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The week before Easter wouldn’t be complete without Bach’s always overwhelming St Matthew Passion, which for decades has been one of the most popular works among classical music lovers in the Netherlands. Bach composed the Passion nearly 300 years ago in such an emotional, compelling way that it leaves few listeners unmoved.The Concertgebouw Orchestra first performed the work in January 1891, and eight years later, the annual Passion tradition was officially established. This year’s Passion performance features Riccardo Minasi, one of the most interesting conductors to rise to fame in recent years, and a specialist in eighteenth-century music. Originally scheduled for 2020, his first appearance with the Concertgebouw Orchestra was postponed owing to the coronavirus pandemic. It’s high time he came to share his vision of Bach’s immortal masterpiece with the Concertgebouw Orchestra.
The week before Easter wouldn’t be complete without Bach’s always overwhelming St Matthew Passion, which for decades has been one of the most popular works among classical music lovers in the Netherlands. Bach composed the Passion nearly 300 years ago in such an emotional, compelling way that it leaves few listeners unmoved.The Concertgebouw Orchestra first performed the work in January 1891, and eight years later, the annual Passion tradition was officially established. This year’s Passion performance features Riccardo Minasi, one of the most interesting conductors to rise to fame in recent years, and a specialist in eighteenth-century music. Originally scheduled for 2020, his first appearance with the Concertgebouw Orchestra was postponed owing to the coronavirus pandemic. It’s high time he came to share his vision of Bach’s immortal masterpiece with the Concertgebouw Orchestra.
Lightning and thunder crash around us, voices clamor from all sides. We're bombarded with questions and complaints. In Bach's St. Matthew Passion, two choruses and orchestras cry out "Crucify him!" from the galleries of St. Thomas Church, immersing us in the scene. Amidst the mockery, individual compassion shines, a heart-wrenching duality of love and pain. The Passion gives voice to human suffering. Where the world is out of joint, where old church values crumble before cardinal sins and the pursuit of capital, where struggles for world explanations and divine favor fuel wars, Bach's counterpoint makes dissenting voices heard, offering solace and reconciliation.
Lightning and thunder crash around us, voices clamor from all sides. We're bombarded with questions and complaints. In Bach's St. Matthew Passion, two choruses and orchestras cry out "Crucify him!" from the galleries of St. Thomas Church, immersing us in the scene. Amidst the mockery, individual compassion shines, a heart-wrenching duality of love and pain. The Passion gives voice to human suffering. Where the world is out of joint, where old church values crumble before cardinal sins and the pursuit of capital, where struggles for world explanations and divine favor fuel wars, Bach's counterpoint makes dissenting voices heard, offering solace and reconciliation.