American Classical Orchestra Presents J. S. Bach’s St. John Passion with The ACO Chorus at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall Jan. 30 at Alice Tully Hall

The American Classical Orchestra (ACO), New York City’s leading period instrument orchestra, continues its 40th anniversary season with a performance of Bach’s grand choral masterwork, the St. John Passion, on Thursday, January 30. The concert is the second of three full orchestral concerts led this season by Founder and Artistic Director Thomas Crawford at Alice Tully Hall. The oratorio is notable as the earliest to survive of the very few Passions Bach composed.

The role of Jesus is sung by Filipino-American bass-baritone Enrico Lagasca, who can be heard on five Grammy Award-nominated recordings. He debuts this season at BachFest in Leipzig with Bach Collegium San Diego. The role of the Evangelist features tenor Jacob Perry, who recently made his solo debut with the New York Philharmonic singing Handel’s Israel in Egypt; and the role of Pilate is sung by bass-baritone Joseph Parrish, winner of the 2022 Susan Wadsworth Young Concert Artists International Auditions.

The ACO’s next concert is a chamber music performance featuring the Mendelssohn Octet on Friday, March 28 at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall.

St. John Passion
Thursday, January 30, 2025, 7:30 pm at Alice Tully Hall
American Classical Orchestra
Thomas Crawford, conductor
ACO Chorus
Roles:
Enrico Lagasca, bass-baritone, Jesus
Jacob Perry, tenor, Evangelist
Joseph Parrish, bass-baritone, Pilate
Soloists:
Elisse Albian, soprano
Kristen Hahn, soprano
Reginald Mobley, countertenor
Alex Guerrero, tenor
Gene Stenger, tenor
Edward Vogel, baritone
Timothy McDevitt, baritone
J. S. Bach: St. John Passion, BWV 245

Composed just after Bach’s 39th birthday for a vesper service on Good Friday, the St. John Passion premiered in 1724, three years before the St. Matthew, the only other surviving Passion of the five he wrote. While oratorios were originally developed as large-scale musical compositions for solo voices, chorus, and orchestra in celebration of a religious theme, Bach contributed to the genre with vigorous treatment of the choruses and the use of narrative as a binding element. The soloists are American Grammy Award-nominated countertenor Reginald Mobley, sopranos Elisse Albian and Kristen Hahn; tenors Alex Guerrero, and Gene Stenger; and baritones Timothy McDevitt and Edward Vogel. The ACO Chorus is comprised of professional New York metro area vocalists who join the Orchestra for larger works.

Tickets, priced at $75, $55, and $35, are available at aconyc.org or by calling ACO at (212) 362-2727, ext.4; at lincolncenter.org or the Alice Tully Hall box office, or by calling CenterCharge at 212.721.6500.