Commemoration: St. John Passion
Date & Location
Composer
Johann Sebastian Bach
St. John Passion, BWV 245
Director’s Series
Bach never wrote an opera, but as with many “what-ifs” in the history of art, it is tantalizing to speculate on what an opera by Bach might look and sound like. His St. John Passion offers perhaps the best insight into Bach’s “operatic” style. This action-packed treatment of the Passion story stands in marked contrast to the more contemplative St. Matthew Passion. Most notably, the rapid-fire dialogue that punctuates the piece reveals an instinct for dramatic pacing that would have been the envy of Mozart or Verdi. Paired with some of the composer’s most poignant arias, the St. John Passion is a musical and dramatic experience unlike anything else.
...Director’s Series
Bach never wrote an opera, but as with many “what-ifs” in the history of art, it is tantalizing to speculate on what an opera by Bach might look and sound like. His St. John Passion offers perhaps the best insight into Bach’s “operatic” style. This action-packed treatment of the Passion story stands in marked contrast to the more contemplative St. Matthew Passion. Most notably, the rapid-fire dialogue that punctuates the piece reveals an instinct for dramatic pacing that would have been the envy of Mozart or Verdi. Paired with some of the composer’s most poignant arias, the St. John Passion is a musical and dramatic experience unlike anything else.
Matthew Dirst is the founder and artistic director of Ars Lyrica Houston, a Grammy-nominated period-instrument ensemble that specializes in Baroque chamber and dramatic works. An award-winning harpsichordist, organist, and conductor, he is also professor of music at the University of Houston, where he is a member of the musicology faculty in the Moores School of Music.
