Dana to present C.P. Bach ‘Passion’

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

The Dana School of Music and WYSU-FM will present the modern premiere of Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach’s “Passion According to St. Luke” (1775) at 8 p.m. March 31 at Trinity United Methodist Church, 30 W. Front St., downtown.

Celebrating the 300th birthday of C.P.E. Bach and the 145th anniversary of the Dana, the concert will feature the Dana Chorale and University Chorus, Dana faculty and students, the Trinity U.M. Church Choir. Dana professor Hae-Jong Lee will be the conductor.

The music was published in 2011 for the first time. The score was edited by professor Randall Goldberg of the Dana, and professor Daniel Melamed of Indiana University.

C.P.E. Bach’s 1775 “Passion” depicts the arrest, trial and crucifixion of Jesus through the conventions of opera: solo voices and choruses narrate the Biblical text, which is often interrupted by arias that reflect on the action.

“All of Bach’s ‘Passions’ went missing during the final years of World War II and were not fully recovered until 2001,” said Goldberg.

“This particular Luke Passion has not been heard since Easter 1775 and offers us a unique, sonic window into the historical past. Bach did not write a new Passion from scratch every year, and this particular setting shows us how he was able to adapt his friend Gottfried August Homilius’ music to fit the local practices, tastes and limitations of the city of Hamburg.”

Related events include a pre-concert lecture by Goldberg called “A Passion Shared,” focusing on the context and history of Bach’s Passions, at 7:15 p.m. at the church.

An exhibition of 18th- century scores and books from the collection of Walter Mayhall and Marcellene Hawk will also be on exhibit in the church foyer.

A reception will immediately follow the concert at V2, 100 W. Federal St., downtown.

The lecture, concert, exhibit and reception are free and open to the public, although a free-will donation is welcome.

For information, call the Dana at 330-941-3636.