If you, as a resident of Leipzig, went to church on Good Friday in 1725 and heard Bach's St John Passion, that was the end of a strict musical diet. During Lent - the forty days before Easter - public life in Leipzig was largely at a standstill: no festivities, no concerts or theater performances, and only liturgical chants were heard in the church without instrumental accompaniment. The organist did not play, there were no cantatas and no other polyphonic music.
That sounds familiar, doesn't it? You and we were also on musical rations and public life was largely at a standstill for us too. We can therefore imagine better than ever how it must have felt to hear the first notes of the St. John Passion after a pause. We would be delighted to perform this work for you on Saturday 16 April, the day after Good Friday.
Compared to the St. Matthew Passion, the St. John Passion is shorter, more powerful and more dramatic. The Matthäus Passion is more reflective with a lot of space for the suffering of Jesus, with human emotions. These differences can also be traced back to the biblical texts that form the common thread for the passions. In John's Gospel, Jesus is always divine, emissary of the Father, royal. He is not afraid of anything, and knows exactly what is going to happen. Even the most intimate and impressive aria 'Es ist vollbracht' is not about suffering, but about the hero from Judah who is victorious. This triumphal march is underlined by fanfare-like motifs in the strings.
Enjoy Bach's masterpiece, performed by the Zeeuws Vocal Ensemble, with the participation of top soloists and a top orchestra.
Zeeuws Vocal Ensemble conducted by Patrick van der Linden
Margreet Rietveld, soprano
Gerben van der Werf, contralto
Edward Leach, tenor
Daniël Herman Mostert, bass
Adriaan de Koster, evangelist
Michiel Meijer, Christ
