Munich Bach Choir: St Matthew PassionHansjörg Albrecht (conductor)
This event is in the past.
Johann Sebastian Bach’s St Matthew Passion moves listeners like few other compositions, evoking at the same time sorrow and support. The work is presumed to have been premiered in 1727, at Good Friday Vespers in St Thomas Church in Leipzig. With texts by Christian Friedrich Henrici, the monumental work tells the story of the Passion of Christ according to chapters 26 and 27 of the Gospel of Matthew. Though intense and highly complex, it also contains memorable motifs.
This event is in the past.
Johann Sebastian Bach’s St Matthew Passion moves listeners like few other compositions, evoking at the same time sorrow and support. The work is presumed to have been premiered in 1727, at Good Friday Vespers in St Thomas Church in Leipzig. With texts by Christian Friedrich Henrici, the monumental work tells the story of the Passion of Christ according to chapters 26 and 27 of the Gospel of Matthew. Though intense and highly complex, it also contains memorable motifs.
That he continued to work on the composition for another two decades after its completion shows the importance Bach himself ascribed to the work. In the course of the 18th century, the St Matthew Passion slipped into obscurity until, in 1829, its revival by Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy ushered in the Bach Renaissance. Today, the Passion occupies a special place in Bach’s oeuvre and is the indispensable prelude to the Easter holidays for Christians and classical music aficionados alike.
On Good Friday, the Munich Bach Choir, together with its musical partners the Munich Bach Orchestra plus renowned soloists, traditionally devotes itself to Bach’s St Matthew Passion. Founded in 1954 by Karl Richter, the Munich Bach Choir has since achieved world renown. In 2005, Hansjörg Albrecht became its new artistic director, which the Süddeutsche Zeitung considered “a stroke of luck”. Under his direction, the choir developed a new artistic profile and an exceptionally transparent sound.
- Christina Gansch, soprano
- Wiebke Lehmkuhl, alto
- Daniel Johannsen, tenor (Evangelist)
- Andreas Post, tenor (arias)
- Matthias Winckhler, bass (Christ)
- Äneas Humm, baritone (arias)
- Hansjörg Albrecht, conductor
Programme
Johann Sebastian Bach: St Matthew Passion, BWV 244
