A Guide to Bach’s St. Matthew Passion Mar29

A Guide to Bach’s St. Matthew Passion

There are two types of worship services most regularly associated with Good Friday. One is the traditional service of the “Seven Words from the Cross.” The service, often held between noon and three – the hours Christ hung on the cross – is composed of hymns, readings and a brief meditation on each the seven words Christ uttered from the cross as recorded by the four evangelists. The other common occasion for worship on Good Friday is the Tenebrae service, usually held in the evening and arranged around the passion story as recorded by St. John. Tenebrae comes from the Latin word for “shadows,” and at various parts of...