Christine, a member of our Viola section, tells us about the otherworldly qualities of Bach Chorales.
Do you have any favourite moments in St John Passion?
I adore a Bach Chorale. There’s this scene in the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy where Arthur Dent discovers a fifteenmile-high statue of himself throwing a cup of tea, and the cup is suspended in mid-air, held up not by any sort of trickery but because it’s artistically correct. To me, Bach’s chorales exist a bit like this – they’re perfection, and they can exist alone in mid-air just being perfect. I think the St Matthew Passion contains my absolute favourite chorale – “O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden”. But St John gets some sublime ones too! If I had to pick one, it would probably be “O grosse Lieb”.
To me, Bach’s chorales exist a bit like this - they’re perfection, and they can exist alone in mid-air just being perfect.
Are there any particular moments where we should listen out for in the violas?
There aren’t any massive viola tunes in the St John Passion, but we do get to do what I think we do best: be the best supporting actors out there. For example, listen out for us in No. 13 Aria, “Ah mein Sinn” – this is where Peter knows he is going to sin at the cockerel’s crow, and is full of inner torment. Our part is in the centre of the texture, in the same range as the tenor soloist, and we provide so much of this tortured character with our chromaticism and suspensions.
What is your concert day routine?
I usually start the day with a run or gym session as I find this both wakes me up and calms my head! If I’ve remembered to stretch afterwards, I’ll then feel smug
and have a big brunch – if I’ve forgotten, I’ll just have a big brunch. Next, I might do some practice – otherwise I would often chill a bit and read my book. Either way, I’ll suddenly have to leave in three minutes, so in a panic I’ll shove eight cereal bars, my (unwashed) coffee cup, and the cleanest and/or closest concert clothes I can find into my bag, and leg it down the hill for the tube to rehearsal.
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