In Concertzender Live on Good Friday, 25 March 19:00 – 21:00 CET, we are broadcasting a reconstruction by Jörn Boysen of Bach’s St Marks Passion. The performance by Cantus Thuringia and Musica Poëtica took place in the Lutheran Church in The Hague in early March 2016.
Five passions
According to his son Carl Philipp Emanuel, Johann Sebastian Bach composed five passions. Unfortunately three of these have been lost and only the St Matthew Passion and the St John Passion are still known by the general public.
There was however also a St Mark Passion. The libretto for this passion was included in Picanders “Ernstschertzhaffte und Satÿrische Gedichte”. Some of the music could also be reconstructed, but the music for the recitatives, several of the chorales and one of the aria’s was lost completely.
In 2010 the organisation Musica Antica da Camera commissioned Jörn Boysen to compose new music for these missing parts. The complete passion has since been performed all over the world.
The German press wrote: “Finally a more convincing alternative to the earlier reconstructions. It even compares favourably with Bach’s St Matthew Passion and St John Passion.”.
Musica Antica perfomed the St Mark Passion by Bach/Boysen on 3, 4 and 5 March in Den Haag, Voorschoten en Amsterdam.
The Concertzender was in de Lutheran Church in Den Haag and made the recording that is broadcast in this extra edition of Concertzender Live.
Performers:
- Evangelist: Benjamin Glaubitz, tenor
- Jesus: Julian Redlin, bass
- Anna Kellnhofer, soprano
- Stefan Kunath, alto
- Guillaume Olry, bass
- Cantus Thuringia and Musica Poëtica led by Jörn Boysen, harpsichord
Broadcasts:
- St Mark Passion part 1: Friday 25 March 2016, 19.00 – 20.00 CET
- St Mark Passion part 2: Friday 25 March 2016, 20.00 – 21.00 CET