St. Johns Passion

I listened to St. Johns Passion live for the first time yesterday, in the Frauenkirche in Munich. It was something different. Many thoughts ran trough my head. It is fascinating to think that the premiere of this piece was 300 years ago, in Leipzig. People in many ways very similar to us, but at the same time living in a completely different world where heaven and hell were much more real concepts. The piece is two hours long so you really get the time to listen and think about how wild the story of Jesus last days actually is. The last thing that kept coming back to me is how the church architects (and architects generally) are able to create spaces that makes us feel closer to something bigger. When the full choir is singing and the sound reverberates through the church it is hard not to feel something. That it is live and acoustic is also essential. Sure, I can listen and have listened to the piece via speakers, but it is just not the same experience, even if the music and the words are the same.