Sydney Philharmonia Choirs' Bach: Mass in B Minor

Choral Singing / Baroque Music

JS Bach's Mass in B Minor

Date: Saturday 16 April 2022, 3pm
Venue: Sydney Town Hall

 

What would be your “desert island” Bach?

At Sydney Philharmonia Choirs, they would nominate his Mass in B minor. In just under two hours, this astonishing choral work does it all. On the one hand, it’s a literal portfolio of Bach’s tremendous musical accomplishment – a virtuoso display of style and taste, from the academic to the fashionable, wonderfully varied and yet completely coherent. Easily the most impressive job application in the history of music. Bach collated many of his finest vocal and orchestral styles and examples from across his lifetime: it’s like a sublime “best-of album” from 300 years ago.  

When Bach eventually completed the Mass in B minor, he signed it “D.S.G.” – Deo Soli Gloria, the Latin term for Latin term for Glory to God alone. This music was a celebration of an ancient liturgical tradition – an ecumenical setting of the Latin Mass by a deeply devout Lutheran inspired to the glory of God alone.

It was also completely impractical: too long for use in church and calling for brilliant musicians – it’s as if every singer and instrumentalist has a solo part to play. But that’s exactly what makes it so satisfying in the concert hall. In her first concert as Associate Music Director, Dr. Elizabeth Scott will conduct the beautiful voices of SPC's Chamber Singers and young adult choir, VOX  – a precision ensemble of singers – accompanied by their own 42-piece Baroque period instrument orchestra, four of Australia's best soloists, for a virtuoso performance to do justice to Bach’s supreme musical craft and spiritual inspiration.  

Video Credit: Keith Saunders, Michael Bradfield, Robert Catto & Rebecca Sawyer.

PROGRAM

Deborah CHEETHAM & Matthew DOYLE Tarimi Nulay – Long time living here*
Johann Sebastian BACH Mass in B minor, BWV 232

* Commissioned for our 100 Minutes of New Australian Music project.

This performance will run for approximately 2 hours and 10 minutes, including one 20-minute interval.

 

Dr. Elizabeth Scott, Conductor 

 

 Top: Celeste Lazarenko, soprano; Anna Dowsley, mezzo-soprano
Below: Jonathan Abernethy, tenor; Simon Lobelson, baritone.

 

ARTISTS

Elizabeth Scott conductor
Celeste Lazarenko soprano
Anna Dowsley mezzo-soprano
Jonathan Abernethy tenor
Simon Lobelson baritone
Chamber Singers
VOX
Sydney Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra

Composed over the course of 16 years, Bach's B Minor Mass is a compendium of every aspect of Bach’s genius and a profound testament of his faith.  Johann Sebastian Bach was a deeply religious man. On July 28, 1750, less than a year after completing B-minor Mass, he died in Leipzig, due to complications from treatment following eye surgery. His body in a humble oak casket was buried in a site unmarked until the mid-19th century. Mozart found revelation in Bach's work reflected in the younger composer's famous unfinished Requiem. But it was not until 1829, during Mendelssohn's revival of Bach's work, in particular, Mendelssohn’s momentous performance of the St. Matthew Passion that secured Bach’s place in history.  Bach's Mass was published in 1845, nearly 100 years after the composer's death. Complete performances followed in Europe.  Bach's B-minor Mass is a masterful combination of sublimity and profundity.

Reviews: 

Bach: Mass in B Minor (Sydney Philharmonia Choirs). Bach’s magnificent Easter offering is given it due reward by a crack team. 4.5 stars. Reviewed by Steve Moffatt.  Accessed April 19, 2022. 

Nothing minor about Sydney Philharmonic Choirs’ Bach Mass. 3.5 stars. Reviewed by Peter McCallum. Accessed April 20, 2022.l

Video Credits:

Sydney Philharmonia Choirs. Keith Saunders, Michael Bradfield, Robert Catto & Rebecca Sawyer.

Resources:

2022 Season Together Again. Sydney Philharmonia Choirs. Artistic & Music Director Brett Weymark, OAM

Bach B Minor Mass. Sydney Philharmonia Choirs.  (Available on access, 23 March 8, 2022.)

TICKETS

Premium $112 | A $92 | B $71 | C $50
Concessions $101 | A $83| B $64 | C $45
A booking fee of $8.50 per transaction applies.

 

BOOK TICKETS HERE

COVID-19 SAFETY

• All SPC singers, musicians and staff are double vaccinated.
• Audiences will be required to show proof of double vaccination upon entry to the Sydney Town Hall.
• Audiences will be required to wear masks throughout the performance. If this changes we will inform patrons as soon as possible.
• Hand sanitiser will be available.
• A digital program book will be available on this page a week prior to the concert. A limited number of printed program books will be available for $5 each at the concert.

DETAILS ABOUT OUR COVID SAFE PLAN

(c) March 2022.  Tel.  Inspired Pen Web.  All rights reserved.

Sydney Philharmonia Choirs' Bach and Mozart: In the Imagination of their Hearts

Choral Singing / Sydney Philharmonia Choirs

Saturday 20 April at 2pm Sydney Opera House Concert Hall

Free pre-concert talk in the Northern Foyer 45 minutes prior to the concert. Sponsored by Fine Music FM.

Sydney Philharmonia Choirs and Capella St Crucis Choristers.
Photo Courtesy: Eric Hansen.

Between the solemnity of Good Friday and the joy of resurrection on Easter Morning, Easter Saturday might be the ‘deadest day of the church calendar’, but in 2019 you can spend Saturday afternoon with the Sydney Philharmonia Choirs at the Sydney Opera House for a musical expression of faith that will lift your soul.

At the heart of the program is Johann Sebastian Bach and his brilliant Magnificat. Voices ring out – ‘My soul doth magnify the Lord!’ – and the music resounds with trumpets and drums in a spirit of festive celebration. Five soloists bring their dazzling virtuosity and expressive powers to a text that ranges between sheer elation and a profound expression of humility as Mary responds to the news that she will be the mother of Christ.

Framing the Magnificat are two works that, each in their own way, look to Bach for inspiration. The Sydney Philharmonia Choirs have commissioned a new motet for 50 voices from The Song Company’s artistic director Antony Pitts, who takes the explosive harmonies from Bach’s setting of the words ‘In the imagination of their hearts’ as his starting point. As he describes it, Bach’s moment of collective madness is frozen in a kind of anachronistic bullet time and scattered to the four winds and back to Bach.

After interval you can eavesdrop on the newly married Mozart through his work in Great Mass in C minor, embarking on a grand mass for choir and orchestra, to be performed in Salzburg when the couple make their first visit to his disapproving father. Wolfgang Mozart found fresh inspiration in the Baroque techniques of Bach and Handel, combining their complex weaving of voices with the elegance and drama of the Classical style. But he didn’t finish – no one’s entirely sure why – and so it remains ‘half a mass’, tantalising nevertheless magnificent.

The Sydney Philharmonia Choirs invited the Capella St Crucis of Hannover and its conductor Florian Lohmann to join the Sydney Philharmonia's Chamber Singers and Symphony Chorus as they continue their much-loved tradition of Easter concerts.

PROGRAM

Antony PITTS    XLX Mente cordis sui (Premiere)
     "Song of the Elders" - Revelation 5: 9-10
     "Song of theAngels" - Revelation 5:12
     "Song of All Creatures" - Revelation 5: 13-14
    
JS BACH    Magnificat in D major BWV 243
     from the Magnificat - Luke 1:51
     (in the imagination of their hearts, He hath scattered the proud ...)

WA MOZART    Great Mass in C minor KV 427


ARTISTS

Florian Lohmann conductor (Mozart)
Brett Weymark conductor (Bach, Pitts)
Sara Macliver soprano
Anna Dowsley mezzo-soprano
Nicholas Tolputt countertenor
Nicholas Jones tenor
David Greco baritone
Capella St Crucis Hannover
Chamber Singers
Symphony Chorus
Sydney Philharmonia Orchestra
Fiona Ziegler, concertmaster


(The performance will be recorded by Fine Music 102.5FM for future broadcast. Recording engineer Peter Bell)


Reviews of Performance

Bach & Mozart: In the Imagination of their Hearts. Stage Whispers. Accessed April 26, 2019.

Bach & Mozart: In the Imagination of their Hearts @ The Sydney Opera House.  Sydney Arts Guide. Accessed April 26, 2019.

Sydney Philharmonia Choirs: A dazzling Easter dip into Bach and Mozart. Reviewer: Peter McCallum. The Sydney Morning Herald. Accessed April 21, 2019.


(Personal note:  I found this concert timely, performed right on a Holy Saturday. It is compelling and meaningful. I'm not just talking about the superb repertoire, the magnificent choirs, soloists, orchestra,  and quality conducting. I'm talking about an extra depth that one experiences as an audience-member ... when I was transposed into something divine ... I have no words, I can only feel. Everything started with Antony Pitts' featured new work XLX MENTECORDIS SUI. The delightful voices of various split choirs well-positioned inside the Sydney Opera House sounded like calm ocean waves that washes away the weariness of the soul, in reflection of the Holy Week. And Bach's Magnificat! What an enthralling interpretation. How can one not be touched! And the program's finale: Mozart's Great Mass in C minor. I lie if I don't admit that the main attraction for me is this Wunderkind's Mass in C. SPC did not disappoint. Whilst listening intently to the performance came to mind the 1984 Milos Forman movie Amadeus, for in parallel with the Great Mass in C, unfinished like WAM's Requiem but considered also his greatest work. What an uplifting glorious performance! Bravo, and thank you, Sydney Philharmonia Choirs and Capella St. Crucis. / Tel)

Suggested Listening:

 

Mozart Mass in C minor K.427 Gardiner. YouTube, uploaded by vse vsad. Accessed April 1, 2019. (Monteverdi Choir. Eric Ericson. Chamber Choir. Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra. Mia Persson soprano. Ann Hallenberg mezzo-soprano. Helge Rønning tenor. Peter Mattei bass. Nobel Prize Concert 2008.)

 

Video Credit:

In Conversation: Brett Weymark, Bach, Mozart at Easter. Uploaded by Sydney Philharmonia Choirs. Accessed April 1, 2019.

Resources: 

Antony Pitts: 50 is the new 40. Limelight Magazine. Accessed April 16, 2019.

Bach & Mozart. Sydney Opera House. April 15, 2019.

Sydney Philharmonia Choirs / Bach & Mozart (available at this time of Posting).  Accessed April 1, 2019.

Sydney Philharmonia Choirs Program.



(c) April 1, 2019.  Updated, April 20, 2019. Tel. Inspired Pen Web. All rights reserved. 

Sydney Philharmonia Choirs - Path of Miracles

Choral Singing /Chamber Music

Experience this awe inspiring journey with Sydney Philharmonia Choirs' Chamber Singers, where they beautifully capture the physical and spiritual experiences of the pilgrim. 

Friday 17th August, 8-9pm St Patrick’s Cathedral, Parramatta.
Saturday 18th August, 8-9pm St Mary’s Cathedral Crypt, Sydney
Tickets at the door.

Addendum (Posted today: December 3, 2018):  Happy to share that this performance has just be included in Limelight's top shows of 2018: Classical Music - Classical music concerts that wowed critics in 2018. Here's the LINK.

Joby Talbot Path of Miracles 
Brett Weymark conductor 
Chamber Singers 

‘The ultimate message of this music and music generally: hope for humanity and love for this beautiful world in which we live.’ - Joby Talbot

Joby Talbot’s Path of Miracles is a sixty minute a capella choral masterwork that portrays the experience of a pilgrim traveling the famous Camino de Santiago. Landmarks along the Camino include the church of Roncesvalles and the cathedrals of Burgos, Leon and Santiago de Compostela. In Path of Miracles, these landmarks correspond with the titles of the four movements.

Brief Profile of Joby Talbot

Joby Talbot, born 25 August 1971, is a British composer. He has written for a wide variety of purposes and a broad range of styles, including instrumental and vocal concert music, film and television scores, pop arrangements and works for dance. He is therefore known to sometimes disparate audiences for quite different works. His prominent compositions include the a cappella choral works The Wishing Tree (2002) and Path of Miracles (2005); orchestral works Sneaker Wave (2004), Tide Harmonic (2009), Worlds, Stars, Systems, Infinity (2012) and Meniscus (2012); the theme and score for the popular BBC Two comedy series The League of Gentlemen (1999–2002); silent film scores The Lodger (1999) and The Dying Swan (2002) for the British Film Institute; film scores The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005), Son of Rambow (2007) and Penelope (2008). He premiered his first opera, a one-act entitled Everest, in January 2015, with Dallas Opera.

Below is a video of Talbot's  León,Third movement from "Path Of Miracles",  performed by Tenebrae, Nigel Short, artistic director. Paintings by Argentine-born Italian Sculptor and Painter, Lucio Fontana (1899-1968).YouTube, uploaded by Thomas Turner. Accessed 14th July 2018.)







Review of Performance.   

Limelight: Australia's Classical Music and Arts Magazine.  Accessed 20 August 2018.

Resources: 

Joby Talbot. en wikipedia.org
Sydney Philharmonia Choirs.
SPC / Path of Miracles Page (available at this time of Posting.)  
Sydney Philharmonia Choirs Repertoire Programme.



(c) Posted 2018.   Tel. Inspired Pen Web.  

Sydney Philharmonia Choirs - Bach in B Minor Mass

Choral Singing / Baroque Music

JS Bach's Mass in B Minor

Date: Saturday 31 March 2018, 1pm
Venue: Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House

At the pinnacle of Johann Sebastian Bach's artistry is one of his greatest choral works, the B Minor Mass. Composed over the course of 16 years, it is a compendium of every aspect of Bach’s genius and a profound testament of his faith.

This majestic performance by the  Sydney Philharmonia Choirs, with intimate solo arias and instrumental moments, marks the Easter weekend the timeless power of Bach's music.  

Johann Sebastian Bach was a deeply religious man with aesthetic convictions. On July 28, 1750, less than a year after completing B-minor Mass, he died in Leipzig, due to complications from treatment following eye surgery. His body in a humble oak casket was buried in a site unmarked until the mid-19th century. Mozart found revelation in Bach's work reflected in the younger composer's famous unfinished Requiem. But it was not until 1829, during Mendelssohn's revival of Bach's work, in particular, Mendelssohn’s momentous performance of the St. Matthew Passion that secured Bach’s place in history.

Bach's Mass was published in 1845, nearly 100 years after the composer's death. Complete performances followed in Europe.  Bach's B-minor Mass is a masterful combination of sublimity and profundity.




From the choir’s first call for God’s mercy, to its final prayer for peace, the B Minor Mass is a trove of musical riches. Weaving together moments of overwhelming majesty with intimate solo arias decorated with intricate instrumental filigree, and outbreaks of dancing joy, the Mass has everything that gives Bach’s music its timeless power.

Sydney Philharmonia Choirs' Songs Of Farewell

Choral Singing / Chamber Music

Sydney Philharmonia Chamber Singers  Presents 'Songs of Farewell: Music of Remembrance'

On the 11th of November,  the sacrifices made by men and women is recalled. It is a time for contemplation of the grandest themes of life and death. Music has always played a role in occasions of shared sorrow, both as a means of expressing it, and as a consolation. Choral music is a specially powerful vehicle for the music of remembrance, a collective singing on behalf of humankind. The Sydney Philharmonia Choirs' Chamber Singers mark Remembrance Day with works that confront tragedy and offer hope.

Sydney Philharmonia Choirs - The Passing of the Year

Choral Singing / Chamber Music

(The passing of the year was August 2015.)

Tuesday 31 March 2015, 8pm: Saturday 4 April 2015, 1pm

Review from Limelight:  Review: St. John Passion (Sydney Philharmonia Choirs)
Review from SMH: Bach's  St John Passion review: Sydney Philharmonic Choirs deliver the best performance of this work you'll hear.

Dates:
   Thursday 24 August, 7:30pm
   Sunday 27 August, 2:00pm
Venue:
   City Recital Hall


Review:

Tudor Portraits (Sydney Philharmonia Choirs), by Clive Paget. LimelightMagazine.Com. August 25, 2017.


Music transports us to other times and places. Journey to the Elizabethan era with our Symphony Chorus and works inspired by a golden age of English art. Thomas Tallis and Thomas Tomkins created a unique style of choral music: expressive, dramatic and intimate. A great English composer of a later generation rediscovered their music and was profoundly transformed: Ralph Vaughan Williams paid tribute to his forebears in his Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis and invoked the spirit of Shakespeare in his gorgeous Serenade to Music, but it is the Five Tudor Portraits that are Vaughan Williams’ most extended love letter to Merrie Olde England.

Sydney Philharmonia soloists rehearsing.

Sydney Philharmonia Choirs - To Be Sung in Water

Choral Singing / Chamber Music

 

Sydney Philharmonia Choirs 
21 November 2015, 11AM & 5PM
Sydney Opera House  

 

Join the SPC - Chamber Singers for this intimate performance.  

The Utzon Room of the Sydney Opera House is the perfect backdrop for a concert that celebrates vocal music inspired by water. As well as two world premieres by Australian composers Rosalind Page and Luke Byrne, hear the sublime vocal music of Eric Whitacre, Frederick Delius and Ralph Vaughan Williams. Be surprised by the possibilities of choral music with Stars by the lauded Latvian composer Ēriks Ešenvalds, a piece that employs water-tuned glasses for celestial effects.

Australia's Sydney Philharmonia Choirs

Choral Singing / Choral Music

The Sydney Philharmonia Choirs (SPC), Australia's oldest and most prestigious iconic choir, continue to share the joy of choral music to both audience and singers. At the helm is its charismatic and dynamic Music Director Brett Weymark.

Passionate choristers. Fun. Demanding. Exciting. Therapeutic. Fulfilling.

As the largest choral group of Australia, the Sydney Philharmonia Choirs mainly comprises the following: Chamber Singers, Symphony Chorus, Festival Chorus, and VOX youth group led by Liz Scott, Music Director.

The Chamber Singers. The dynamic Chamber Singers are renowned for their exceptional performances and professionalism. It comprises of 32-voice choir, auditioned annually to ensure the highest standard is maintained. As a flexible ensemble, they are also be engaged for commercial performances and corporate functions, Royalty and foreign dignitaries. It also performs annually in events such as the City of Sydney.

The Symphony Chorus.  The Symphony Chorus, with up to 150 members,  performs in concerts with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra headed by David Robertson, Chief Conductor and Artistic Director. It performs alongside the world's best conductors and soloists at the highest standard of excellence.

VOX.  SPC's young adult ensemble led by Music Director, Liz Scott. It comprises of singers aged 18-30 (orig. 16-26) performing programs of classical, popular and contemporary works. Recent highlights have included a recording with Aria award-winning composer and pianist, Sally Whitwell, appearances at the World Netball Championships, and in the Video Games concerts at the Enmore Theatre. In 2015 they performed in A Concert for Peace with the Festival Chorus. They also performed in Holst:The Planets for Earth Hour and Danny Elfman Music from the Films of Tim Burton with Sydney Symphony Orchestra.




Festival Chorus.  The Festival Chorus is the largest of the Sydney Philharmonia Choirs, with 350 to 400 members who come together twice a year to perform works from a diverse musical range. Singers are selected during Festival Chorus Open Days, which are held twice each year. To join Festival Chorus all singers must attend a voice placement workshop in early February. Each session will take around an hour and a half. At the workshop, the Music Director, possibly with other vocal associates, will conduct voice placements in order for him to assess singing ability and to determine vocal range. It also comprise warm-up exercises, simple melodies, scales and easy harmony pieces to give one the feel of being part of a wonderful sea of sound.  Its performances are often in collaboration with other organizations such as musical theatre company.

Recent  previous Festival Chorus programs include Vaughan Williams’ A Sea Symphony, Leonard Bernstein’s hit musical Wonderful Town, Rossini Stabat Mater and Elgar Dream of Gerontius. The choir has premiered compositions by Matthew Hindson and Carl Vine, and collaborates with organisations such as the Sydney Youth Orchestra. In 2018 Festival Chorus will present Haydn's The Creation and Bernstein's Candide.

Joining will give you the opportunity to perform not only with hundreds of other passionate singers but also with professional orchestral players and some of Australia’s best soloists. In 2018 you will perform in the iconic Concert Hall at the Sydney Opera House and the stunning Centennial Hall at Sydney Town Hall.

Here's a sneak peek of our rehearsals for George and Ira Gershwin's  Of Thee I Sing  performed Sept 26 and 27, 2015, timely too, for the composer's (George Gershwin) birthday.  In 1932, Of Thee I Sing was the first musical to win the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. 





Three other major events include: ChorusOz, Carols at the House & Handel's Messiah.


More recently, other initiatives have transpired, including: Singing at the House collaborated with the Sydney Opera House, commissioning and presenting Australian composers' works, and the Discover Series workshop.





How to Audition at Sydney Philharmonia


Sydney Philharmonia Festival Chorus Open Day Audition. In keeping with the times, there have been new developments in the FC audition process.





Here's Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 "Ode to Joy" Excerpt 2, performed during SSO's Season Opening Gala 2012.  Sydney Symphony Orchestra with the Sydney Philharmonia Choirs - Symphony Chorus, Chamber Singers and VOX. Vladimir Ashkenazy conductor,  Lorina Gore soprano,  Sally-Anne Russell mezzo-soprano,  James Egglestone tenor,  Michael Nagy baritone.





Sharing a Favourite Quote: 

"Sing, then. Sing, indeed, with shoulders back, and head up so that song might go to the roof and beyond to the sky. Mass on mass of tone, with a hard edge, and rich with quality, every single note a carpet of colour woven from basso profundo, and basso, and baritone, and alto, and tenor, and soprano, and also mezzo, and contralto, singing and singing, until life and all things living are become a song..." ~ Richard Llewellyn, How Green Was My Valley


Resources:

Beethoven Symphony No. 9: Ode to Joy Excerpt.  Sydney Symphony Orchestra and Sydney Philharmonia Choirs / Ashkenazy.  YouTube, uploaded by Sydney Symphony Orchestra. Accessed November 12, 2016.   

Facebook.com/SydneyPhilharmoniaChoirs.  Accessed December 6, 2014.

Highlights of the Sydney Philharmonia Choirs. Accessed December 6, 2014. 

Sydney Philharmonia Choirs: Festival Chorus (Audition 2011).  Accessed December 6, 2014. 

Sydney Philharmonia Choirs. YouTube uploaded by Sydney Philharmonia Choirs. Accessed, November 12, 2016 

The Sydney Philharmonia Choirs.

Twitter.com/SydPhil

Note:  Originally published Dec 6, 2014.   Latest update, November 12, 2016. 



(c) December 2014.  Tel Asiado.  Latest update November 12, 2016. Inspired Pen Web.  All rights reserved.

JS BACH St. Matthew Passion

Classical Music / Sacred Music


The St Matthew Passion (German: Matthäus-Passion), BWV 244, is a Passion, an oratorio written by Johann Sebastian Bach in 1727 for solo voices, double choir and double orchestra, with libretto by Picander (Christian Friedrich Henrici). The setting is based on the Holy Bible's Gospel of St. Matthew chapters 26 and 27 (in the German translation of Martin Luther) to music, with interspersed chorales and arias. It is widely regarded as one of the masterpieces of classical sacred music and pinnacle of JS Bach's musical artistic achievement.

Below is a video performed by the King's College Chapel in Cambridge, conducted by Stephen Cleobury. Rogers Covey-Crump - tenor (Evangelist), Michael George - bass (Jesus),  Emma Kirkby - soprano,  Michael Chance - alto,  Martyn Hill - tenor,  David Thomas - bass,  The Choir of King's College, Cambridge; The Choir of Jesus College, Cambridge (Soprano in ripieno); The Brandenburg Consort (Roy Goodman - leader). 

Bach - St. Matthew Passion (Cambridge, 1994). Apology. Embedding is no longer available for this video. Here's the link: Bach's St Matthew Passion. Uploaded by EuroArtsChannel. Accessed November 11, 2017.

Another video, for more listening ...  Here's the link: Bach St. Matthew Passion (Complete). Youtube, uploaded by ClassicalMusicTVHD. Accessed Nov 11, 2014  (more listening)

The St Matthew Passion is the second of two Passion settings by JS Bach that have survived, the first being the St. John Passion, first performed in 1724. Very little is about the creation process of the St Matthew Passion. The available information derives from extant early manuscripts, contemporary publications of the libretto, and circumstantial data, for instance in documents archived by the Town Council of Leipzig.  It was  probably first performed on 11 April 1727 in the St. Thomas Church and again on 15 April 1729, 30 March 1736, and 23 March 1742. Bach then revised it again between 1743 and 1746.

Trivia:  Our Sydney Philharmonia Choirs (Symphony Chorus, Chamber Singers and VOX) performed Bach's St Matthew Passion, with Brett Weymark conducting. Soloists: Robert Macfarlane (Evangelist), Christopher Richardson (Christus), Celeste Lazarenko (Soprano), Sally-Anne Russell (Mezzo Soprano), Jonathan Abernethy (Tenor) and David Greco (Baritone). An amazing statement of faith! Saturday, 15 April 2017, Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House. The last time Sydney Philharmonia Choirs performed this was 10 years ago (2007).  Here's a review from the Sydney Morning Herald: "Bach's St Matthew Passion an epic undertaking of power and energy."


Video Credit:

Bach St. Matthew Passion (King's College, Cambridge, 1994). Youtube, uploaded by EuroArtsChannel. Accessed Nov. 11, 2017. 

Bach St. Matthew Passion (Complete). Youtube, uploaded by ClassicalMusicTVHD. Accessed Nov 11, 2014  (more listening)

Resource:

St. Matthew Passion (Bach).  en.wikipedia.org.



(c) April 11, 2009. Updated September 5, 2023. Tel. Inspired Pen Web. All rights reserved.