Juozas Rimas <[log in to unmask]>:

>Are there any recordings of this work *without* the evangelist parts (the
>half-spoken ones).  Or would it be regarded as a sacrilege?

I suppose those recordings exists actually.  But you'll miss a lot of the
work.

>The evangelist parts constitute a little more than a full hour, according
>to my calculations (the rest being almost 182 minutes) based on K.
>Richter's 1958 recording.
>
>Do the spoken passages exclusively ritual function?

No more than the rest of the work, as far as I know.

>Do you listen to them (especially in German recordings if you don't know
>German)?

I don't know german, but I always listen the recitatives as an
indivisible part of the work.  When I did it for the first time, I followed
a translation (after a good "reprise" of of Matthew's biblical text) and
later, the general score.  In fact, the little german I know is due to
Bach's Passions!.

>I find myself pushing buttons when listening to the Passion to omit them
>way too often.  Do I miss something?

Yes:  you miss all the narrative.  Listening the whole work (and the
narrative) gives you the precise dramatic context of every chorus and aria.
Believe me, they sound completely different.  Besides, the recitatives are
very beautiful, especially at some moments:  "Meine seele ist betrubt" or
"Eli, Eli, lama sabachtani", the account of Peter's denial, the dialogues
between Jesus and Pilatus, and many others.

You may try the following "method" (it worked good to me):

a) Read again Matthew, chapters 27 and 28.

b) Listen the whole work, following a translation of the text.

c) After a while doing that, you may listen the whole work following a
general score.

Try to do it once, and you'll want to do it almost always.

Pablo Massa
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