Bach’s St. John Passion is one of the most beloved and important works in the choral-orchestral repertoire. It was likely first performed on Good Friday in 1724, which was the first Holy Week of J.S. Bach’s tenure as Kapellmeister at the Thomaskirche in Leipzig, a position which would span 27 years of the composer’s life and prompt an astonishing output of liturgical service music.

This Easter season, choral music lovers in the Fraser Valley and Lower Mainland will have a chance to experience this musical genius. The Valley Festival Singers, together with Trinity Western University’s Masterworks Chorus and Chamber Singers, under the direction of Dr. Joel Tranquilla will present Bach’s St. John Passion at two concerts in Abbotsford and Surrey. The performances will feature tenor Johnny Michael as the Evangelist, soprano Alison Nystrom, organist Ed Norman, and an orchestra of professional musicians.

Weaving together biblical, poetic, and liturgical texts into a single narrative, this dramatic oratorio is recounted through solo recitative and aria, alongside passionate ensemble crowd scenes (calledturbachoruses) and reflective commentaries (presented in the form of chorales and solo arias). Bach’s masterful use of counterpoint and fugal techniques beautifully serve the emotional atmosphere of this poignant reflection on the passion and crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Moving far beyond mere description Bach reverently represents the central Christian mystery of salvation, which is summarized beautifully in the words of a chorale at the center of this work: “Through your imprisonment, Son of God, must our freedom come. Your prison is the throne of grace, the refuge of all believers. If you had not accepted slavery, our slavery would have been eternal.”