Tamar Melzer Krymolowski
29.9.2026
זכות גדולה נפלה בחלקי זו הפעם השלישית בחיי לבצע את תפקיד החליל ביצירת המופת של י. ס. באך – היוהאנס פסיון. שלושת הפעמים היו עם בארוקדה – קולקטיב הבארוק הישראלי. בעבר ניגנתי אותה תחת ניצוחו של המנצח אנדרס מוסטונן כשאני לצד החלילנית ז'נבייב בלאנשאר, בעוד מספר ימים אבצע אותה תחת שרביטו של ישיי שטקלר, ואני אנגן לצד החלילנית עידית שמר.
Calling the St John Passion a "masterpiece" seems far from adequate since it is one of the most monumental and brilliant pieces of music to be written in the Western world. Both as a performer and as a listener, I feel that from its first utterance or for perhaps from the first entry of the choir, the piece draws one deeply and you are transported back in time while witnessing history in the making. One can feel physically present in the old city of Jerusalem and watching THE event that has influenced all humanity for years to come. Countries and civilizations were destroyed, and others were built in its name. Millions lost their lives, and millions were killed ruthlessly and with pride in its name. Many were mercilessly tortured over thousands of years. All in the name of Jesus Christ and with an ongoing strong hatred towards Jews.
Bach's St. John Passion, BWV 245, is a sacred oratorio composed in 1724 for Good Friday vespers. This Saturday - on Oct. 3rd, 2026 - we will perform it with singers from the Tel Aviv Collegium. This week we held rehearsals for the concert at the Yitzhak Rabin Center in TLV. Every time I go to that center I feel a deep despair. The white building stands out like a white elephant. On its walls you can see photos and portraits of Israel's bravest IDF soldiers and army generals, and pictures of children filling and piling up sacks of sand before yet another one of our damn wars. The photos of Yitzhak Rabin are the most impressive, with his eyes always shining bright. He stands out and looks well composed and like a truly strong leader. But in actual fact what you see in the Rabin Center belongs to an Israel that existed before we were acquainted with the murderer Yigal Amir - the first Jew to hate and kill another Jew in a state where we used to call each other BROTHERS.
Most Israelis who were alive during the assassination of Prime Minister Rabin on November 4, 1995, will attest to the fact that it led to an indelible national trauma. Israelis of all religions and people throughout the region viewed Rabin as the one brave leader who held a glimpse of hope for peace. That tragic day marked a turning point in Israel’s political and social structure since the unfathomable had happened - a Jew killed a Jew. Furthermore, some of those who weren't as broken as others from Rabin's murder serve as leaders today in our Knesset. The atrocities that took place on Oct. 7, 2023, brought back the same feelings of despair, panic and shock only at least 1,000 times stronger than in 1995. For many of us those feelings are still very much present as though time has stood still since then. It was a day on which we were intentionally and violently violated with extreme physical and emotional cruelty and on our own safest haven. Since then, we have lost more and more of our finest young men and woman. It seems we are only now coming to terms with the fact that we have so many unopened questions about the fundamental essence of our state. Israel might have been founded in 1948 but for many reasons only now we are coming to terms with the repercussions of our existence.
On the way to one of my rehearsals, I heard Edward Samuel Miliband's speech in my car. A British Jewish politician who is currently serving as UK's Foreign Secretary. Ed Miliband spoke out against Israel’s atrocities in Gaza after pro-Palestine protesters confronted him, urging him to lift the ban on Palestine Action and recognize Israel’s genocide in Gaza. In his speech he cried out "We hear you (pro-Palestine supporters), you were right". Seriously?! How can attacking innocent civilians, babies and children in the most vicious brutality be right for any reason? kidnapping old ladies and children and committing the worst atrocities known to man? But I had no time to think about all that, and I rushed to find a parking space for my car at the Rabin Center. A huge Israeli flag proudly hung at the front of the building, and certainly for me this 3rd time around playing the St. John Passion was feeling very much different to the other two.
Below is a short clip from one of our rehearsals where we are playing the opening of the St. John Passion. For those of you not familiar with this piece, please wait at least until the entry of the choir (after about 49 seconds). Written in 1724, the Passion opens with the arrest of Jesus. This must have been a phenomenal experience for people who were for the most part illiterate, and during a period where there were not yet concert halls or such things as opera houses. Folk music was heard in the streets and the church no doubt gave people an absolutely riveting experience. Imagine the sounds of a large choir and an orchestra echoing in a huge Baroque cathedral or church. It must have been a spectacularly dramatic experience for any listener, and I can well imagine the power it gave the church to draw to it more worshipers. I have no doubt the listeners could feel a real closeness with god's power from this brilliantly written piece. The choir cries out very dramatically above the continuous, undulating string motifs that are paired with weaving, overlapping wind lines. The juxtaposition of the two create an immediate tension and a sense of restless anguish. These are the first words the choir sings:
Herr, unser Herrscher, dessen Ruhm
In allen Landen herrlich ist!
Zeig uns durch deine Passion,
Dass du, der wahre Gottessohn,
Zu aller Zeit,
Auch in der größten Niedrigkeit,
Verherrlicht worden bist
Lord, our ruler,
whose fame in every land is glorious!
Show us by your Passion,
That you, the true Son of God,
Through all time,
Even in the greatest humiliation,
Have become transfigured!
While I was a music student living abroad in the 90s, I was confronted with people half-jokingly asking: Why did you crucify Jesus?". When this repeated itself more than once, I realized I am being labelled a "Jew". It made no difference to people whether I was a believer in god or a secular Jew, I was a "Jewish woman". It also seemed to make no difference to those asking that 2,000 years had passed. I have never read the New Testament, and nothing in my Israeli schooling prepared me for life outside Israel. It was my flute that led me to study at leading institutions in the U.S., S.A. and in The Netherlands. Now, here I am in 2026, playing my Baroque flute at the Yitzhak Rabin Center, while hearing German singing. This somehow felt totally surreal. It felt as if a room filled with secular Jews were getting ready to crucify Jesus again - this time through Bach's music.
As the rehearsal continued there were from to time discussions between the conductor and the musicians on the correct German pronunciation of this or that word. Incidentally, most of the musicians were quite familiar with German since just as in my experience, a musician wishing to seriously study early music had to travel to Europe. The room was filled with Israelis pronouncing German with a Basel accent, a Zurich, Viennese and various other German pronunciations. Oh, how I wonder what Hitler would have thought were he able to see this?! My late father used to say that Hitler would have gone mad were he to awaken from the dead only to find more Jews living in Germany than when he started the Nazi party!
I am not in any way an expert in the St. John Passion, but it is my understanding that it was written in order to portray the Jews in the worst possible light. This Passion is known as the most antisemitic one of all Bach's Passions, and it has led to many complications such as musicians refusing to perform, or protests held against various productions. It is known that Bach himself had to change the text several times, but I am not sure as to why this was. Here is another clip from our rehearsal: Jesus is being brought before Pontius Pilate. Pilate questions Jesus about his kingship ("What is truth?") and finds no fault in him. Pilate attempts to release Jesus in honor of the Passover custom. Pilate shouts out to the crowd: “Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against him.” Sehet, ich führe ihn heraus zu euch, dass ihr erkennet, dass ich keine Schuld an ihm finde.
When Jesus comes wearing the crown of thorns on his head and dressed in a purple robe, Pilate says to them, “Here is the man!”. As soon as the chief priests and their officials see him, they shout out, “Crucify! Crucify!”. But Pilate answered, “You take him and crucify him. As for me, I find no basis for a charge against him.” The Jewish leaders insisted, and thus the choir sings: “We have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God.” Wir haben ein Gesetz, und nach dem Gesetz soll er sterben; denn er hat sich selbst zu Gottes Sohn gemacht.
Here is tenor Eitan Drori as the Evangelist and bass singer Daniel Ben Baruch in the role of Pilate. While you listen to the crowd insisting on crucifying Jesus, please look closely at the walls of the room we were in. Those are the memories of our land fraught with wars up until Rabin's assassination. In many ways, Rabin has become a symbol of Martyrdom. While he still holds great meaning to many, his name is increasingly being erased by those who see him as a leader who was a risk to Israel's existence. Just a few weeks ago, Rabin's name was removed from the Beilinson hospital in the pretext that too many do not know who he even is. This decision was later revoked but it hurt the feelings of many Israelis who are still striving to coexist with Palestinians and hope for peace in the region. For many years now a growing number of schools in Israel refuse to recognize the day PM Rabin was assassinated. Those schools do not hold memorial services in his memory, and some of those upholding these views are sitting in the Knesset and in our government. Those same people were in office on the 7th of October. And those are the same people that have erased the memory of the assassination. Some of them were involved in the incitement and provocations that led to the assassination. In fact, PM Rabin is increasingly seen in Israel as a symbol of the betrayal and weakness of the Ashkenazi Elitest Left. An anti-Zionist leader who stopped fighting and gave in to a naive way of thinking that peace could be achieved with blood thirsty Arabs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wiYNYLT7gd8
I have no intention of elaborating more on my thoughts because life has become increasingly more and more painful for any Israeli citizen of any religion. At least I, being a musician, can somehow disconnect myself from time to time from reality. Jews have been hated so much and accused so often with no basis for the tragedies and misfortunes of others, but in every story, there is another side to be heard. A faint voice or one not at all heard. We might be a clever nation. A nation of survivors who hold onto life with optimism, but this current time in our history seems more complex and dangerous from any past one. What a terrible loss it would be to the Western world without the music of J. S. Bach. Without his almost godly abilities to convey feeling and thought through music. There are people who dedicate their entire life to studying or to performing his compositions. I am convinced that the Church and perhaps the entire Western world's thinking towards the Jewish people would be shaped quite differently if pieces such as the St. John Passion would never have been composed.
For further reading on the St. John's Passion:
I welcome any comments!
One Response
Incredibly well written dearest Tamar.