Bernard Chasan wrote:

>This will get me voted off the island:
>St. Mathew Passion
>Beethoven's Ninth Symphony  (finale)

OH, dear.  I admit that I agree with you about the Beethoven (Happy
Birthday!) but please do not throw that other baby out with the Bachwater.

This is my own St. Matthew Listening Method, which I have developed
over the years, and which I follow whenever I need a passion fix and I'm
a little short of time: I get out the Dover miniature score, a magnifying
glass, and I program my cd player to play the following Naughty Bits
which I sing, whistle, conduct and stomp.

1. chorus: Kommt, ihr Toechter, helft mir klagen
3. chorale: Herzliebster Jesu

You have probably immediately noticed an absense of the recitatives.
Yes!  And also I tend to eliminate the shorter choruses, because they
are just teases.  But I love the chorales, and like to sing along.

I will continue to outline Part One for you now.

skipping right along,

7.(optional. But it's short.)
10. gorgeous alto aria. Not to be missed.
12. glorious soprano aria, also not to be missed.
18. a different chorale. Sing along.
20 recitative
  I kept this recitative because I
  like it. It has oboes d'amore. Cool sounds.
21. soprano aria. Lovely.

chorales 23 and 25, same melody, different words.  It will come again.
You'll learn it well.  Try singing a different line each time.  I like
the bassline best.

28 Tenor aria.
31 Bass aria.
33. Chorale
**35 called an aria for two choruses. It's a dilly.
Long, sublime. I usually listen twice to make up for
prior omitted movements.

End Part I.

There is more gorgeous stuff to come.
Particularly
***52*** ERBARME DICH, MEIN GOTT*****
If you listen to nothing else in the entire St. Matthew
Passion, listen at least to this fantastic movement.

Whew!

Mimi Ezust