James Runcie - The Great Passion

 

Rating: 4/5

 

Review:

Good but not perfect

I thought The Great Passion was very good in many ways, but it did drag a little in places.

Set mainly in 1727, this is the story of Stefan Silbermann, a young boy soprano whose mother has recently died, who is sent away to school in Leipzig with Johann Sebastian Bach. Narrated by Stefan himself, we hear of his grief at his loss, his loneliness at school and the bullying he receives, not least because of his red hair and his musical excellence. Eventually taken in by the Bach family, there follows a study especially of Bach and his wife Ann Magdalena; of Bach’s deep, unshakeable faith and his expression of it through music, and the family’s response to a grief of their own. There is also a fine background of life in Lutheran Leipzig and a good deal of theological discussion (which Anna Magdalena calls Bach’ sermonising), culminating in the composition and performance of the masterpiece that is the St. Matthew Passion.

Much of the first part of the book is excellent. Stefan’s situation and state of mind are humanely and convincingly drawn. The juxtaposition of both the joy and struggle of becoming a real musician with the harshness of much of the rest of life is very effective and James Runcie writes very insightfully about the music itself. There is a touching infatuation by Stefan with one of Bach’s daughters (which may be a play on the book’s title). There were some longeurs in the middle, though; Bach’s sermonising did get a bit much at times and I felt that while Runcie knows a great deal about the cantatas which Bach wrote for each Sunday service and gave a good account of what each set text really meant, they did turn into a bit of a procession. So much so that when we arrived at the sublime Ich Habe Genug, including a moving account of why it was chosen for one of the singers, what should have been a profound moment just felt a bit flat.

That said, I thought the account of the composition, preparation and performance of the Passion itself was excellent. I am no Bach expert, but I have loved his music for decades and know a bit about it; this seemed to me to be a very knowledgeable, moving and heartfelt exploration of one of music’s greatest achievements.

So, I thought this was good but not perfect. I think you need to have an interest in music, including in the details of performance, and in the history of religious thought; I do (especially in the former); I enjoyed the book and I can recommend it.

(My thanks to Bloomsbury for an ARC via NetGalley.)