Karfreitagskonzert: Matthäuspassion BWV 244

Bach & Mendelssohn

Natalie Beck soprano
Henriette Gödde alto
Maximilian Vogler tenor
Eric Ander bass (arias)
Johannes Maria Wimmer bass (Christ)

Stuttgarter Kantorei
Stiftsphilharmonie Stuttgart
Kay Johannsen, conductor

In 1824, the 15-year-old Mendelssohn received a gift: the score of Bach's St. Matthew Passion. He had already been studying Bach intensively at the time; now he dreamed of performing the "Great Passion". In 1829, the time had come: he conducted the first revival of the work since Bach's death. He made numerous adjustments to the musical text for the Berlin Singakademie, and more followed for the performance in Leipzig's Thomaskirche in 1841. The careful cuts, extended instrumentation and new indications of dynamics, articulation and tempo reflect both Mendelssohn's admiration for Bach and his view as a Romantic composer.