
the success Of the performance
was baritone Edwin Steffe's NOV
ing rendition of the role of
Christ. Mr.. Steffe, who has
been heard in Washington before
in both opera and oratorio, is
singer Of great power. His ex-
quisite diction and easy tech
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