American Classical Orchestra: 'St. John Passion'

American Classical Orchestra

Thursday, January 30, 2025 @ 7:30pm – 9:15pm (EST)

Alice Tully Hall, New York, NY, United States

$35-$75

Enrico Lagasca, bass-baritone (Jesus)
Jacob Perry, tenor (Evangelist)
Joseph Parrish, bass-baritone (Pilate)
Elisse Albian, soprano
Alex Guerrero, tenor
Kristen Hahn, soprano
Reginald Mobley, countertenor
Gene Stenger, tenor
Edward Vogel, baritone

Johann Sebastian Bach — St. John Passion, BWV 245

Bach's St. John Passion is not the first oratorio he wrote but it is his earliest such work to survive. He composed it just after his 39th birthday, for a vesper service on Good Friday, while he was director of church music in Leipzig. It premiered on April 7, 1724, three years before St. Matthew, his only other surviving Passion (of the five he wrote) was performed, also on a Good Friday in Leipzig.

While oratorios were originally developed as large-scale musical compositions for solo voices, chorus, and orchestra, celebrating a religious subject, because of their length (often four hours or more), they were not intended for liturgical use. They were generally performed in churches or concert halls, with the music divided in two parts, separated by a sermon.

The earliest known oratorio dates from 1600 and involves dramatic action, including a ballet. By Bach's time, the form had undergone significant changes, action had been abandoned, and the use of predominantly Latin or Italian texts had been modified by German composers, beginning with Heinrich Schütz, who blended German and Italian elements. What Bach contributed to the genre was a vigorous treatment of the choruses and the use of narrative as a binding element, dramatically linking the arias to the chorales and choruses, holding the entire structure together in a way that is richly expressive, powerful, and affecting.

About Joseph Parrish, bass-baritone (Pilate)

Winner of the 2022 YCA Susan Wadsworth International Auditions, Joseph Parrish is a Baltimore native and holds degrees from the University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music and The Juilliard School. As a current artist diploma candidate in opera studies at the Juilliard School, Mr. Parrish is passionate about giving back to the various communities that have nurtured him. He is a Music Advancement Program chorus teaching fellow, Gluck Community Service Fellow, and Morse Teaching Artist. Mr. Parrish is also a member of the inaugural cohort of Shared Voices, an initiative designed to address diversity, equity, and inclusion through collaboration between Historically Black Colleges and Universities, top conservatories, and schools of music in the United States with the Denyce Graves Foundation.

https://yca.org/artist/parrish-joseph/

About Elisse Albian, soprano

Hailed by South Florida Classical Review as a “opulent soprano" possessing “rich tones, expressive phrasing," and a "soaring top range,” Elisse Albian finds delight in presenting oratorios, opera, choral compositions, and all that resonates in between. An ardent advocate for the collaborative essence of musical creation, Elisse places immense value on versatility and the inherent instrumental qualities of the human voice.

A crowning achievement in Elisse's journey was securing first place at the Lyndon Woodside Oratorio-Solo Competition hosted by the Oratorio Society of New York at Carnegie Hall. Their artistic collaborations extend to prestigious groups like the GRAMMY®-nominated Seraphic Fire, Voices of Ascension, The Choir of Trinity Wall Street, Musica Sacra, and The Benedict XVI Choir. The 2022-2023 season showcased Elisse as the soprano soloist in performances of Bach's St. John Passion, BWV 245 alongside Voices of Ascension, Bach's Christmas Oratorio, BWV 248, and Handel's Messiah with Seraphic Fire. Additionally, Elisse was a soloists for Mozart's Coronation Mass, K. 317, and Vesperes Solennes di Confessore, K. 339, with Kollective366. Their season also included Telemann's Cantatas from the Harmonischer Gottesdienst in collaboration with Theotokos ensemble, presented through Gotham Early Music Scene's Midtown Concert series.

In the upcoming season, Elisse eagerly anticipates performing as the Queen of Sheba in Handel's Solomon alongside Princeton Pro Musica, singing as the first soprano soloist for Handel's Dixit Dominus with Musica Sacra, and joining Opera Lafayette for Moreau and Handel’s Esther. Later this season, Elisse will also perform Benjamin Britten’s thrilling song cycle, Les Illuminations.

Elisse completed a Bachelor’s of Music at the University of California, Los Angeles and recently graduated with a Master of Music in Voice at Mannes (The New School). They reside in Brooklyn, New York.

https://www.elissealbian.com/about

About Alex Guerrero, tenor

https://www.csmusic.net/content/author/alex-guerrero/

About Kristen Hahn, soprano

Kristen Hahn, soprano, is a crossover artist whose work spans everything from Baroque to Broadway. She has performed with the American Classical Orchestra in Bach's Coffee Cantata and St. Matthew Passion. She has also been seen in the Tony-Award-winning A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder and in Our Town, both on stage and on PBS's Masterpiece Theatre.

https://aconyc.org/bio/kristen-hahn-soprano/

About Reginald Mobley, countertenor

American-born, Grammy-Award-nominated countertenor, Reginald Mobley—noted for his "shimmering voice"—performs on both sides of the Atlantic, from solos in Handel's Messiah with the Philadelphia Orchestra to singing at the coronation of King Charles III with the Monteverdi Choir, and much more. At his solo debut recital in Paris, he performed Purcell, Handel, and Sancho—a program he then repeated in Bayreuth. Alpha Classics released his first solo album to great acclaim in June 2023.

http://reginaldmobley.com