Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin / Benjamin Bayl

Sensitive Music from the Passion by Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach

When Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach’s tercentenary was celebrated in 2014, the city of Leipzig awarded the Akademie für Alte Musik the »Bach Medal« – the period chamber orchestra was praised for the »individual mastery of the ensemble members as well as their special ability to play together«. A prestigious award, and yet only one of many. The orchestra’s guest conductors have had a major influence on its success – these include René Jacobs, Marcus Creed and Benjamin Bayl, who has worked closely with early music pioneers such as Sir John Eliot Gardiner and Paul McCreesh. Under the direction of the Australian conductor Bayl, the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin now returns to Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, performing the composer’s stirring Passion cantata »Die letzten Leiden des Erlösers«, which was premiered in Hamburg in 1774. The Akademie is joined not only by first-class solo singers but also by the choir of the Collegium Vocale Gent, which was founded by Philippe Herreweghe.