Recorded by KUHF in April 2007 at Christ the King Lutheran Church on Rice Boulevard, this presentation features soloists Melissa Givens (soprano); Gerrod Pagenkopf (countertenor); Myron Karner (tenor); Randolph Lacy as the Evangelist; and the Bach Choir and Orchestra, all under the direction of music director Albert LeDoux.
Written for Good Friday services in Leipzig in 1724, the St. John Passion (BWV 245) is one of only two surviving settings by Bach of the biblical story of Jesus’ trial and crucifixion, (the other being the St. Matthew Passion).
The text is taken from chapters 18 & 19 of the Gospel of John, as translated by Martin Luther, augmented with traditional hymns or “chorales,” together creating a striking sacred opera that dramatizes the events commemorated during Holy Week.
J.S. Bach’s St. John Passion, performed by the Houston Bach Society, Friday, April 10, 8PM on 88.7FM/HD Channel 1.