Press Release: Johann Sebastian Bach: St. Mark Passion, BWV 247
Bálint Karosi conducts a performance of a Bach Passion. Courtesy Saint Peter’s Church, 2019.
NEW YORK, March 3, 2023—Saint Peter’s Church presents J.S. Bach’s Passion According to St. Mark: A Contemporary Reconstruction by Dr. Bálint Karosi on April 7, 2023, 12:00 p.m. The performance is the first classical showcase since the Church’s extensive structural and acoustic renovation, heralding an exciting return to concerts in its iconic, modernist Sanctuary.
By its very nature, J.S. Bach’s St. Mark Passion, BWV 247, is a composition open to reinterpretation. It comes to us in missing, lost parts, requiring a composer to fill in the blanks to complete the non-extant composition. Dr. Karosi, Saint Peter’s Cantor and Director of Music, joins a small number of composers who have undertaken this considerable task. In his reconstruction Dr. Karosi reimagines Bach’s lost Passion, one that does not exist in a definite form, for Saint Peter’s annual Good Friday liturgy.
In contrast to Bach’s St. Matthew Passion and St. John Passion which have been performed at Saint Peter’s dozens of times, this will be the first iteration of the St. Mark Passion. This performance is an exciting and appropriate development for Saint Peter’s, a parish with German roots and a robust classical program, with a history of fostering experimentation, community, and creativity through music for over 60 years.
The presentation of the St. Mark Passion continues Saint Peter’s long-standing tradition of generally performing one of the Bach Passions on Good Friday. These programs require significant resources and are funded entirely by generous donations.
About the Reconstruction
In identifying the lost parts of the St. Mark Passion—namely the missing arias, turba choruses, and recitatives—scholars have put forward many different suggestions of form and style. Reconstructions typically borrow five moments from the Trauer-Ode, BWV 198, confirmed to be Bach’s parody models for the St. Mark Passion, leaving the connective tissue of the piece and the Biblical narrative to be newly composed. Dr. Karosi’s reconstruction seeks to present a coherent yet stylistically diverse composition, particularly for the recitatives and turba choruses.
From a music history standpoint, Saint Peter’s presentation of the St. Mark Passion is a significant achievement for Bach scholarship. Karosi’s reinterpretation seeks to further demarcate the historic from the newly-composed by positioning the historic source material in conversation with his new material.
The sensibilities of a modern audience and the musical tradition of Saint Peter’s, one which spans many languages and styles, are reflected in the composition’s structure— one that incorporates the past and the present. Just as Bach wrote in his context for his contemporaries in German, Karosi’s additions simulate the same experience, composing in English for the Saint Peter’s context and audience.
Karosi’s reimagining of the missing parts of the St. Mark Passion are in a distinctively modern, contemporary musical language—his experimentation can find comparisons in jazz and American minimalism. By contrasting the musical language of the additive passion narrative to that of Bach’s arias and chorales, Karosi creates transparency within the composition. The audience knows immediately what is historical and what is new, all while being immersed in a cohesive musical whole.
About Classical Music at Saint Peter’s
For this performance, completely funded through donations, it is the members and audience of Saint Peter’s who remain at the center. From conception to execution, this presentation of the St. Mark Passion is a beautiful and poignant return to performance and worship experienced in community.
The St. Mark Passion aligns with many different aspects of Saint Peter’s mission: one that supports and champions new and historical artistic ventures, integrating musical expression into the liturgical sphere.
Saint Peter’s Good Friday liturgy continues to be the cornerstone of the Church’s classical program, presenting the work of Bach, widely regarded as Western music’s greatest composer, in a spiritually transformative setting.
The Saint Peter’s Bach Collegium Period Orchestra
The Saint Peter’s Choir
Dr. Bálint Karosi, Conductor, Harpsichord, Composer
Isabella Seula Lee, Concertmaster
Elliott James-Ginn Encarnación, Tenor | Evangelist
Michael Genesee, Tenor
Harrison Hintzsche, Baritone | Jesus
Jared Swope, Pilate, Bass
Samantha Caps, Soprano
Silvana Chu, Alto
Michael Genese, Tenor
Event Listing
Johann Sebastian Bach: St. Mark Passion, BWV 247
A Contemporary Reconstruction for Saint Peter’s by Dr. Bálint Karosi
Saint Peter’s Church | 619 Lexington Ave, New York, NY 10022
Friday, April 7, 2023 12:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
$30 general admission with varying donation levels
Saint Peter’s Bach Collegium Period Orchestra and Saint Peter’s Choir. Photo courtesy Saint Peter’s Church.
Dr. Balint Karosi, composer of the Reconstruction. Photo by UK.