Peter Sellars on Bach's Matthäus-Passion

Peter Sellars in conversation with Simon Halsey, chief conductor of the Rundfunkchor Berlin / Recorded in the Berlin Philharmonie, 11 April 2010.
A DVD and Blu-ray of Bach's Matthäus-Passion in the ritualisation by Peter Sellars featuring the Berliner Philharmoniker, Sir Simon Rattle, the Rundfunkchor Berlin and Simon Halsey is available at www.berliner-ph...
Watch an excerpt here on KZbin: • On DVD and Blu-ray: Ma...
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[@loganstrosahl7952]

The performance with Simon Rattle on DVD is one of the most amazing stagings ("ritualization") I've ever seen, and a mind-blowing concert. It completely changed and enriched my experience of this beyond-masterpiece. It challenged me with it's emotional rawness and intensity, but ultimately I felt that challenge was true to the utterly personal, highly charged way Bach deals with the story. Rattle, the orchestra, and the singers are superb---balanced tempos, subtle coloration, great dynamic control, expressive pathos. Mark Padmore as the evangelist is a legendary performance imo. Anyway it's fascinating to see the insight and firm vision Peter has of the music. Sorry for the breathless post but I've gotta say, this particular performance is sort of life-changing for me.

[@HandelLover1989]

Even if I don't agree with mr Sellars at some points of his ideology or past works, this interview is very interesting material and contains many subjects and topics to explore by myself. Very inspiring, and touching. I would recommend this clip to all fans of music, and open minded thinkers. :)

[@stephenhall11]

Everybody loves their favorite composer. Everybody is a fan of somebody. But the singers and musicians that love Bach love him more. The attachment is deeper and more passionate. Yes,it is a " mystical" experience in a secular world. It belongs to the same category as gospel,soul, and blues. It penetrates into the depths of the psyche.You realize how real the experience of life is. I still remember being a baby in the cradle listening to the girl next door playing St Matt Passion.

[@Wezuhley]

He was struck by an inspiring bolt of lightning very early on in his career and has looked like this ever since. It's his signature look!

[@TedMichaelMorgan]

Discerning interview--conversation.. I had no idea how sensitive Peter Sellers is to this music. Thank you for sharing this interview.

[@BalletdeLaurent]

Beautiful concert and conversation. One of the best concert of Berliner Phil on the Internet

[@Wezuhley]

I think this video finally reaches its self-realization around 44:00, as Simon Halsey concludes that the days of postmodernism's laughing off of classic repertoire has come to an end, that the reclamation of a work needn't be ironic or contrived, and is in fact necessary to appreciate and not scorn the derivative nature of art making.

[@marypreid1]

I love this man.

[@howard5992]

yeah - he's warm and thoughtful and humorous and brave.

[@inocentmi]

Peter Sellars, the Bach of dialog. One can imagine Bach writing the scrip for this amazing conversation with Simon Halsey conducting.

[@berlinphil]

The bonus is this video.

[@lindacowles756]

42:54 Yes, Mr. Sellars, do the Matthew Passion for GOD's sake, i.e., for the glory of His name, like Bach would have wanted.

[@ugolomb]

around 38:20 there's a small yet significant mistake. It's simply not true that Bach only performed the St Matthew Passion once in his lifetime. It doesn't really spoil Sellars' main point, but it does mean he's willing to make bold factual statements without doing the very basic research necessary to back them up (all he had to do was read some program notes).

[@berlinphil]

Yes, it is.

[@chiquilento.shorts]

love it. brazilian cheers

[@gustkdeo]

Pineapple cut!!

[@lalelaleguy]

AWESOME

[@lindacowles756]

Would anyone care to comment on why Bach wrote "Erbarme dich, mein Gott" for a voice in the alto/countertenor range with the tender quality the aria has? I'm sure he had his reasons; I'm just curious as to why it seems on the feminine side v. the other vocal ranges. I've never pictured Simon Peter as a feminine-type person, if that makes sense, as he is the character singing the aria.

[@benjaminlau666]

Excellent insight and I have the same question may be Bach should tell us?

[@lindacowles756]

@@benjaminlau666 As a point of dramatic comparison, in the film "Jesus of Nazareth", Peter is sitting in the pouring rain crying out, "MY GOD! HELP MEEEEE!" It's certainly a different medium, i.e. film v. sacred vocal work, but it's more in line with my concept of Peter and his personality.

[@Verticaldiscourse]

I think the countertenor and soprano voices were not seen as particularly feminine in the 18th century. After all, in Bach's Lutheran church, women were not allowed to sing. In many cantatas, the alto and the soprano voices often represented the 'soul', not a particular gender.

[@voraciousreader3341]

*BACH DID NOT WRITE FOR COUNTERTENOR!!!! **_He wrote for boy sopranos and boy altos, prior to their voices breaking, because he was writing most of his vocal music for the boys at the Thomaskirche in Leipzig, where women were not allowed!!_** Men sang tenor and bass in the choir, so I grind my teeth and swear whenever a failed tenor sings with a female soprano in **_any_** of Bach’s choral works, as though this is “historically informed performance practice”!! “Historically informed” performance practice for **_ALL_** of his sacred music *IS COMPLETELY MALE!!* If women are used, then a *female alto or mezzo* should be used, to be consistent. Countertenors are only used because men constantly encroach on anything that has been a woman’s prerogative, musically or not, and countertenors exist because they couldn’t find work as tenors. They should only sing Italian music which was written for castrati, because that is historically how they were used, in the _Catholic_ Church, not _Lutheran!_

[@tannerjordan2010]

he was struck by lightning shortly before the filming of this interview.

[@ugolomb]

17:24 "Bach wrote the music for us to place everything we hope and care about into the vessel of this music, and the music will not only carry it but elevate it." I feel Sellars is right about the music, but wrong about Bach. The music's humane spirituality *can* serve as a vessel for people's hopes and cares; it will indeed "carry and elevate" them. But Bach's purpose (insofar as he was aware of it) was more parochial. The music transcends what the composer had in mind for it.

[@Emunozcjnick]

The Bonus in the Dvd Includes a 51 min Bonus. is this what is in the bonus? is there any peter sellars in action footage?

[@gjford1951]

In buying the video - is it playable on American DVD players?

[@GabrielEstebanCello]

What IS that haircut?

[@dainerflute]

Simon Halsey looks like an "younger version" of Trevor Pinnock.

[@voraciousreader3341]

Gould was talking about the keyboard works when he talked Bach’s music, _not the choral music!_ And much of that keyboard music could be called “abstract,” or even “mathematical,” when listening to it and studying it. But the organ works based on religious themes and all of the choral work is deeply religious, based on Bach’s own faith! Who ever said _THAT_ was abstract?? So now I have to stop watching this, because Sellars is just silly, intensely interested in his own ideas, not really caring if he’s being accurate, or not.

[@theoperatripleaxel5417]

I hate his work but damn is he an interesting person to listen to... I see why he is where he is, i respect him, but damn i hate what he does HAHAHAHAHAHA

[@Verticaldiscourse]

I still can't bear to watch his Mozart-Da Ponte adaptations, but he's more than interesting indeed...

[@voraciousreader3341]

@@Verticaldiscourse Too many glib generalizations for my taste, such as throwing Glenn Gould’s comment that he saw much of Bach’s _keyboard_ music as abstract…..Gould never said a word about the choral works being abstract because he wasn’t questioned about those, but Sellars made that wrongheaded connection right from the first answer he gave! Every musician who has sung and/or studied Bach’s vocal music knows very well that he was giving musical expression to his own faith! So, I’d much rather see the performances or listen on CD than listen to him talk, because it’s obvious he’s really intensely interested in listening to himself talk. And that turns me off.