Bach : St John Passion | Collegium Musicum of London Chamber Choir

St Stephen's Church in Gloucester Road will be the venue for CML's springtime concert, featuring a host of accomplished soloists and intrumentalists alongside the choir. Conductor Russell Du Plessis will lead a performance of Bach's St John Passion on 26 May, as part of the 2012 St Stephen's Festival. It will be CML's first performance of a large scale work by Bach since the Mass in B Minor formed part of a programme which included Vivaldi's Gloria at St James's Church, Piccadilly, in 2008.

Considered by many to be the most extravagantly expressive and immediate of Bach’s Passion settings, the St John Passion’s lacerating acccount of the suffering and death of Jesus Christ finds the composer at his most operatic.
Written in 1724, Bach scored the piece for an intimate group of soloists, four part choir and chamber orchestra. For this St Stephen's Festival performance, Collegium Musicum of London is joined by an illustrious ensemble of accomplished instrumentalists and soloists.

Directed by BBC award-winning conductor Russell du Plessis, CML is rapidly gaining a reputation as one of the capital's leading chamber choirs. The St John Passion marks the ensemble's first appearance at this prestigious West London music festival.