Description

Sacred Music: St. John Passion by Johann Sebastian Bach<div> <strong>Sung in German, with French/English surtitles</strong></div><div><br></div><div> Work composed in 1723-24, BWV 245</div><div> according to chapters XVIII and XIX</div><div> from The Gospel according to Saint John</div><div> Version by Robert Schumann (1851)</div><div><br></div><div> Rowan Pierce | soprano</div><div> Henriette Gödde | viola</div><div> Patrick Grahl | tenor (The Evangelist)</div><div> Tobias Berndt | bass (Jesus)</div><div> Markus Eiche | bass (Pilate)</div><div><br></div><div> Kammerorchester Basel Hans-Christoph Rademann | direction</div><div> Gaechinger Cantoney</div><div><br></div><div> The setting of the last days of Christ to music dates back to the beginning of Christianity. The genre evolved little until the 14th century, before gaining its prestige two centuries later with the Lutheran Reformation, which mandated the singing of the text in German to ensure universal comprehension, and, under the influence of Italian opera, developed a richer polyphonic form. St. John the Baptist was the first large-scale work written for Leipzig, the city where Bach had settled. This magnificent piece is striking for the beauty of its solo arias as much as for its choral parts.</div>