There are so many more Passions than just Bach’s St Matthew Passion. We like to champion alternative Passion music. So in collaboration with the NTR Saturday Matinee, the Netherlands Bach Society focuses on a different Passion each year.
“Der Tod Jesu enjoyed greater popularity than Bach’s Passions for many years“
Carl Heinrich Graun was an opera man, composing almost thirty operas in all, which were strongly influenced by the Italian style. In 1740, Graun became Kapellmeister to Frederick the Great, a music-loving monarch who also appointed Bach’s son Carl Philipp Emanuel as harpsichordist.
Der Tod Jesu, Graun’s Passion oratorio, was given a permanent place on the programme of the court chapel. From its premiere in 1755, the work was performed on Good Friday every year until 1884. Due in part to its lyrical character and the frequent use of chorales and other, non-biblical texts, Der Tod Jesu enjoyed greater popularity than Bach’s Passions for many years. Shunske Sato will conduct our ensemble in the ‘forgotten Passion’ of this season.
Carl Heinrich Graun
Der Tod Jesu
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