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Reflections on Chicago Bach Project 2012
Chicago Bach Project 2012 St. John Passion
Long after the last note faded, the last claps diminished, and the pews emptied, resonances of the glorious music made on April 4, 2012, continue. Soli Deo Gloria's second annual Chicago Bach Project presentation, Bach's dramatic St. John Passion, left an imprint on all who heard it. We've posted photos and audience comments so you can share in some of the impact of the evening:
Chicago Bach Project banner
in front of St. Vincent de Paul Church
"I just came from the performance of the St. John Passion, and it was so moving and beautifully done. I'd like to specifically recognize Mr. Phan, who sang the role of the Evangelist so passionately, and the excellent chorus. What a wonderful way to mark Holy Week!"
Chicago Bach Choir and Orchestra
"Tonight's performance was the pinnacle of Holy Week for me. Tremendous in every respect. Thank you all!!"
Front altar at St. Vincent de Paul Church
"The concert was wonderful. It was not just a musical experience but a spiritual experience to relive the familiar text with the personal responses of the arias and chorales undergirded of deeply moving music. I would have preferred being there but WFMT's streaming audio and SDG's program notes and text made listening at home a delight."
John Nelson conducting
the St. John Passion
"I was in attendance at St.Vincent de Paul church for the performance of Bach's St. John's Passion ... It was magnificent. When it was finished, I was wishing that you could start all over again. I have never experienced a piece of music like I did that one."
Rose window and organ pipes
at St. Vincent de Paul Church
"The St John Passion was a true treat - just the thing for Easter week ... There was a large crowd and Chicago should be thankful to John Nelson for bringing this gift for the most important of all Christian festivals."
St. John Passion performance
at St. Vincent de Paul Church
"Last night's concert, Bach's St John Passion, was a truly exceptional event: the choral music was as close to sublime as it gets, this side of heaven, and the voice of the Evangelist rung out so clear, strong, and sonorous, with great depth of feeling, and majesty. It was deeply moving to follow it all ... Truly sublime, and thanks to the vision and hard work of all at Solo Dei Gloria, and the masterful musicians who work with them, on this occasion under the masterful leadership of conductor, John Nelson."
[PHOTOS COURTESY OF EDWARD INGOLD]
BACH'S MASS IN B MINOR, MARCH 27, 2013
The St. John Passion is the second installment in our series of performances of Johann Sebastian's "sacred trilogy" presented by the Chicago Bach Project during Holy Week in Chicago. The cycle began with the St. Matthew Passion in 2011 and will continue in 2013 with the Mass in B minor. Mark your calendar now for Wednesday, March 27, 2013. To receive updates on the Chicago Bach Project and Soli Deo Gloria's quarterly newsletter, sign up for our enews.
St. John Passion in Chicago
St. John Passion, BWV 245
Johann Sebastian Bach
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
8:00 p.m.
John NELSON, conductor
Nicholas PHAN, Evangelist
Stephen MORSCHECK, Jesus
Kendra COLTON, soprano
Meredith ARWADY, contralto
Marc MOLOMOT, tenor
Matthew BROOK, bass
CHICAGO BACH Choir and Orchestra
Donald NALLY, chorus master
Saint Vincent de Paul Church
1010 W. Webster Avenue, Chicago
John Nelson speaks about the St. John Passion
Maestro John Nelson
(Photo: David Zaugh)
In a series of interviews for 98.7 WFMT, Chicago's classical music radio station, conductor John Nelson guides listeners into the core of the music and text of the St. John Passion. (Interview courtesy of 98.7 WFMT)
read moreSt. John Passion reviews
Clef Notes: Chicagoland Journal for the Arts
"The Chicago Bach Project chorus was a poignant foundation throughout the evening. Nelson aptly pulled out warmth and pathos from the ensemble and balanced it with brisk tempi and crisp articulation, reveling in Bach’s warmest and most somber harmonies. Together they created a wonderfully moving conscience for Bach’s audience.
"In this second installment of the Chicago Bach Project’s annual celebration, with these powerful elements at his disposal, Nelson did not stop at the mere creation of great music. He recognized that Bach’s goal was a larger, and far more important one. At its core, Bach’s Passion was meant to communicate the depth and weight of powerful sacred texts. And Wednesday evening, maestro Nelson honored a grateful St. Vincent’s audience with a performance that brilliantly served that vital purpose."
—Fred Cummings
Chicago Tribune:
"[T]he performance was worthy of a timeless masterpiece that remains at once a monumental expression of Protestant religious belief and a deeply moving human drama ... the 26-voice 'Chicago Bach Choir,' as it was called – prepared by former Lyric Opera chorus director Donald Nally – sang with discipline and expressivity.
"Nelson's long experience as an interpreter of Bach's sacred choral music was evident in the firm yet flexible control he exerted throughout. The drama of Christ's Passion and death moved swiftly when it needed to but always there was enough breathing room for the music to take on a comforting glow, particularly in the Lutheran chorales in which the congregation reflects on each turn of events."
—John von Rhein
The Chicago Bach Project Story
The Chicago Bach Project was born out of a
ten-year success and a dream.
For over a decade at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, Soli Deo Gloria’s Artistic Director, John Nelson, conducted an annual concert highlighting three sacred masterworks of J. S. Bach—the St. Matthew Passion, St. John Passion, and Mass in B Minor—in a rotating cycle each year during Holy Week. This yearly event became a cultural and spiritual highpoint in the life of Paris and won the support of the city’s mayor, the country’s Minister of Culture, and Cardinal Jean-Marie Lustiger. Some of the performances were filmed, broadcast on European television or released worldwide on DVD to critical acclaim.*
“I’ve seen singers who are speechless after the emotion of singing this music, and audiences who came year after year to experience something sublime not easily found elsewhere.”
—John Nelson
It was a long-held dream of Maestro Nelson and Soli Deo Gloria to bring the same Bach cycle to Chicago audiences in a very special way—during Holy Week, in a sacred space. In 2011, when Soli Deo Gloria launched the Chicago Bach Project at St. Vincent de Paul Church with a presentation of the St. Matthew Passion, the response was overwhelming, from media to musicians to audience members.
Enthusiastic praise from the press ranged from “One of the Top 10 Performances of 2011” (Chicago Classical Review) to “A formidable artistic success and a moving experience for Holy Week” (Concerto Net). Grateful audience members called it “A musical and spiritual experience I will never forget,” and “a spectacular concert” that “stirred our souls and lifted our hearts.” One member of the orchestra wrote, “THIS is how Bach wanted his music to be heard and experienced.”
On April 4, 2012, the Chicago Bach Project returned to offer a performance of Bach’s dramatic St. John Passion and will continue in 2013 with Bach’s beautiful Mass in B Minor, Wednesday, March 27, 2013.
“The Chicago Bach Project
promises to be a highlight
of the city’s musical landscape
for years to come.”
—Myron Silberstein,
“The Sacred & the Sublime,”
Clef Notes: Chicagoland Journal for the Arts
More Bach
For a taste of John Nelson conducting Bach, enjoy this clip from our critically acclaimed DVD of Bach's Mass in B Minorr at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. For more information, please visit our shop.
