“QueerPassion,” by author, director and dramaturge Thomas Höft, opens with a reference to the targeting the community, in which 49 people died and 53 were injured. It is one of the deadliest terrorist attacks in US history.
Played by the Art House 17 orchestra on period instruments, Höft’s work uses as its musical basis ‘s famous St. John Passion, based on the Gospel story of the suffering of Jesus Christ on the cross.
In his libretto, however, Höft describes the stories of queer people who are discriminated against or murdered. “I asked myself, where do I, as a queer man, appear in classical music?” Höft told DW. And he quickly realized that the answer was: “Actually, not at all.” And that is precisely what he wants to change.
Experience Bach in Arabic
Bach’s St. John Passion also served as a model for the Bulgarian musician and musicologist Vladimir Ivanoff in his “Arabian Passion.” The composer is concerned with the people living in the , the birthplace of Jesus Christ, whose suffering through war, displacement and oppression has a long history.
The impetus for his “Arabian Passion” was the 2003 US invasion of Iraq, which had devastating consequences for the civilian population. “And I feel the same way about Gaza now. I had several music students from the Middle East in my workshops, of whom I’m only sporadically informed if they’re still alive,” Ivanoff told DW.
Ivanoff left the text and music by Johann Sebastian Bach in their original form, but some of the instruments come from the Arabian Mediterranean region. Lebanese singer Fadia El-Hage sings all of Bach’s arias in Arabic.
Transforming the St. John Passion
Both the Arabian and the queer versions of the St. John Passion are now on tour. They will be performed, among other works, as part of the Bachfest in Leipzig, held from June 12-22. The revisited versions of the work appropriately fit into this year’s theme for the Bach festival, “Transformation.”
It was in Leipzig that Johann Sebastian, while serving as Cantor of St. Thomas Church, composed his famous St. John Passion in 1723.
Bach often rewrote his cantatas himself, using the so-called parody technique. He also had them performed by other ensembles.
For example, he later added a sacred text to secular cantatas, thus placing them in a different context. Thomas Höft and Vladimir Ivanoff build on this approach with their version of the St. John Passion.
Adding a Middle Eastern touch to Bach
For his “Arabian Passion,” Vladimir Ivanoff has recombined pieces from the St. John Passion and Bach’s St. Matthew Passion.
Instead of sticking to the traditional combination of orchestra and choir, his ensemble Sarband also features the jazzy Modern String Quartet. The ensemble also includes instruments from the Mediterranean region, such as the long-necked lute ud, the flute ney and the Arabic violin.
Sarband means “connection.” Ivanoff sees himself as a bridge-builder and wants to connect the West and the East through music.
The mere fact that Christian texts from the St. John Passion are sung in Arabic, and by a woman at that, can be seen as a provocation for conservative Muslims. This makes it all the more surprising that Vladimir Ivanoff and his Sarband ensemble have been welcome guests at various Arab music festivals.
Playing for the emir of Abu Dhabi
Since 2003, Sarband has been touring the Middle East with the “Arabian Passion.” The ensemble has performed in the cathedral of Beirut and in Aleppo, Syria. “We also performed the Passion in Damascus at the Alhambra Cinema, a very famous jazz concert hall,” says Ivanoff.
They were also invited to Abu Dhabi to perform during the Sheikh Zayed Book Award ceremony. The Emir liked their music. However, shortly before the event, organizers noticed that a female singer was planned. That couldn’t be allowed; the ensemble had to play an entirely instrumental version of the work.
Ivanoff also travels with his ensemble to Hezbollah-held areas. Sometimes, lyrics or titles of Christian and Jewish songs are changed, he says, but he accepts that. “That’s our principle: we want to get into the structures at all costs,” says Ivanoff. “I see myself a bit as a musical guerrilla. What we do is effective, and this gentle seduction works incredibly well.”
Early pogroms against LGBTQ people
Like Vladimir Ivanoff, Thomas Höft adheres strictly to Bach’s original musical style in his “QueerPassion,” including the structure of the arias, recitatives and choruses. “In the end, every note is a one-to-one copy of Bach’s, only the text is new,” says Höft. His libretto alludes not only to the current discrimination against the LGBTQ community, but also to centuries-old cases Höft encountered during his research.
One of the historical events his work refers to goes back to 1674, when the cathedral in the Dutch city of Utrecht collapsed. The ruins later became a secret meeting point for gay men. But they were betrayed, Höft says: under torture, one of the participants revealed the names of the others. Among them were prominent members of the community. “The whole thing culminated in a pogrom, because the Protestant pastors said the collapse of the cathedral was God’s punishment for the sodomites.” Mass executions of gay men followed. “That’s shocking and one of the main stories featured in ‘QueerPassion.’”
‘QueerPassion’ performances include local choir groups
Thomas Höft incorporates regional references related to each city where his work is performed.
For example, in the eastern German city of Halberstadt, a woman who was living with another woman while disguised as a man was executed. “For me, that was the right kind of trial story, like the one between Jesus and Pilate in the St. John Passion; I was able to use the dialogues in the courtroom in Halberstadt for these passages,” says Thomas Höft.
The Passion chorales are sung by LGBTQ choirs from each region. In Leipzig, it’s the “Tollkirschen,” who usually sing pop songs with choreography, and the women’s choir “Fräulein A Capella,” whose repertoire otherwise includes songs from Eastern Europe. Both choirs rehearse under the direction of Cornelia Schäfer. Bach’s Baroque music is new to them.
The “Tollkirschen” claim to be the only openly gay men’s choir in Germany’s eastern states. “We don’t want to hide ourselves. Terms like ‘gay’ appear in many of the lyrics in our program,” says choir member Dirk Bockelmann.
The stories of the persecution of queer people deeply touched the choir members. “Thomas Höft told us the background information during the rehearsal; at times, we were brought to tears; we immediately sang the chorales in a completely different way.”
“QueerPassion,” which is funded by the European Union, will be performed in Vienna on June 7, in Leipzig on June 13 and in Antwerp on August 22.
This article was originally written in German.
The post Revisiting Bach’s St. John Passion in queer and Arabian versions appeared first on Deutsche Welle.
