"The Gaechinger Cantorey is ... an experience. There was a special highlight in the Great Hall," wrote Marcus Stäbler in the Hamburger Abendblatt about the Elbphilharmonie debut a year ago: "The performers are magical, and the Great Hall is magical too... Hans-Christoph Rademann models the mood changes of the [Nelson] Mass vividly and grippingly. With the 36 singers of his wide-awake choir, with whom he fans out a broad palette of dynamic shades and always finds captivating colors. With the equally strong orchestra of the Gaechinger Cantorey, which plays transparently and vividly on period instruments."
Now the artists are returning with Johann Sebastian Bach's St. John Passion. First performed 299 years ago, it is still one of the most moving and effective works in music history. The Gospel account of the suffering and death of Christ is presented here in an extremely touching way. The work is thus able to provide comfort and confidence in order to engage us in a world that is still highly imperfect today, in which violence and injustice continue to prevail.
