Chattanooga Bach Choir: St. John Passion

The Chattanooga Bach Choir & Orchestra, David Long artistic director and conductor, performs Johann Sebastian Bach’s St. John Passion, BWV 245 on Saturday, May 18 at 7:30 p.m., at the Basilica of Saints Peter & Paul (214 E. Eight Street) in Chattanooga. Tickets are $35 reserved seating; $25 general seating and can be purchased at the door or in advance at: https://www.chattanoogabachchoir.org/cbc/bwv-245-st-john-passion/

In featured roles for this performance of the St. John Passion are Erik Gustafson, tenor, as the Evangelist and Matthew Hoch, bass, as Jesus with E.J. Laird as Pilate and Paul Thomas as Peter. The ensemble of aria soloists includes, soprano Maria Rist, countertenor Douglas Dodson, tenor Christopher Reames, and bass Ned Vogel. Under the direction of David Long, the orchestra and chorus includes Sheri Peck, violin and concertmaster with organist Karla Fowkes, among others.

David Long, comments, “2024 marks the 300th Anniversary of the St. John Passion written during Johann Sebastian Bach’s first year as director of church music in Leipzig and first performed at Good Friday Vespers on April 7, 1724, at the St. Nicholas Church. This is an intensely dramatic work in two parts originally intended to surround a sermon. The libretto narrates the Passion of Christ as told in the Gospel of St. John (chapters 18 & 19 in the Luther Bible), featuring the Evangelist and Jesus as principal soloists alternating with solo arias reflecting on the action, as well as choral sections drawing on hymn tunes and texts familiar to a congregation of Bach’s contemporaries. The St. John Passion is written for a four-part choir with soprano, alto, tenor and bass soloists accompanied by an instrumental ensemble of strings and continuo with pairs of flutes and oboes, as well as a lute, viola d’amore, and viola da gamba for special colors. We are thrilled to be performing Bach’s stunning and impactful St. John Passion once again in Chattanooga as part of our 2023-24 programming celebrating Bach’s inaugural year of 1723-24 as Thomaskantor in the city of Leipzig.”