34: Two situations in which you could see a fermata

We turn now to the very end of Bach’s St. John Passion, to a chorale that serves much the same narrative purpose as the already-discussed “Mache Dich Mein Herze Rein”—that is, to invite the listener/believer to enter into the Passion on a personal level and therefore have a conversion of heart. In both cases, Jesus has already died and been buried.

We look to the St. John Passion this time for one specific element: a phrasal element called a “fermata” (colloquially sometimes “bird’s eye”), which looks like this: . Fermatas are lengthening elements like dots, but unlike dots, they have no mathematical value. They simply advise the player(s) or singer(s) to extend the duration of the note as long as they want, or is practical, or is agreed upon by the ensemble.


Here are the first three phrases of “Ach Herr, laß dein lieb Engelein” (“O Lord, let your dear little angel” in English):

A sheet of music with notes AI-generated content may be incorrect.

Each phrase (and each cadence) is marked off by a fermata, telling the singers where exactly to breathe: “Ach Herr, lass dein lieb Engelein” (plagal IV-I) breathe “Am letzten End die Seele mein” (same as before) breathe “In Abrahams Schoss tragen” breathe (authentic V-I). In this first case, the fernata indicates not only where to breathe, but also suggests only a slight lengthening. 

Another use exists especially at the end of a piece—particularly grand ones, like, for example, the last movement of the 2-hour-plus Mass in B minor—that simply means “you made it, give this last chord your all, and don’t stop until you’re literally out of air, but when you get there, go celebrate!”

A sheet music with black lines AI-generated content may be incorrect.

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