Berliner Bach Akademie

The regular performances of J.S. Bach's Passions are an important concern for the Berlin Bach Academy. This year the St. John Passion, which had to be canceled at short notice in 2020 due to Covid, was made up for.

The St. John Passion is often compared to its "big sister," the St. Matthew Passion, being described as the more expressive and dramatic, while the St. Matthew Passion is longer, more elaborate in scoring, and above all more lyrical and contemplative.

Musicologist Richard Taruskin describes the St. John Passion as "closer to an opera than anything Bach ever wrote." Much of what distinguishes the St. John Passion is already found in the story of the Passion of St. John the Evangelist, which is written in a very personal tone with abundant pathos.

Heribert Breuer has been working with the St. John Passion for almost 50 years. His first performance in one of Lübeck's main churches was commented on by critics with the headline "in the manner of opera". Instead of being deterred, Breuer has remained true to this view, shaping the Passion as a highly dramatic event.

Maximilian Vogler as the Evangelist and Klaus Häger as Jesus are the acting characters. Marie Luise Werneburg, Annekatrin Laabs and Philipp Jekal complete the top-class ensemble of soloists.

The choir of the Berlin Bach Academy plays the role of the angry people in the virtuoso Turbae choruses, but also that of the contemplative congregation in the chorales. Soloists, choir and orchestra combine to form a cohesive ensemble.