The English Chamber Orchestra joins forces with Leeds Festival Chorus on Saturday 24 March to begin the Easter celebrations in the city of Leeds as they unite to perform Bach’s monumental St John Passion under conductor Simon Wright.
The St John Passion was first premiered on Good Friday in 1724 and is the older of the two surviving passions Bach composed. It was Bach’s first attempt at composing a large-scale vocal work with sacred references and the text is compiled from recitative and chorus narrating the Passion of Christ as told in Chapters 18 and 19 in the Gospel of John. It is more extravagant than the St Matthew Passion as the aria, arioso and chorale parts are surrounded by big powerful unison passages. The grand work takes the shape of a full scale orchestra, large chorus plus six soloists.
Simon Wright began his music studies at Chetham’s School of Music and was awarded a scholarship to the Royal Manchester College of Music to study organ, double bass, piano, accompaniment and conducting
He has conducted many orchestras such as the BBC Philharmonic, Manchester Camerata, Northern Sinfonia and many more. He holds two other important positions, as Conductor and Artistic Adviser of the Leeds Festival Chorus and as Musical Director and Principal Conductor of the City of York Guildhall Orchestra.
The English Chamber Orchestra is the world’s most recorded chamber orchestra. It makes a welcome return to Leeds Town Hall to perform in the Leeds International Orchestral Season.
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