MARKUS PASSION
The Sebastians & Chatham Baroque
4:00pm
Sunday, April 13
CORPUS CHRISTI CHURCH
April 28 – May 12 ONLINE
Joseph Marcell, actor
Pascale Beaudin, soprano
Cody Bowers, countertenor
James Reese, tenor
Jonathan Woody, bass
Jeffrey Grossman Director & Harpsichord
Adapted and Directed by Bill Barclay
Edited by Malcolm Bruno
Produced by Concert Theatre Works
Commissioned by
Oregon Bach Festival
The Sebastians with Chatham Baroque
Emi Ferguson, flute
Mei Yoshimura Stone, flute
Priscilla Herreid, oboe d’amore
Caroline Giassi, oboe d’amore
Daniel Lee, violin
Andrew Fouts (Chatham Baroque), violin
Shelby Yamin, viola
Patricia Halverson (Chatham Baroque), viola da gamba
Caroline Nicolas, viola da gamba
Ezra Seltzer, violoncello
Nathaniel Chase, contrabass
Scott Pauley (Chatham Baroque), theorbo
Kevin Payne, theorbo
Jeffrey Grossman, organ, harpsichord, music director
Concert generously sponsored by Nancy Hager
J. S. Bach wrote Passion settings for the gospels of Mark as well as for Matthew and John – two of the greatest artistic works of all time. Shortly after Bach’s death in 1750, his Markus Passion manuscript was hand-delivered by his son C.P.E. to his publisher, Johann Breitkopf, but was subsequently lost.
The new Markus edition by musicologist Malcolm Bruno is an ingenious reconstruction drawing on material from other works by Bach. Featuring four singers, 14 instrumentalists and a unique role for an actor as Evangelist.
This first-ever staged version tours to the UK and the west coast, but not before giving the shared world premiere in Pittsburgh (April 11), then on Palm Sunday at MB1800 in a milestone for early music. Featuring the iconic actor Joseph Marcell (Royal Shakespeare Company, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air).
‘…of the demand for this group, there can be little doubt.’
The New York Times, of The Sebastians
