'Erbarme dich, mein Gott' from 'St Matthew Passion' (BWV 244) by J.S. Bach. Performed by the Netherlands Bach Society conducted by Jos van Veldhoven. Soloists: Tim Mead (Alto), Shunske Sato (violin).
Friends,
I have tried for some time now to say something meaningful about the piece you are going to hear this Maundy Thursday of our Passion Week Consolations. But as hard as I try, I cannot bring myself to say anything more meaningful than what is already said by the piece itself. Any intelligent comment must humble itself under this ethereal Aria of JS Bach’s St. Matthew Passion and the angelic earnestness of the interpretation by the male Alto Tim Mead and the Netherlands Bach Society.
Fortunately I have already introduced this Aria “Erbarme Dich” to you before, and yesterday we learned that Bach has placed this Aria right after the scene of Peter’s bitterly weeping about his betrayal. It is the door to Good Friday.
What is left for us to do is to listen and to practice listening to this piece together. To take in the melancholic dance of the violin, the angelic voice of the alto, the expressive postures of the musicians, the repetition of the plea “Erbarme Dich, mein Gott… / miserere mei Deus / Have mercy, my God, with me” or as it is probably best literally translated “Pity me, my God” - - if we understand pity in the connotation of compassion as we find it in the German verb “erbarmen."
39. Aria
Have mercy, Lord, on me,
Regard my bitter weeping,
Look at me, heart and eyes
Both weep to Thee bitterly.
39. Arie (Alt I)
Erbarme dich, mein Gott,
um meiner Zähren willen!
Schaue hier,
Herz und Auge weint vor dir bitterlich.
Practices
Listen.
Listen with the ear of your heart. Chew on the lyrics, eat the scroll. Taste the purity of the emotion. Follow the movement of the spirit, which transmutes our passion into com-passion.
Be present.
Take every note, every movement, every word to heart. Hold it dear, as you would the beloved. Enter the sacred space where our tears become rain drops, falling softly on fertile ground. Let your heart be moved to open up and to trust that God’s grace knows no limit.
Come as you are.
With fear and trembling, with helplessness or speechlessness, with worries or anxieties, with failures or regrets, with anger or frustration. Come with your struggles, with the burden of the world’s pain, besieged by viruses, unfaithful leaders, and twisted truth. Come with your hopes and longings.
Trust
Trust that we will find Divine Mercy in the depth of our heart, where pain and bliss intermingle.
Listen and listen again.
Flee into Grace. Take in this remedy against despair. It gains in strength with repetition, this medicine of the Divine healer. Let the music be a balm for your trembling heart.
Share
Do not stay alone in your sorrows. Hold them before the Divine mercy. Join our communion of mourners. Let us enter this sacred space of Divine compassion together. Where Christ’s passion turns us to ComPassion. Bring with you the sorrows of the world which lay heavy on your shoulders and hold them up into our shared plea for mercy.
“Loss and new beginnings are of the same journey. We are on our pilgrimage towards Easter. Through the tomb.”
This post is the 4th of our Passion Week Consolations 2020. To enter our virtual gathering space click here. To share your thoughts with us, write us here. To Offer Your Gift, click here. If you are looking for personal consultation, visit our PathFinder.
Peace and Blessings, Almut & Chuck