This concert has been postponed by The Royal Choral Society due to the latest Government advice relating to the Covid-19 epidemic. Further details will be issued shortly and will be made available on this website as soon as practicable.
JS BACH St John Passion
Bach’s St John Passion recounts Christ’s final days from the betrayal of Judas to Christ’s encounter with Pilate, followed by his sentencing, scourging, eventual crucifixion and finally the preparation for interment. Packed with compelling recitatives and electrifying choruses, and verging on the operatic, Bach’s extraordinary music brings to life the humanity of the drama. The narrative is sung by the Evangelist (tenor) while the chorus takes on the role of the people, reflecting on the stages of the story. The entire piece is bound together by chorales – German hymns greatly enhanced by Bach’s harmonic invention – culminating in perhaps his finest chorale: ‘Then from death awake me, I will praise you for ever’.
The Royal Choral Society will perform this outstanding work in the original German, together with the Hanover Band – one of Britain’s finest period instrument orchestras, and an exceptional line up of soloists, all conducted by Richard Cooke. It’s the perfect concert for the lead up to Easter.
Nicholas Mulroy tenor (Evangelist)
Jimmy Holliday (Christus)
Rebecca Lea soprano
Alexander Chance countertenor
Joseph Doody tenor
Tristan Hambleton bass
ROYAL CHORAL SOCIETY
THE HANOVER BAND
Richard Cooke conductor
HANOVER (Not Hannover; Germany) In terms of British history the majority of the music we play is from the Hanoverian period. Hanover also refers to Hanover Square in London, where Haydn performed his symphonies and arias in the Salomon Concerts in the 1790’s.
BAND (ref: The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians)
‘An instrumental ensemble, larger than a chamber ensemble. Thus the ’24 violins’ of Louis XIV were called ‘la grande bande’ to distinguish them from Lully’s ‘petits violons’, and Charles II’s similar ensemble was known as ‘the King’s Band’. By extension, ‘band’ came to mean an orchestra in colloquial British usage’.
THE HANOVER BAND a period name for a period orchestra.