With his Passion according to St John three years earlier, Johann Sebastian Bach had set a new benchmark in concerted passion settings in Leipzig; an achievement he surpassed with his St Matthew Passion setting in 1727.
With its monumental proportions, scoring and craftsmanship it exceeded all expectations both in terms of the genre and of the role of Thomaskantor. The double-choir provided Bach with a huge range of expressive possibilities, both in the sheer force of the crowd choruses and the chorales’ intimate confession of faith. The conflation of biblical narrative and theological poetry in Picander’s libretto is met with Bach’s unique application of musical rhetoric. All this in the face of the Church’s sceptical attitude towards this sort of expression; how fortunate for us that Bach could not restrain himself.
Programm
Johann Sebastian Bach
Matthäus-Passion BWV 244
RIAS Kammerchor Berlin
Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin
Justin Doyle Conductor
Additional information
Accessibility
Parking
and access to the Philharmonie
West side
There are a limited number of designated disabled parking spaces in the
public parking areas on the west side of the
Philharmonie/Herbert-von-Karajan-Straße.
East
side
Disabled concert goers and their assistant companions can stop short
term at the Potsdamer Platz entrance (stage entrance on the east side of the
Philharmonie) via the Scharounstrasse entrance for picking up or dropping off.
The porters will open the barrier when you call from the entrance gate. This is
also available to taxis. Underground car park The underground car park under
the Chamber Music Hall (entrance via Scharoun-Straße) is not suitable for
disabled visitors as there is no lift from there to the foyer.
Events
Datum
Berliner Philharmonie: Großer Saal
