‘The Score’ Highlights Bach’s Faith And The Divine Power Of Music
(REVIEW) The year was 1747 and the then-already famous German composer Johann Sebastian Bach made a journey to the city of Potsdam at the request of King Frederick II. At the time, the Prussian monarch’s army had pillaged through Bach’s homeland, laying seize to his beloved Leipzig.
It is this very charged historical moment that forms the backdrop of “The Score,” Oliver Cotton’s drama which premiered in 2023 before making its way to London’s famed West End. In this current production, the play boasts the star power of actor Brian Cox, who plays Bach.
The encounter between Bach and Frederick — two towering 18th century men — and the drama that unfolds is only part of the story. Bach’s profound Christian faith (he was a devout Lutheran) and the king’s lack of it put these two men on a collision course that forms the crux of the play’s tension.
Bach, for example, believed that music should be used to glorify God. As a result, he approached his compositions with this in mind. King Frederick, on the other hand, had an interest in music while being a religious skeptic. Although historians describe him as a deist rather than an atheist, he was hellbent on destruction and acquiring land — not much different from some of the tyrants we see around the world today.
Under the direction of Trevor Nunn, “The Score” serves up a fascinating dynamic between the king, who harbors his own musical ambitions, and Bach, a genius. Over time, despite their contrasting personalities and roles, a mutual respect does develop — despite their religious differences, lifestyles, ambitions and motivations — between the men, culminating in Bach composing a musical offering inspired by a theme Frederick had put together.
Born into a family of musicians, Bach was raised surrounded by music. At the same time, his spiritual journey was also a central part of his life. He would go on to create music for church services and sacred rituals in direct connection to his theological beliefs. Bach's career as a musician spanned several German cities, including Arnstadt, Mühlhausen and Leipzig, where he spent the last decades of his life as cantor and music director at the St. Thomas Church. His duties included overseeing the musical activities of the church, where he composed chorales.
Throughout his career, Bach's compositions were deeply influenced by his faith. Many of his works – such as the Mass in B minor, St. Matthew Passion, and St. John Passion – are considered some of the most profound expressions of Christian faith in the history of Western music. Bach's belief in the centrality of Christ's redemption was evident in his use of biblical texts in his compositions. His music often sought to express the personal and communal experience of faith, from the joy of salvation to the solemnity of Jesus’ suffering.
As Bach, Cox commands the stage with his presence and booming voice. He plays Bach as both grumpy, charming and passionate all at the same time. Bach believes his musical genius and talent is channeled to him directly from God. In fact, the play does nothing to dispel this notion or mock Christianity. Instead, it upholds such a belief as this clash of values develops with Frederick in the second act.
The play opens with Bach preparing for his trip as his wife (played by Cox’s real-life wife Nicole Ansari-Cox) tries to convince him that meeting with the monarch is worth his time. But Bach is distracted by the occupying soldiers that have flooded his city and the injustice of it all. This is all a set-up for what’s to come in the second act.
The tension starts to build the moment Bach leaves his modest home (after praying with his wife) and the set changes to the royal palace, where King Frederick (played masterfully by British actor Stephen Hagan) makes his grand entrance. At the same time, Bach meets up with his son Carl (Jamie Wilkes), an under-appreciated court composer. When Frederick does appear, the play transitions into a series of high-stakes moments.
While Bach holds back about how he really feels regarding the military carnage the king has unleashed, Frederick calls on the composer to improvise a fugue – a musical composition characterized by a main theme that is introduced and then imitated by different melodic lines, creating a complex, interwoven texture. It’s all a set-up — part of a bet — to make Bach look like a fool.
Bach doesn’t disappoint. In fact, the famed composer was known for his intricate fugues and powerful choruses — all crafted to give musical voice to the sacred, elevating them to a spiritual level. Bach’s devotion to God his mastery of musical form made him as a key figure in the history of both music and Christianity.
Bach’s legacy endures as a symbol of the power of faith expressed through art. “The Score” is a reminder of Bach’s piety, the power of faith and how events of the past can offer us an understanding of the present.
“The Score” is currently playing at the Theater Royal Haymarket in London. Click here for tickets.
Clemente Lisi is the executive editor of Religion Unplugged.