Easter Passions
March 31 and April 1
Enjoy the most magnificent oratorios on Stingray Classica during Easter! On Easter Sunday, March 31 at 10:00, Swiss conductor Michel Corboz leads the Portuguese Gulbenkian Orchestra and Choir in a performance of J. S. Bach’s much-loved St. Matthew Passion. At 14:00, Stingray Classica broadcasts Georg Philipp Telemann's oratorio, the Brockes Passion. Telemann is among the many notable composers who set this text by German poet Barthold Heinrich Brockes to music. Later on Easter Sunday, at 21:00, Stingray Classica presents an impressive performance of Bach’s St. John Passion. Easter Monday, April 1, begins at 10:00 with the Stingray Classica premiere of George Frideric Handel’s famous oratorio Messiah, performed by the Orchestre de Chambre de Paris and choir Accentus under the baton of Douglas Boyd. At 14:00, Stingray Classica broadcasts a second Brockes Passion, this time set to music by Handel. Stingray Classica's Easter programming ends at 21:00 with a sparkling rendition of Gustav Mahler’s ‘Resurrection’ Symphony No. 2 under the baton of maestro Bernard Haitink.
Bach - St. Matthew Passion, BWV 244
Easter Sunday | 10:00
J. S. Bach's famous Saint Matthew Passion premiered on Good Friday of 1727 in the St. Thomas Church of Leipzig in Eastern Germany. Since then, it has become essential to the repertoire of Easter compositions. In this 2014 concert from the Grande Auditório Gulbenkian in Lisbon, the Portuguese Gulbenkian Orchestra interprets the work under the baton of Swiss conductor Michel Corboz, accompanied by the wonderful vocalists of the Gulbenkian Choir, and the children's choir Coro Infantil da Universidade de Lisboa. The soloists are Sandrine Piau (soprano), Carlos Mena (counter-tenor), Vincent Lièvre-Picard (evangelist), Christophe Genz (tenor), André Baleiro (Christ) and Peter Harvey (bass).
Telemann - Brockes Passion, TWV 5:1
Easter Sunday | 14:00
David Rabinovich conducts the Apollo Ensemble in a performance of G. Ph. Telemann's Brockes Passion, TWV5:1. Soloists are Renate Arends and Elvire Beekhuizen (soprano), Franske van der Wiel and Nicola Wemyss (alto), Falco van Loon and Pablo Gregorian (tenor) and Michiel Meijer and Andrew Hopper (bass). Recorded at Oudshoornse Kerk, Alphen aan de Rijn, The Netherlands in 2019. The earth trembles and shakes, Mary cries, the apostles don't know what to do … Barthold Heinrich Brockes wrote a masterly libretto in 1712 about the suffering of Jesus. He places the audience in the middle of the story, Telemann adds even more force to the drama of the suffering story with his emotional music, with an unusual and grand occupation at that time, even using natural horn. The eight singers sing the roles of the characters from the story such as Jesus, Mary, Peter and Caiaphas and also take care of the judgments. The result is an extremely lively, exciting performance that will stay with the audience for a long time.
J. S. Bach - St. John Passion, BWV 245
Easter Sunday | 21:00
The choir and the orchestra of the Bach Collegium Japan - shooting-star among the celebrated baroque specialists -perform the St John's Passion with only a small ensemble of about 50 musicians (as was custom at the time) under the former Ton Koopman student Masaaki Suzuki. Recorded Live from The Suntory Hall in Tokyo/Japan. Soloists: Gerd Tuerck, Stephan MacLeod, Chiyuki Urano, Miduri Suzuki, Robin Blaze.
Handel - Messiah, HWV 56
Easter Monday | 10:00
Composer George Frideric Handel’s oratorio Messiah, HWV 56 is his best-known work. He wrote this choral masterpiece in just 24 days in 1741. Following its premiere in Dublin in 1742, the work has been immensely popular. The oratorio’s three parts deal with the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Charles Jennens’ libretto is based on texts from the Old and New Testament. In this performance, English conductor Douglas Boyd leads chamber choir Accentus and Orchestre de chambre de Paris. The soloists are soprano Carolyn Sampson, mezzosoprano Paula Murrihy, tenor Allan Clayton, and bass Matthew Rose. Captured at the Philharmonie de Paris on December 22, 2015, this performance underlines the enduring majesty of Handel's masterpiece.
Handel - Brockes-Passion (HWV 48)
Easter Monday | 14:00
The Apollo Ensemble performs Händel’s Brockes-Passion (HWV 48) in the Oudhoornse Kerk in Alphen aan de Rijn, The Netherlands. The Brockes-Passion is a German oratorio libretto by Barthold Heinrich Brockes first published in 1712 and revised multiple times in the years after. Brockes was an influential German poet who re-worked the traditional form of the Passion oratorio, adding reflective and descriptive poetry into the texture of the Passion. The most famous setting of the text is by Händel. It is not known exactly why or when the composer set the text of the Brockes-Passion, which was already used by other composers, but it is known the work was performed in Hamburg in 1719. Händel's Brockes-Passion is said to be a worthy contribution to the genre, with passages of great beauty, such as the duet for Mary and her son. Bach was influenced by the work in his famous St John Passion.
Mahler - Symphony No. 2
Easter Monday | 21:00
Bernhard Haitink conducts the Berlin Philharmonic and the Ernst Senff Choir in a performance of Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 2. This concert took place at the Berliner Philharmonie in 1992. The final chorus of Mahler's beautiful and impressive second symphony never fails to move its listeners. The epic character of the work is not only due to the impressive size of the orchestra and the use of an organ and soloists, but also due to the themes of life and death that are addressed. The listener may recognize a number of Mahler's earlier compositions from his song collection Des Knaben Wunderhorn. Soloists are Sylvia McNair (soprano) and Jard van Nes (contralto).