St John Passion, Bach Choir

Written by Dean Taylor | 04 February 2011
Posted in Culture - Music

Review of the The Bach Choir's performance at the Royal Festival Hall, Thursday 3rd February 2011

When you put together one of the most acclaimed amateur choirs in Britain, with a chamber orchestra equally celebrated, what do you get? You enjoy a breathtaking performance of one of Johann Sebastian Bach’s greatest compositions.

Thursday 3rd February 2011 saw The Bach Choir take to the Royal Festival Hall’s stage in a performance of St John’s Passion complementing its annual performance of St Matthew’s Passion. The Bach Choir was established in 1875 to perform Bach’s Mass in B Minor (which, incidentally, will be performed at RFH on Friday 25th March, 7.30pm) and since its humble beginnings 135 years ago, the Choir has been directed by some of the greatest composers in English music from Sir Charles Villiers Stanford, to David Willcocks via Ralph Vaughan Williams.

Under the directorship of David Hill since 1998, the Choir has extended its repertoire and has given four world premieres since 2001. Also under his directorship the Choir has developed a new outreach programme for less privileged children. Hill is widely praised for his choral training and has led a distinguished career as Sub-Organist at Durham Cathedral, Master of Music at Westminster, Master of Music at Winchester Cathedral and Director of Music at St John’s College Cambridge.

Joining the Choir on stage for this its 923rd concert, was The Florilegium Ensemble. Under the directorship of Ashley Solomon, the period instrument Ensemble was established in 1991 and has gone on to make its name worldwide performing in venues such as the Sydney Opera House, Konzerthaus (Vienna) and Frick Collection (New York).

As the lights fell and the expectant audience awaited the performance of a work first written for Good Friday 1724, the announcement was made that the billed soprano solo, Lisa Milne was not able to sing with the Choir. Needless to say Sophia Bevan was an able replacement, dovetailing in seamlessly at short notice. The other soloists included William Kendall who masterfully sang the demanding and at times soaring Evangelist role; Neal Davies as baritone who pulled off the despot role of Pontius Pilate perfectly; Benjamin Hulett, tenor; George Humphreys who captured the melancholy Christus; William Towers, countertenor, sang with crystal-like purity.

Featuring some 183 voices, the Choir and Florilegium Ensemble ably captured and conveyed the drama and emotion of the St John Passion. A dramatic presentation of the Passion narrative (compared to its relative St Matthew Passion), the St John Passion is more unbridled, expressive and more dramatic and that mood was projected with such ease and dynamic control by a stellar ensemble. From the soft chorale intertwining with the bass aria in movement 32 (The Death of Jesus), to the baying crowd exclaiming ‘Crucify’, the Choir was in top form. The Ensemble shining throughout too; with the strings thundering at movement 33 (Jesus’ burial- ‘there was an earthquake, the rocks split’), while the viole d’amore solo mimicked the tenor aria. The expression and tension made an indelible mark as soon as the first note was played. The Choir staked its claim with the immediacy of its cry ‘Herr, unser Herrscher, dessen Ruhm in allen’ (Lord, our master whose glory fills the whole earth). The chorus throughout sang with such a degree of lightness and purity that melded together to create an exhilarating yet contemplative performance. Under the masterful control of Hill, the sopranos soared and the basses throughout were pervasive without ever being invasive.

Bach’s music enjoys an undying legacy 300 years after being written and that can be put down to the emotions it evokes in the listener. This listener, in awe of the brilliance of the work and of the Choir, believed it hard not to feel the sheer emotion of this work coursing through the veins; this, particularly as silence fell after the singing of the deeply evocative ‘It is accomplished!’.

Also contained in this towering work is Bach’s use of the chorale. The chorale, a cornerstone and mainstay in the Lutheran tradition makes use of strong melodies and the contrapuntal, strong harmonies with which Bach is famous for. ‘Herr, unser Herrscher’ takes the melody from Herzliebster Jesu (O blessed Jesu) and ‘In meines Herzens Grunde’ (May your name and cross) takes the melody from the celebrated Palm Sunday hymn, ‘All glory laud and honour’.

In Jude Kelly’s introduction to Southbank’s 2010-2011 classical music season, she writes, ‘the test of great music is its capacity for endless re-interpretation and discovery. The test of a great performer is their ability to reveal new depths and details in familiar pieces, or serve as a powerful bridge between audiences and the complexity of new or lesser known works’. As the rapturous applause rang out for this performance, a light shone bright on this famous work. The Bach Choir duly took up Kelly’s test and they succeeded emphatically.

9/10

*Dean Taylor reviewed this performance after receiving press tickets organised by The Student Journals. The Bach Choir also agreed to give a cheaper price to students who wish to attend their performances. If you wish to review a performance, get in touch with TSJ.