The Great Passion: James Runcie

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What is clear to me is that James Runcie has used both his actual skills and knowledge of musical composition but also of organ construction to give his story very considerable additional substance. Something is happening, though. In the depths of his loss, the Cantor is writing a new work: the Saint Matthew Passion, to be performed for the first time on Good Friday. As Stefan watches the work rehearsed, he realises he is witness to the creation of one of the most extraordinary pieces of music that has ever been written. It is important to celebrate each day. It doesn’t matter how small a pleasure was or how long it lasted but each simple pleasure needs to be marked. It can be the sight of a flower or a smile of a friend or the silence at the end of a piece of music. You may also opt to downgrade to Standard Digital, a robust journalistic offering that fulfils many user’s needs. Compare Standard and Premium Digital here.

The Great Passion by James Runcie | Waterstones

The boarding school is rife with beating and bullying, and Stefan runs away. We first meet Bach through his kindness to this desperately unhappy boy. At this point, Bach is 41, responsible for music in all Leipzig’s churches. As cantor in St Thomas’s church, he teaches at the school and has talent-spotted Stefan’s musicality as a singer. He encourages Stefan to return to school, but invites him to live in his own home. He also asks him, as son of a famous organ builder, to help him inspect a church organ. Alone with Bach, peering at organ pipes, Stefan shyly confesses he misses his mother. “Sometimes,” says the cantor, “I think a man misses his mother his whole life. But we are all orphans before the Lord.”

As someone whose primary occupation was to set biblical texts to music, Bach's life revolved around the Lutheran Church. But Runcie goes beyond historical necessity to embed quiet religious wisdom in certain passages, particularly those concerning grief. While some are specific to Christian theology, most of these sections are more generic, applicable to any faith. I found this aspect to be moving, and a major highlight of the narrative. The Great Passion is an exceptionally well-written historical novel... continued

The Great Passion | CBC Books The Great Passion | CBC Books

The Passion of the title is Bach's St. Matthew Passion—a massive, ground-breaking choral work that explores the depths and commonalities of grief. The St. Matthew Passion employs two choirs and two orchestras and runs for just under three hours. In the latter half of the book, Bach begins composing this work and Stefan is there as a singer, as a copyist, and as a boy witnessing an exceptional moment in Western music. It is a priority for CBC to create products that are accessible to all in Canada including people with visual, hearing, motor and cognitive challenges.This wise, refreshing novel takes us to the heart of Bach's life and work. James Runcie's expert imagination makes his picture of Leipzig specific and convincing, and behind the music's echo lies a touching human story. It offers a glimpse into a world more faithful and attentive than our own, but not alien to us: "we listen to music as survivors," the great Cantor says