Georg Christoph Biller conducts Bach's St. Matthew Passion
Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Thomanerchor
Cast
Christina Landshamer — Soprano
Stefan Kahle — Alto
Wolfram Lattke — Tenor
Martin Lattke — Tenor
Klaus Mertens — Bass
Gotthold Schwarz — Bass
Thomanerchor
Program notes
Georg Christoph Biller conducts St. Matthew's Passion, one of the most iconic and monumental works in the Western sacred repertoire.
Recorded in April 2012, this concert shows an exhilarating 3-hour long rendition of Bach's St. Matthew's Passion. Performed by the Thomanerchor, which was celebrating its 800th anniversary that very year, the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig and six amazing soloists (Christina Landshamer, Stefan Kahle, Wolfram Lattke, Martin Lattke, Klaus Mertens and Gotthold Schwarz), this Passion is a milestone that should not be missed.
The Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ according to the Evangelist Matthew is one of Bach's two Passions, alongside St. John's Passion, which is more frequently performed (a rendition of St. John's Passion requires less singers and almost one hour less performance than St. Matthew's). Both oratorios tell the story of the last moments of Jesus Christ on earth, from the Last Supper to the crucifixion. St. Matthew's Passion was premiered on Good Friday in the late 1720s, in that very St Thomas Church in Leipzig – where John Sebastian Bach was Thomaskantor from 1723 until his death in 1750.
Georg Christoph Biller has been conducting the Thomanerchor since 1992; he is the sixteenth Thomaskantor, after Johann Sebastian Bach.
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