Post-Secularism and Presentism in Hugo Niebeling's St. John Passion Film: Es wäre gut, daß ein Mensch würde umbracht für das Volk (1991)

Abstract

Abstract:Although it never reached substantial audiences, the film version of Johann Sebastian Bach's St. John Passion that German filmmaker Hugo Niebeling (1931–2016) completed in 1991 and released on DVD in 2009 is in many respects remarkable, mostly because it unwittingly anticipates key issues regarding (staged) performances of Bach's Passions today. The direct inspiration for the movie was a live performance conducted by Karl Richter that Niebeling attended in the mid-1960s. Since he never managed to realize this project during Richter's lifetime, Niebeling used Richter's recording as the basis for the film and had two of the soloists take part as actors. Although he professed to have been inspired by the deeply religious nature of Richter's performance, Niebeling chose to put the conflict between Jesus and Pilate at the center of his film. The article explains how this choice reflected Niebeling's intentions with the film. Using as an analytical tool Jürgen Habermas's concept of the post-secular as a necessary and mutually beneficial cooperation between the secular and the religious sphere, the article shows how Niebeling's take on the piece translated into the concrete visualization of especially the opening and final choruses and the arias. In addition, the article pays special attention to Niebeling's filming of the turba choruses. By having the crowds use masks on several occasions, Niebeling wished to avoid identifying them as Jewish. The article shows how in this respect Niebeling's essentially presentist approach anticipated present-day concerns with perceived anti-Judaism or antisemitism in the St. John Passion.