Announcing our soloists for the St John Passion and Easter Oratorio
Our soloists for the St John Passion this year are Ben Johnson in the role of the Evangelist, Humphrey Thompson in the role of Christ, and Tom Lowen in the role of Pilate. They will be performing the annual St John Passion with the Oxford Bach Soloists on Good Friday.
Friday 19 April, 1.30pm | PROGRAMME | JS Bach (1685 – 1750) | Johannes-Passion (St John Passion), BWV 245 | BOOK NOW
One of Bach’s best loved works, the St John Passion was first performed on Good Friday of 1724 in the St. Nicholas Church, Leipzig. ‘More daring, forceful and poetic’ than the St Matthew Passion, according to Schumann, this operatic work is presented by an ensemble of soloists, four-part choir, strings and basso continuo together with pairs of flauti traversi and oboes doubling on oboe da caccia. Bach also uses viola d’amore and viola da gamba to create special colours within the instrumental mix.
Our soloists for the Easter Oratorio this year are Aileen Thomson as Mary Jacobe, Esther Brazil as Mary Magdalene, Ruairi Bowen as Simon Peter, and Humphrey Thompson as John the Apostle. They will be performing the annual Cantata 21, Ich hatte viel Bekümmernis, and the Easter Oratorio with the Oxford Bach Soloists on Easter Saturday.
Saturday 20 April, 3pm | PROGRAMME | JS Bach (1685 – 1750) | Ich hatte viel Bekümmernis (I had much grief), BWV 21 | Oster-Oratorium (Easter Oratorio), BWV 249 | BOOK NOW
