Bach and the Master Chorale will provide the special effects in this powerful, emotional work, The Passion According to St. John.
By MARTY CLEAR
Published April 1, 2004
[Times files: 2001]
Richard Zielinski, music director of the Master Chorale of Tampa Bay, said preparing for the performances has been a moving experience.
Just as the hubbub about Mel Gibson's film The Passion of the Christ has calmed, local audiences have a chance to experience a very different look at the same story.
This weekend, the Master Chorale of Tampa Bay concludes its season with two performances of Johann Sebastian Bach's The Passion According to St. John. It may not be as controversial as the film, but it's just as intense.
"I challenge those who recently saw the movie by Mel Gibson . . . to experience Bach's setting of the Passion story," said Richard Zielinski, the artistic and music director of the Master Chorale. "There are no special effects or Hollywood hoopla. You have the voices, the words and Bach's music. It's very, very powerful."
The 160 voices of the Master Chorale, accompanied by the Bay Area Chamber Orchestra (30 members of the Florida Orchestra), will perform the two-hour work Friday at Lake Magdalene United Methodist Church in Tampa and Saturday at Pasadena Community Church in St. Petersburg.
That the concert comes on the heels of the similarly themed movie is pure coincidence, Zielinski said. The Master Chorale scheduled the concert a year ago, when the buzz about the Gibson film was barely audible.
Besides, he said, it's much more significant that the work is being performed so close to Holy Week, the period for which it was intended. Bach premiered his Passion on Good Friday in 1724.
"I try not to schedule Master Chorale concerts for Easter or Christmas," Zielinski said. "It would have been great if we could have actually performed this on Good Friday, but many of the members of the Master Chorale also sing in church choirs, and they have to sing with their choirs on religious holidays. So it's not the perfect day, but this is the first time I've been able to perform this work so close to Holy Week."
The work itself has an operatic element to it. Soloists take the roles of key characters (Jesus, John, Peter and Pilate); the chorus plays other roles (the angry crowd, the high priests) and sometimes comments on the themes and action.
The words have been translated into English, and Zielinski will ask the audiences to join in on hymns that Bach incorporated into the piece. The libretto is on the Master Chorale's web site (www.masterchorale.com) and Zielinski encourages audience members to read it before they come to the performance.
Zielinski said that preparing for this performance has affected him deeply, and he hopes the piece will do the same for audiences.
"Doing this piece has always made me reflect on my own life, and on how I am treating others," he said. "It will be a very direct, very personal performance."
PREVIEW: The Master Chorale of Tampa Bay will perform Bach's The Passion According to St. John at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Lake Magdalene United Methodist Church, 2902 W Fletcher Ave., Tampa, and at 3 p.m. Saturday, Pasadena Community Church, 227 70th St. S, St. Petersburg. $15 advance, $20 at the door; discounts for students. Call (813) 258-9468.
