Polyphony & Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment olv. Stephen Layton

Many regard Bach's 'Johannes Passion' as the absolute pinnacle of Western musical history prior to 1724. Regular performances of this masterpiece in our Blue Hall are a long-standing tradition. This year we have opted for a British rendition, conducted by Stephen Layton. This is an excellent chance to get to know his fantastic choir, Polyphony: an ensemble that he founded during his studies at King's College Cambridge. With the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and an elite group of vocal soloists, he has chosen sparring partners of equal calibre. In 1724, Johann Sebastian Bach had been working as Thomas Cantor in Leipzig for about a year. There, he wrote what were to become his lasting monuments: the Passions of John and Matthew. In these Passions, Bach makes free with biblical texts. He embellishes and comments on them by means of contemplative passages. His intonation is almost madrigalesque. In this musical account of the Passion according to John, Bach's consciousness of death is more apparent than in his other works. The work can only be understood from the point of view of his strong religiosity, committed Lutheranism and his life and death with God.