Texture and dramaturgy in “Recitative and Chorus no. 58”, from Bach’s Matthaus-Passion

Abstract

This paper illustrates the psychological effect intended by the composer, through a variety of different quantitative and qualitative textures. Following an overview of the syntactic categories and the features of the texture, the second part showcases a biblical recitative, followed by a double chorus from the work mentioned above. This moment contains five segments, in which Bach highlights the message of the Scriptures in an original way. The two tables display a textural X-ray of the two polyphonic chorals diving into the correspondence between music and text. The conclusion supports the efficiency of using different types of texture by Bach in order to make the most of the written text.