BACH: ST JOHN PASSION

During the holy season of Lent it is hard to imagine a spiritually more uplifting experience than listening to, or performing, one of the magnificent settings by J.S. Bach of the Passion of Jesus Christ.

One of the greatest choral works of all time, the St John Passion has been described as a deeply human, intensely dramatic telling of Christ’s betrayal, suffering and death set to music of heartbreaking beauty. It was first heard in St Thomas’s Church, Leipzig, in 1724 as one of the Good Friday liturgies; how fitting, therefore, that a performance by one of the Midlands’ premier choirs, the Birmingham Festival Choral Society, will be held on the eve of Holy Week, Saturday March 24th.

The choir’s Music Director David Wynne regards Bach’s St John Passion as “a remarkable work, combining large-scale chorus movements, congregational chorales and solo movements. It was written three years before the same composer’s St Matthew Passion and, being on a smaller scale, is often considered more intimate.”

Adding to the authenticity of the performance will be the participating orchestra, “The Musical & Amicable Society”, a renowned baroque ensemble, together with a team of distinguished international soloists led by Andrew King (The Evangelist). Moreover, for many who prefer sacred works to be heard in an ecclesiastical setting rather a concert hall, the Passion will be held in the one of the city’s most beautiful churches, St Augustine’s, Edgbaston.

The Birmingham Festival Choral Society’s performance of Bach’s St John Passion at St Augustine’s Church, Lyttleton Road, Birmingham B16 9NJ will take place on Saturday March 24th at 7.30pm.

Click here for tickets to Bach’s St John Passion