ST JOHN PASSION

PROGRAM
Johann Sebastian Bach
St John Passion BWV 245 (version 2, from 1725)

CAST
Daniel Behle Evangelist
Michael Nagy / Markus Butter Christusworte
Balthasar Neumann Choir and soloists
Balthasar Neumann Ensemble
Thomas Hengelbrock Musical Direction

Bach’s works have provided the Balthasar Neumann Choir and Ensemble with a priceless artistic basis ever since they were formed in the 1990s. From the very outset the Thomaskantor’s works have kept the musicians company, enriching their lives and challenging them anew. The B minor Mass in particular has an important place in their concert calendar. Most recently the Choir and Ensemble performed Bach’s Christmas Oratorio at the Leipzig Bach Festival, where they also performed a series of cantatas over the course of a single day under the direction of Olof Boman. In 2017 the Balthasar Neumann Choir and Ensemble under their founder and artistic director, Thomas Hengelbrock, will be devoting their attention to the St John Passion in the rarely performed later version of 1725, a version that challenges listeners’ expectations and grants us an insight into Bach’s whole approach to revisiting his own works.