# Suggestions for 'Perfidia Judaica' and similar pieces in Baroque music



## Swed Simon (Feb 14, 2008)

In Bach's St. John Passion (Johannespassion), BWV 245, when the scene about Jesus crucifixion starts, the tones starts on the wrong places, there is dissonance, there are no melodies in a traditional sense, everything gets interrupted, and all is sort of ''chopped off''. The word 'kreuziget', crucified, is repeated over and over again, both lyrically and musically. For that time it was apparently intended as very dramatic, wrong and ugly music, but I thought it was the most beautiful section of the entire composition. According to the Swedish classical music show this technique (if you can call it that) was described as 'Perfidia Judaica' in some composition diaries from this time (and was intended to awake hate against jews), but a search for the term turns up with very little results referring to it as music, so I really don't think this type of music is limited to that name.

If anyone is aware of other Baroque compositions that has this type of music in it, please suggest some of those. Thanks in advance.


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