The Inventory Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) in the Netherlands contains ICH of which the communities, groups or individuals involved have written a safeguarding plan. Those plans are reviewed by an independent review committee. Every three years an evaluation of the safeguarding takes place.

Description

The St Matthew Passion by the Nederlandse Bachvereniging in the Grote Kerk (Great Church) Naarden takes place in the week before Easter, in the so-called Holy Week. There are five or six performances of the piece of music during that week, three of which take place during the day with a long lunch break (Palm Sunday, Good Friday, and Silent Saturday). The other performances are in the evening.

The piece will be performed by the choir and the orchestra of the Nederlandse Bachvereniging. The music is by Johann Sebastian Bach and tells the story of the passion of Jesus Christ. This Passion story is also depicted on the painted ceiling in the church, so the music piece and the decor form one whole.

The musical direction differs from year to year, and so does the approach to the work. Thus, almost every year, a different cast, set-up and musical conception is used. In total, there are about 70 performers on stage. Every conductor has his own vision and makes small adjustments to the piece. Because of this open approach, tradition and innovation go hand in hand in the St Matthew by the Nederlandse Bachvereniging. The constant factor is the Nederlandse Bachvereniging, who always provide the ensemble and the singers, and the Grote Kerk Naarden as the venue. The small scale of the performances creates a sense of security, an important core value of the tradition.

A week before the performances, both organisations start with the preparations in the church. The rehearsal period begins, and everything is prepared for the concerts. The work consists of two parts with an interval in between. The work itself lasts almost three hours and is always performed in its entirety and not, as often happens, shortened. For many visitors, there are a number of musical highlights in the work, such as the opening and closing choruses, and the famous aria "Erbarme dich".

Just before a performance, a 'ribbon' of visitors forms around the church: in Naarden, this is known as the 'corridor to the St Matthew'. For many people, the performance is a moment where they meet again, and it has become a family tradition where people who used to attend the St Matthew as children with their grandparents now bring their own (grand)children.

Community

Since 1922, the Stichting Grote Kerk Naarden (Great Church Naarden Foundation) and the Nederlandse Bachvereniging (the Dutch Bach Society) have jointly organised the annual performance of Bach's St Matthew Passion in the Grote Kerk Naarden. The goal of the Stichting Grote Kerk Naarden is to preserve the monument, the Grote Kerk Naarden, and to develop it culturally and socially. The Nederlandse Bachvereniging is responsible for the content, and the artistic side of the production.

Some of the soloists and musicians of the Nederlandse Bachvereniging participate for several years in a row; they feel connected and involved with the heritage. The performers include a boys' choir: six (alternating) young singers from the Kampen Boys Choir. Various volunteers have also been working for years on end to complete the production.

The residents of Naarden-Vesting are also part of the tradition. Poems about the St Matthew can be read on various walls in the fortress, and the local catering industry responds to the performances by preparing special St Matthew menus for lunch and dinner. Many local residents attend the performances as audience members and look forward to the tradition. This also became clear when in 2020 the St Matthew had to be cancelled due to corona. A number of residents took the initiative to open the windows and doors at the same time and let the aria 'Erbarme Dich' sound.

The audience, too, feels very much involved. Recognising the music is especially important to the audience, as is the interaction with the musicians; some have been playing for years and the audience has really got to know these musicians over the years.

History

Bach composed the St Matthew around 1725 in Germany (probably in Leipzich), after which the piece fell into oblivion. Almost a century later, however, it was 'rediscovered', also in the Netherlands.

In 1870, the St Matthew was played for the first time in the Netherlands, after which it spread and became popular. In 1899, for instance, the Concertgebouw Orchestra performed the piece, with a large orchestra and a choir of 450.

In response to this trend of turning the St Matthew into a mass production, with various parts omitted, a small group of innovators founded the Nederlandse Bachvereniging in 1921. Johan Schoonderbeek, conductor, and organist in the Grote Kerk Naarden, was one of the initiators. He wanted 'to make the spirit of the music speak as purely as possible through more intimate instrumentation'. Intimate, in other words, with a smaller ensemble, as written by Bach, as opposed to the massive productions with an enormous orchestra and choir.

With a new ensemble, the Nederlandse Bachvereniging performed the St Matthew Passion in 1922 where it had originally sounded: in a church, namely the Grote Kerk Naarden. At the time, this was a revolutionary act. The performance was highly religious, in keeping with the role faith played in Dutch society in the first decades of the twentieth century.

The Nederlandse Bachvereniging still performs the St Matthew Passion every year in the Grote Kerk Naarden. Visitors nowadays experience the St Matthew as a moment of relaxation and fulfilment, and less as a religious experience, although there are certainly still visitors for whom that aspect is important.

Safeguarding

2020-2023

  • By telling stories and sharing experiences, the St Matthew can become more relevant to a younger and more diverse audience.
  • By offering tickets at a lower price, one ensures that the concerts are also accessible to people with a lower level of spending.
  • The aim is to reach more young people by deploying campaigns aimed specifically at them, and by organising more in-depth introductions before concerts. In combination with TivoliVredenburg, the Bachvereniging gives an abbreviated St Matthew performance (about one hour) every other year, aimed at young people (20-30 years old). It is an attempt to tempt this target group to eventually get to know the work in its entirety. This initiative will also be brought to the Grote Kerk.
  • In the communication, the meaning of the building, the Grote Kerk Naarden, as the location where the St. Matthew Passion is performed, will be included more. The experience in the church amidst many others is so completely different from listening to a CD at home.
  • The Stichting Grote Kerk Naarden has a school programme for senior primary schools and the Nederlandse Bachvereniging has a programme for secondary schools. The educational programmes have an online component via the YouTube channel All of Bach, and a physical component in the form of guest lectures and experiencing a performance in church. All of Bach distributes over 300 works by Bach, of which the St. Matthew was the first, at bachvereniging.nl/allofbach and at Youtube.com/bach. The videos of the works are flanked by background videos, interviews and tutorials.
  • In connection with the centenary of the Bachvereniging, work is being done to map and digitise the archive. Relevant parts of the archive of the Grote Kerk are also included in this exercise to make the archive digitally accessible to the public in the form of a timeline. (Fragments of) radio and TV recordings will also be used.
  • The anniversary in 2022 will be taken as an opportunity to do something extra for the residents of the Fortress, who have to endure the impact of six performances with 1600 people each year.
  • By means of a diversity policy, more volunteers are being recruited who are younger and from diverse backgrounds.

Contact

Stichting Grote Kerk Naarden
Sint Annastraat 5
1411PE
Naarden-Vesting