It seems that some readers have
misunderstood what I had written about Bach’s Johannes Passion. I did not go into the question whether Bach was
an anti-Semite or not, nor into whether Bach had wanted to propagate
anti-Semitic texts. All I pointed out was the effect that this most beautiful
music combined with some of the texts of St. John Passion will most likely have
had on listeners over the centuries.
Why doubt the manipulative power of
beautiful music?
