Toonkunstkoor Emmen had to wait three years with its ‘Johannes Passion’. It’s been worth it | review ★★★★☆

It had been more than twenty years since Toonkunstkoor Emmen had last ventured into Bach’s other passion, in 2001 to be precise. For many choristers, Good Friday was their first John after many Matthäus- and, but there was not much to notice.

In the crowded Grote Kerk in Emmen, the excellent singing choir carried the performance with verve. The opening chorus Herr, unser Herrscher was perhaps still a bit messy, but that was also due to the orchestra. However, the sharpness and fierceness in the text expression were there from the start.

Balance fine

The John has more and especially more intense passages in which the choir sings the role of a group of people than Bachs Matthew Passion . This makes the role of the choir even more important. And even though the voice distribution in the 50-strong choir was not optimal, with only 8 tenors, Toonkunstkoor Emmen still had a good balance.

That turned out very nicely, for example, in the difficult vocal fugue Wir haben ein Gesetz in which the people – from low (bass) ascending (through tenors and altos) to high (sopranos) point out to Pilate that there is a law that states that the one who calls himself son of God must die.

The performance in Emmen was blessed with an evangelist who preached the gospel with such enthusiasm that you immediately believed him. Christ was also completely credible in appearance and presentation, while the soprano and the alto (who was actually a mezzo-soprano) signed for beautiful arias.

Quiet contemplation

One of the most poignant moments of the evening was the aria My lord Savior , in which the bass (who was a baritone) and the choir contemplate the meaning of the crucifixion after Christ’s passing. Chorus and bass melted together nicely in quiet contemplation, as if the mind had grown skillful over them.

That peace was a bit lacking in it Ruht wohl at the end, which was sung at a good tempo, everything straight after each other. The conductor could have taken a little longer breathing pauses. But here too, as in the chorales, the choir was on a roll, with well-articulated, intelligible vocals.

Overall, the contemplative character of the John Passion may be elaborated further. The somewhat variable performance of the accompanying orchestra did not help. Dutiful game ( Warning ) was interspersed with more inspired passages ( Eilt, ihr angefochtnen Seelen ).

All in all, it was nevertheless a beautiful evening in the Grote Kerk, after which we returned home, strengthened by the sung Word, on our way to Easter.