NSO: Music for Good Friday: James MacMillan’s St John Passion

National Symphony Orchestra
David Hill conductor
Christopher Purves baritone 
National Symphony Chorus
David Young choral director
Chamber Choir Ireland 
Paul Hillier choral director

James MacMillan St. John Passion [Irish Premiere]

The Irish premiere of a Good Friday Passion for our times: James MacMillan’s St. John Passion, hailed by Rowan Williams as ‘a landmark for contemporary music’.

Echoes of Latin motets, Gregorian chant and Bach chorales can be heard alongside Scottish folk accents in a striking, modern re-telling with Christ portrayed by ‘extraordinary’ (Sinfini) baritone Christopher Purves, and the Evangelist by Chamber Choir Ireland, with the National Symphony Chorus giving voice to other roles in this dramatic story. 

Did you know?

The St. John Passion is based on Chapters 18 and 19 from the Gospel of John.

Notable settings include those by Bach, Byrd, Schütz, Handel, Arvo Pärt and Sofia Gubaidulina.

MacMillan’s St. John Passion was premiered by the London Symphony Orchestra in 2008.

Listen out for…

The use of limited percussion and absence of customary harps or keyboards in the orchestra – choices that provide sparser, leaner textures. 

The integration of liturgical chant and unusual addition of a chamber organ that add distinctive colours of their own.

The equally rare voicing of the Evangelist by a choir and the purely instrumental final movement – a veritable song without words.

Presented by NCH in association with Chamber Choir Ireland