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Bach’s St Matthew PassionMendelssohn Version

17 April 2025

In the Concert Hall

Sydney Philharmonia Choirs

Classical Music

Experience all the drama and colour of Bach’s masterwork in a rare performance of Mendelssohn’s 1841 version performed on Romantic period instruments.

Bach's St Matthew Passion

A world without the music of Johann Sebastian Bach seems unimaginable. But it wasn’t always so. After his death, Bach was largely forgotten, of purely academic interest, until an enthusiastic young composer, Felix Mendelssohn, decided to revive his reputation. And he did it with a monumental performance of the St Matthew Passion, a century after its premiere in 18th-century Leipzig. 

In this Sydney Philharmonia Choirs first, the Choirs recreates Mendelssohn’s version of this masterwork, transformed for 19th-century audiences and Romantic ears. This version is shorter in length with a tighter narrative, but expanded in volume and colour. It includes instruments Bach might only have imagined, with clarinets and basset horns added to the orchestra, a substantial organ part, and richer textures. 

Sydney Philharmonia Choirs’ Chamber Singers and VOX, and conductor Elizabeth Scott, will join forces with the Australian Romantic & Classical Orchestra, admired for their exciting and illuminating performances of 19th-century music on period instruments. And following 2024’s much-acclaimed performance of Mendelssohn’s Elijah, we welcome back Andrew Goodwin (Evangelist) and Teddy Tahu Rhodes (Christus) in a starry line-up of soloists.

This is a rare opportunity to experience, two centuries on, how another generation of music lovers came to discover the genius of Bach. 

Presented by Sydney Philharmonia Choirs
Orchestra Partner: Australian Romantic & Classical Orchestra

Program

Johann Sebastian BACH St Matthew Passion
(Mendelssohn’s 1841 version)

Artists

Elizabeth Scott conductor
Penelope Mills soprano
Emily Edmonds mezzo-soprano
Andrew Goodwin tenor (Evangelist)
Teddy Tahu Rhodes baritone (Christus)
Andrew O’Connor bass

Chamber Singers 
VOX
Australian Romantic & Classical Orchestra
Rachael Beesley concertmaster

 

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