SPECIAL PROGRAMMING FOR HOLY WEEK



On March 21, Good Friday at 1:00 PM, WCLV will air the St. John Passion of Bach in a performance recorded at the 2006 Baldwin-Wallace Bach Festival.

C.P.E. Bach said that his father, Johann Sebastian, wrote five Passions. However, only two survive: the St. Matthew and the St. John. Of the two, the St. John Passion is the more compact and dramatic, and perhaps, more controversial. There are those that say the St. John Passion  tends to have anti-Semetic overtones.This accusation is closely connected to the wider constroversy surrounding the tone of the New Testament's Gospel of St. John with regards to Judaism. Micahel Marissen, in his balanced examination of the controversy, concludes that Bach's two Passions contain fewer statements derogatory towards Jews than many other contemporary musical settings of the Passion. As music, though, the St. John Passion stands among Bach's greatest compositions.

Bach's St. Matthew Passion wiil be featured on the New York Philharmonic broadcast of Monday, March 31st at 10:00 PM. Kurt Masur conducts.

WCLV's broadcast of the St. John Passion is presented by the Catholic Cemeteries Association. Phone 216 883 5410.

On Easter Sunday, March 23rd, the most important day of the Christian liturgical calendar, WCLV will celebrate with music by the greatest of the religious composers. Beginning at 1:00 PM, we'll air three of Bach's masterpieces written to commemorate the feast: Cantata No. 31 "The Heavens Laugh," Cantata No. 66, "Rejoice, all ye hearts," and finally, Bach's joyous Easter Cantata.

The  Easter Sunday broadcast is sponsored by Discount Drug Mart, open Easter from 9:00 AM to 10:00 PM.