Two hundred and eight-eight years ago on Good Friday, citizens of Leipzig crowded into the St. Nicholas Church for the performance one of Bach's Passion settings: the St. John Passion. This was his first composition setting the Passion story, and is one of two surviving Passion settings (out of four or five) by Bach. The premiere wasn't easy, as the location had to be changed at the last minute and the new church didn't have a worthy harpsichord. All worked out in the end.
The Bach Society of Minnesota presented a performance of the St. John Passion, BWV 245, on March 24th at St. Mary's Chapel at St. Paul Seminary. You can hear the St. John Passion in its entirety on Friday, April 6th, at 10 a.m. The entire performance was directed by Paul Boehnke, with soloists:
William Hite, Evangelist
Bradley Greenwald, Jesus
Scott Sandersfeld, Pilate
Carrie Henneman Shaw, soprano
Nicole Warner, alto
Roy Heilman, tenor
Aaron Larson, bass
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