A musical journey into the Baroque period
In 1731, on Good Friday to be precise, a performance of the "Text for the Passion Music after the Evangelist Marco" took place in Leipzig. Whether this music was written by Johann Sebastian Bach himself or was more of a spiritual pasticcio remains a mystery to this day. But two things are clear: the text was written by Christian Friedrich Henrici, better known as Picander, and the music was lost for a long time.
Until the Basel-based composer and artist Nikolaus Matthes came up with a unique idea: instead of following previous attempts at reconstruction, he decided to recompose the lost music. In the Baroque style and with cleverly placed quotations, Matthes used the venerable Picander text to create an inspiring oratorio.
In 2023, exactly three hundred years after Bach took office in Leipzig, the work was brought to life by around 60 participants. The premiere took place in Zurich, followed by performances in Lucerne and Basel. The ensemble consisted of renowned soloists such as the Austrian tenor Daniel Johannsen and his colleague Georg Poplutz. The soprano Maya Boog and the alto Annekathrin Laabs were also able to be won over for the arias.
Matthes ensured that the ensemble was familiar with both historical and modern performance practice. The music was written especially for the premiere musicians, who spent two weeks preparing intensively for the performances.
The St. Mark Passion consists of two parts: "Before the Sermon" and "After the Sermon", each with eight chorales. The first part is more meditative and focuses on the words of Christ, while the second part is more dramatic and puts the voices of the people in the foreground.
This new, yet old work has now been released in a very high-quality 'Deluxe Edition' with a bound 176-page accompanying book and 3 CDs in a slipcase.
Immerse yourself in this new creation and let yourself be inspired by the music of the St. Mark Passion.
