Le Concert Lorrain & Nederlands Kamerkoor . Christoph Prégardien

Once again, deSingel forms the backdrop to Bach's 'St. John Passion', the apotheosis of all Western music prior to 1724. This time, however, Christoph Prégardien does not sing the part of the Evangelist, but conducts two top ensembles: the French Baroque orchestra Le Concert Lorrain and the Nederlands Kamerkoor, which takes this occasion to celebrate its seventy-fifth anniversary. In 1724, Bach had held the post of Thomas Kantor in Leipzig for about a year, and it was in that city that he wrote his eternal monuments, the 'John Passion' and the 'Matthew Passion'. In these works, Bach makes free use of the Biblical texts, enriching them and adding reflective texts to them by way of commentary. The composition is almost madrigalian. This musical setting of the passion story according to St. John expresses Bach's consciousness of death more than any other of his works. The work itself can be understood only from the point of view of his intense religiosity, the conviction of his Lutheran faith, and his life and death in God.