Toonkunstkoor Amsterdam sings Bach's St Matthew Passion

Bach's St. Matthew Passion

With this performance of the St. Matthew Passion, Toonkunstkoor Amsterdam is celebrating a special anniversary: it has been singing the St. Matthew on Good Friday in the Concertgebouw for 125 years. In 1899, Willem Mengelberg performed the St. Matthew Passion for the first time as conductor of the Concertgebouw Orchestra with Toonkunstkoor Amsterdam. That marked the start of an annual tradition that Toonkunstkoor Amsterdam has been honoring ever since; from 2016 with the Concertgebouw Chamber Orchestra.

Nowhere is Bach's masterpiece about the suffering and death of Christ performed as often and attended as faithfully as in the Netherlands. The first performance took place in 1727 in the Thomaskirche in Leipzig. The piece, in which major themes such as death, love and comfort are incisively expressed, fell into oblivion after Bach's death. Since 1829, the work has experienced a revival. In 1874 Toonkunstkoor Amsterdam sang his first St. Matthew under the direction of Johannes Verhulst.

Toonkunstkoor Amsterdam

Toonkunstkoor Amsterdam, founded in 1829, is an ambitious and versatile concert choir. In addition to Bach's St. Matthew Passion, the 80 trained amateur singers sing well-known works such as Beethoven's Ninth Symphony and the requiems of Mozart and Verdi, but the repertoire also includes Sweelinck, Liszt, Stravinsky, Ravel, Manneke and Egon Kracht. Toonkunstkoor Amsterdam often receives invitations from professional orchestras to participate in concerts. The choir also presents its own production at least once a season. In addition, Toonkunstkoor Amsterdam regularly gives composition assignments. Boudewijn Jansen has been the choir's conductor since 2003.