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It is hard to imagine that even a composer as great as J.S. Bach endured decades of obscurity after his death in 1750. It was none other than Felix Mendelssohn who revived Bach’s legacy. In 1829, he conducted the first public performance of the St. Matthew Passion, almost a century after its 1727 Good Friday premiere at Leipzig’s St. Thomas Church. Bach, and his work, became “overnight” sensations and the rest, as they say, was history.
Jean-Sebastien Vallée
Photo: Tam Photography
Not only does the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir have a special connection to the work’s late-found fame through its namesake composer, it was also the first Canadian ensemble to record the St. Matthew Passion in 1951. TMC has not performed it for more than a decade, but now, Music Director Jean-Sébastien Vallée is reviving it just in time for the Easter season.
St. Matthew Passion is considered one of the greatest sacred works ever written. It blends biblical narrative with reflective arias and chorales to create a dramatic and deeply spiritual listening experience that extends from intimate sorrow to overwhelming grandeur.
“The word passion itself means suffering, which inevitably calls us to compassion—to suffer with. This masterpiece is, therefore, both a call to community and to empathy,” says Vallée. “Beyond its religious origins, the Passion story embodies profound human drama and suffering that continues to speak to our world today.”
Isaiah Bell
Tenor soloist Isaiah Bell echoes this sentiment. “This spiritual work speaks across religious boundaries in a way that not all Christian music achieves. Because it’s encoded in the body—the passions—it has the power to transcend belief systems and speak to eternal human essences.”
Bell is especially excited to return to Toronto’s acoustically-generous Koerner Hall after a 12-year absence. “I’ve always had such rich experiences singing alongside the TMC,” says Bell. “This piece requires a full, hearty sound from the choir, and I can’t wait to hear them do it.” Bach famously composed the piece for double choir, the intricacies of which TMC is uniquely equipped to deliver with its more than 160 voices.
Allyson McHardy
Mezzo-soprano soloist Allyson McHardy considers St. Matthew Passion her favourite work by Bach. “Mostly because the mezzo has a lot to sing and each piece is a gem, especially the aria ‘Erbarme dich.’ It just doesn’t get any better than that.” She adds: “I feel this work is particularly dramatic. It feels unpredictable, even surprising at times.”
For McHardy, this performance will be all the more special because it will be her first time working alongside McGill colleague Vallée since she joined the university’s Schulich School of Music as a voice instructor this past fall.
Toronto Mendelssohn Choir presents Bach’s St. Matthew Passion March 24 & 25 at Toronto’s Koerner Hall. Find the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir at www.tmchoir.org.
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