Singer

The St John Passion is the earlier of Bach’s two surviving settings – although not necessarily his first work in the genre. A more intimate work than the St Matthew Passion, it distils Jesus suffering and sacrifice into a more direct narrative. In part this comes from the distinctive nature of the Gospel of John, with its deep-seated spiritual purity. The church authorities in Leipzig insisted that the Passion story and Jesus’ words could only be told according to the biblical text, but Bach pulls off a clever gambit by interpolating the gospel into a compilation of popular contemporary librettos, such as that by Barthold Heinrich Brockes that Handel and Telemann had set in the previous decade.

St John Passion

Southbank Centre

Paul McCreesh and the Gabrieli Consort make their London Handel Festival debut in a major two-part performance featuring two of Handel’s most celebrated masterpieces.

From Heavenly Harmony: Acis & an Ode!

Smith Square Hall

CoCo's Christmas Concerts 2025: Bach cantatas for Christmas time with European star soloists

Concerto Copenhagen invites you to a Christmas concert with some of the most festive and magnificent Baroque has to offer. Together with four outstanding soloists from Europe's top ranks, the orchestra performs three of Johann Sebastian Bach's wonderful cantatas written for the Christmas season.

CoCo's Christmas Concerts 2025

Trinity Church, Copenhagen

Saint Olai Church

Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment

Acis & Galatea

Sinfonia Smith Square

Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ, BWV 91

Concerto Copenhagen

BWV 122: Das neugeborne Kindelein

BWV 65: Sie werden aus Saba alle kommen

Tenor

Jonathan Hanley

Events

Past events

Mar 29, 2026

St John Passion · Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment

Mar 14, 2026

From Heavenly Harmony: Acis & an Ode! · Sinfonia Smith Square

Future and recently performed repertoire

Singer in St John Passion by Bach

Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment

Cloridon in Acis & Galatea by Handel

Sinfonia Smith Square

Singer in Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ, BWV 91 by Bach

Concerto Copenhagen

Singer in BWV 122: Das neugeborne Kindelein by Bach

Concerto Copenhagen

Singer in BWV 65: Sie werden aus Saba alle kommen by Bach

Concerto Copenhagen

About

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