JS Bach, St Matthew Passion (1727)
Stephen Cleobury, conductor
Andrew Kennedy, Evangelist
Choir of King’s College, Cambridge
Holy week performances from the AAM and Choir of King’s College have become a central part of Cambridge’s cultural calendar. We continue our collaboration in 2014 with two very different settings of timeless Biblical tales. JS Bach’s St Matthew Passion is a monument of Western art. Combining moments of intense introspection with ravishing arias and jubilant choruses, it presents a profound meditation on the events of Good Friday – and on universal humanity, suffering and love. Two performances in 2013 sold out quickly; we strongly advise early booking. From Bach’s German church we move to London’s Haymarket Theatre, where in 1739 Handel presented his new oratorio Israel in Egypt. Initially a box office disaster, it reached the popularity of Messiah after he revised the work shortly before his death. Using Old Testament texts narrating the flight of the Israelites, Handel’s vivid musical palette is put to stunning use depicting events including the parting of the Red Sea and the joyful ending to the journey.
TICKETS £25—£60 (£5 unsighted seats on door) available from The Shop at King’s, 13 King’s Parade. Tel: 01223 769340.
