Concert

St John Passion

Saturday 9 March 2024, 7:30 pm

Sheldonian Theatre, Oxford

Please note: this concert has taken place.

300 years after its first performance, the Oxford Bach Choir performs the St John Passion.

The shorter of Bach’s great settings of the Passion story, this is arguably the more dramatic, engulfing listeners and performers alike from first to last. The days leading up to the crucifixion of Christ are dramatically narrated by the Evangelist, beginning with his arrest following the Last Supper and following him through his trials, death, and burial. This narrative is interspersed with vivid evocations of various moments in the action, in which the chorus features prominently, at one moment portraying a bloodthirsty mob, next anguished believers, then with moving meditations on various aspects of the story.

In Bach’s masterpiece, recitatives, arias, and chorales are woven into an extraordinary whole, evoking by turns terror, joy, longing, and hope.

The St John Passion has been in the repertoire of the Oxford Bach Choir for over a century, and this latest performance promises to be another memorable occasion.