Written for the Mannes' 2006 Bach and Baroque Legacy Festival, Passion Revisited is a piano trio written in homage to J. S. Bach. The piece is based on Bach's aria for alto 'Erbarme dich, mein Gott' from St. Mathew's Passion.
Passion Revisited refers to Bach's legacy both through its form and its musical material. The piece consists of two related parts borrowed from the baroque tradition - Air and Fugue. Air is built on the harmonic skeleton of Bach's aria, as if looked at through a magnifying glass. The harmonic changes of just a few opening measures of the original aria are stretched out to form a transparent, yet intricate fabric of the Air. The piece closes with a four-part Fugue in strict counterpoint, with the subject derived from the vocal line of 'Erbarme dich.'
