Saint Peter's presents the Saint John Passion, BWV 245 - Good Friday, March 29, 2024

Last year’s Passion According to St. Mark, BWV 247

More than 40 years ago, Saint Peter’s recovered the tradition of presenting a musical Passion setting for Good Friday. This year, we continue this storied tradition, and commemorate the 300th anniversary, with our presentation of J.S. Bach's Passion According to Saint John, BWV 245. This work was performed for the first time, in Leipzig, on Good Friday 1724.

Saint John Passion, BWV 245, is among the greatest settings of the Passion in the history of music, which underwent several fundamental changes during Bach’s lifetime. It does not have a "final" version approved by the composer, as is the case with the Saint Matthew Passion.

Presented by Saint Peter's Bach Collegium Orchestra and Soloists and the Saint Peter's Choir, this special musical event is in person only, with recordings available online at a later date. For more information on the musical history of Saint Peter’s, including our newly-refurbished organ, see our For the Future campaign.

• More on the Saint John Passion

  The Passion narrative from the Lutheran Bible and the chorale verses are interspersed with aria texts of varied origins. An unknown editor compiled these in 1724 from several sources of poetry. A few of the aria texts, such as “Ich folge dir gleichfalls mit freudigen Schritten” were probably written by this editor who was particularly inspired by the basic ideas of the fourth Gospel. All-in-all, the varied pasticcio character of the libretto distinguishes the St. John Passion from its companion work the St. Matthew Passion with its text by a single author Picander whom Bach named on the title page of his fair copy.

  Saint Peter's performance will be to the "traditional" 1739/1749 with the additional bass aria “Himmel reiße, Welt erbebe," that was also borrowed for Karosi's reconstruction of the St. Mark's Passion, the previous year's performance. The performance will be on period instruments in German, with opportunity for participation with the Chorales, in English, by the congregation.

THE PASSION ACCORDING TO SAINT JOHN, BWV 245
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH, 1685-1750

Good Friday, March 25
12:00 p.m. Noon

Presented within a liturgy, this Passion is in-person only and made possible by donations.

Reserve Tickets

Cantor Dr. Bálint Karosi | Conductor

SOLOISTS OF THE SAINT PETER’S BACH COLLEGIUM
Gene Stenger | Evangelist & Tenor arias
Harrison Hintsche | Jesus & Bass arias
Kevin Mann | Pilate & Peter
Addy Sterrett | Soprano
Silvana Chu | Alto
Bill Heigen | Servant
Emily Hagens | Servant

Soprano
Emily Hagens
Betty Jackson
Addy Sterrett
Marguerite Sutherland
Emily Teplán
Lili Teplán
Carol Trower

Alto
Tracy Christensen
Silvana Chu
Katherine Keyes
Lana Krakovskiy
Rosalind Rees Smith
Cynthia Socci

Tenor
Bill Heigen
Bruce Johnson
Kristian Kraai
Kevin Ritter
Eric Stenshoel

Bass
William Bodenlos
Watson Bosler
Matthew Littig
Jim Madden
Kevin Mann
John Mostenan

SAINT PETER’S BACH COLLEGIUM ORCHESTRA

Sarah Stone | Cello
Elliot Figg | Harpsichord
Caitlyn Koester | Organ

David Ross, Bethanne Walker | Transverse Flute
David Dickey, Pablo O’Connell | Oboe da caccia, Oboe d’Amore
Allen Hamrick | Bassoon
Isabelle Suela Lee, Francis Liu | Violins
Stephen Goist | Viola
Motomi Igarashi | Viola da Gamba
John Stajduhar | Bass

TRANSLATION

© Pamela Dellal, alt. Libretto
Henry S. Drinker Chorales
Catherine Winkworth Chorale No. 40

• Bálint Karosi | Director of Music at Saint Peter's, Cantor

  Bálint Karosi serves as Cantor at Saint Peter’s.

  Commended as “a most impressive musical interpreter,” (Dr. Christoph Wolff, the Boston Musical Intelligencer) and for his virtuosity “[He] inspired awe with the work’s marvelous scalar passages and fiery finish…” (The Diapason), Bálint Karosi earned a reputation for his expressive command of a wide range of repertoire that is guided by historical performance practice and a remarkably multi-faceted musicianship enriched by his experiences as a composer, conductor, church musician, and clarinetist.

  Since winning the International Bach Competition in Leipzig in 2008, Dr. Karosi has been recognized as one of the leading interpreters of the music of J. S. Bach worldwide. He is one of few organists in North America to improvise regularly in recitals in authentic Baroque Style, which is informed by his research in Baroque improvisation techniques of the 17th and 18th centuries. He has five recorded albums that have been received with critical acclaim " [Balint Karosi] plays with self-understood naturalness, without trying to emphasize a sacred pathos." (Gramafon, Hungary, 2015).

  Dr. Karosi has had an active career as a solo organ recitalist. In the summer of 2020, his upcoming engagements include concerts in Denmark, Sweden, Germany, Romania and Hungary. He has given solo organ concerts in concert halls in Budapest, Leipzig, Osaka, Yokohama in Geneva, and on some of the most significant historic organs in Lübeck, Leipzig, Norden, Leer, Paris, Freiberg, Merseburg, Naumburg, among others.

  His six volumes of organ music, published by Wayne Leupold Editions, include his Organ Book No. 1 (2017), conceived for historic organs, and works in a more symphonic idiom, often drawing inspiration from Hungarian music as in his Symphony on a Chorale by Béla Bartók (2012). His Toccata in memory of Béla Bartók (2007) is the compulsory piece for the finals of the 2020 National Young Artist Competition in Organ Playing at the AGO National Convention in Atlanta.

  As an active composer, he has received commissions from the Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra, the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, the Hungarian State Opera House, and Spectrum Symphony of New York. His one act opera, “Lonely Hearts,” won the “Most Dramatic Opera” award and audience vote at the 2020 Contemporary Opera Showcase at the Hungarian State Opera. Existentia, his critically acclaimed album featuring original compositions for orchestra was released in 2019 on the Hungaroton label. Of his Triple Concerto for Guitar, Cimbalom and Harp, Records International wrote in 2019: “the soloists, joined by others within the ensemble, emerge to play beautiful, exotically tinged melodies, like tellers of ancient tales.”

  Dr. Karosi is the recipient a number of first prizes in organ competitions, including the J. S. Bach competition in Leipzig, the International Organ Competition in Miami, and the Dublin International Organ competition that he won at age 22. He holds degrees from Yale University, the Oberlin Conservatory, the Liszt Academy and the Conservatoire de Genève.

  He is represented in North America and Canada by Phillip Truckenbrod Concert Artists, Inc.

YOUR SUPPORT MATTERS

This Passion is made possible by your donations. A special thank you to leadership donors. Sponsorship allows Saint Peter’s to continue a decades-long tradition of presenting masterworks of music in a liturgical setting on Good Friday.

Patron Circle
Gifts of $1,000 or more

Phillip Lindow
Elaine and John Pascu
Carolyn and Edward Wagner

Benefactor Circle
Gifts of $500 to $999

The Rev. Dr. William Purdy & Giovanni Carter, MD

Friend Circle
Gifts of $250 to $499

Monro Denton
Kevin & Shirley Kunkle
Michael Mckee & Eric Stenshoel
Samuel & Frances Reed
Rudy Tauscher

Donor Circle
Gifts of $100 to $249

Carla Bauer
Asa IV & Margie Clark
Ashley Clark & Suzanne Loranc
Dr. Stan Rustin & Maria Del Toro
Kerala Snyder
Frank Uellendahl
Mary-Jo W. Warren

If you would like to join others in supporting this effort, please make protected gift here.

For inquiries regarding cash or check donation, including questions on future support, please contact Sarah Balsam-Moga.