The annual performance of the St. Matthew Passion is a deeply cherished tradition in the Netherlands. Another passion by J.S. Bach, the compact but equally wonderful Osteroratorium, thus often remains in its shadow. PRJCT Amsterdam plans to start a new tradition from Easter 2024, which will continue where the St. Matthew Passion ends.
Engeltjes: "Ever since I have been singing the St. Matthew, I have wondered why trumpets and timpani do not sound in the concert halls on Easter itself. In Bach's time there were. 40 days of silence were broken on Good Friday, ending on the beautiful Ruht Wohl or Wir Setzen Uns, then on Easter Sunday, as an unthinkable contrast, the liberating opening infonia of the Oster Oratorium blared through the room."
The oratorio itself lasts 45 minutes and is therefore supplemented by the cantata Christ lag in Todesbanden (BWV 4). Magisterial music, as is the Oster-Oratorium.
The performance is in the hands of the Flemish Radio Choir, Ilse Eerens, soprano, Fabio Trümpy, tenor, Maarten Engeltjes, countertenor & conducting, and PRJCT Amsterdam.
Concerts take place in Amsterdam, Brussels and Cologne.
Bach's Osteroratorium
- March 20, 2024
