johannespassion
Exciting, subversive, reduced.
Hanna Herfurtner, Soprano
Ida Aldrian, Mezzo
Thomas Volle,Tenor
Georg Gädker, Bariton
Simon Schnorr, Bass
Michael Petermann. Electric continuo
Johannes Öllinger, Electric Guitar
Markus Schwind, Trumpet
Ensemble Resonanz
A story about friendship and betrayal, violence and condemnation, all the way to crucifixion and violent death.
Ensemble Resonanz places itself right in the middle of the heated events of Bach's St. John Passion and presents its own, intimate version with chamber music instrumentation. The notes remain untouched, the large Turba choir is eliminated. Instead, guitar and electronic continuo embark on spherical excursions together.
Bach's Johannes-Passion (St. John Passion) at the Laeiszhalle - with electric guitar
by Marcus Stäbler
Hamburg. How can we make music come alive? So that it really touches us, even if it is already several hundred years old? Ensemble Resonanz provides more radical answers to this question than many others. Also and especially with its view of Bach's Johannes-Passion. The deliberately unhistorical performance in the Recital Hall of the Laeiszhalle uses modern and also electronically amplified instruments; the vocal parts are performed by only five soloists. Plus the orchestra members, who sometimes join in the singing. As in the opening chorus, whose cry of »Lord!« thus takes on a special urgency and brings the work out of the sphere of art and religion into the here and now. The emotional message is clear: this passion story about the suffering of a young man who sacrifices himself for the people concerns all of us.
The courage to confound the familiar and thereby make it accessible in a new way is also reflected in the colours of the orchestra. Ensemble Resonanz avoids woodwinds and instead expands the spectrum with its guests to include trumpet, banjo, electronic continuo and electric guitar. The combination of electric guitar with cello and double bass gives the sound a dark and heavy foundation. In contrast, the banjo loosens up the gloomy tone and brings a folk character into the game. This is surprising and harmonious at the same time, for example in the aria »Ich folge Dir gleichfalls« (I follow you likewise), but it also seems a bit overbearing in the meditative arioso »Betrachte, meine Seel'« (Consider, my soul).
The chorales, on the other hand, are wonderfully simple. Sometimes sung only by strings, sometimes by the soprano, accompanied by acoustic guitar, or a cappella. How sensitively the musicians listen to each other, how they dive together into the affects of pain, grief and consolation: this shows the enchanting ensemble spirit that characterises the performance, but also a deep devotion. The great love for music is always palpable - even when the rhythmic drive of the piece »Lasset uns den nicht zerteilen« is counted ironically with a »Zwo, Drei«. The quarrel of the warrior servants who gamble for the robe of the crucified Jesus as a groovy virtuoso piece, played transparently and rousingly. The mercenaries are having a party.
The pause when Jesus died is all the more shocking. After the words »And bowed his head and passed away«, the performers refuse the subsequent cadenza. Instead, silence, pausing, heads slightly lowered. For a whole minute. It is hard to imagine the death of Jesus and the emotional power of Bach's music in a more touching and shattering way.
