CANCELLED: St John Passion

There is no lament in the opening chorus here, unlike in its sister work, the St Matthew Passion. Instead, Bach begins on a note of deep reverence: »O Lord, ruler over mankind.« In the St John Passion, like the evangelist John himself, Bach paints a stricter, less humanised picture of Jesus and his tale of suffering. With determination and free of fear, the Son of God looks his destiny as sovereign in the eye and accepts the pain he must bear. Instead of arias that observe events, the St John Passion focuses more strongly on the drama, with short, almost operatic scenes and harsh contrasts, and with impassioned turba choruses such as the hate-filled »Kreuzige, kreuzige«. An exciting challenge for the NDR Chor and the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra, who bring the Passion story to life under the baton of French Baroque specialist Emmanuelle Haïm.