Yale Schola Cantorum and Juilliard415 | Bach’s St. John Passion

Masaaki Suzuki, conductor
with members of Yale Baroque Ensemble

Johann Sebastian Bach’s St. John Passion, composed in 1724, is often seen as the “little sister” of the grandiose St. Matthew Passion. However, the earlier work is a masterwork in its own right. Bach sets passion text from the gospel of John in highly dramatic fashion in a dense dialogue of recitatives, arias, and large scale choral movements. The suffering and death of Jesus Christ is depicted as an act of divine splendor and revelation; and in one aria it even gives a short glimpse of the glory of Easter morning.