Andreas Reize conducts Bach's St. John Passion
With the Thomanerchor and the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig
Cast
Tomáš Král — Bass
Tobias Berndt — Bass
Gewandhausorchester Leipzig
Thomanerchor Leipzig — Choir
Program notes
300 years ago, Johann Sebastian Bach accepted the post of music director (or Thomaskantor) at the St. Thomas Church in Leipzig and composed the St. John Passion. To mark the 300th anniversary of this masterwork, the church’s current Kapellmeister Andreas Reize brings together some of today’s most beautiful Baroque voices—Anna Prohaska, Andreas Scholl and Julian Prégardien—for a striking performance of this masterpiece of religious music.
Generally performed around Easter, Passions, like oratorios, are works of profound dramatic intensity. The St. John Passion, one of only two surviving Passions by Bach, is no exception. Each character gets paired with a soloist to recount the suffering of Christ from his arrest to his crucifixion. Through this brilliantly orchestrated work deeply entrenched in his own faith, Bach created an intimate and timeless piece of music.
Photo © Eric Kemnitz
