Sandstrom - The Passion of St John

£22.70

Currently out of stock at the UK suppliers. Available to order, but is likely to take longer than usual to despatch

Label: Exlibris

Cat No: EXLCD30186

Format: CD

Number of Discs: 2

Genre: Vocal/Choral

Release Date: 1st September 2017

Works

Sandstrom, Sven-David

The Passion of St John

Artists

Daniel Carlsson (countertenor)
Lars Moller (baritone)
Jens Bjorn-Larsen (tuba)
Brooklyn Rider String Quartet
Mogens Dahl Chamber Choir

Conductor

Mogens Dahl

Works

Sandstrom, Sven-David

The Passion of St John

Artists

Daniel Carlsson (countertenor)
Lars Moller (baritone)
Jens Bjorn-Larsen (tuba)
Brooklyn Rider String Quartet
Mogens Dahl Chamber Choir

Conductor

Mogens Dahl

About

‘At Easter 2016, Mogens Dahl Chamber Choir premiered with The Passion of St John, created by the chamber choir’s composer-in-residence, Sven-David Sandström, in close collaboration with the Danish writer, Jakob Holtze. This took place on a concert tour in Germany, Denmark and Sweden, where the official premiere constituted the opening concert at Türinger Bachwochen in Erfurt. A few days later, the critically acclaimed Danish premiere took place in Holmen’s Church, Copenhagen, on March 22, 2016.

‘This concert was recorded and broadcasted live by the Danish Broadcasting Corporation, DR, and it is with great pleasure and pride that we are now able to make this brand new and unmistakably Nordic Passion of St John accessible to the broad audience in DR’s excellent recording quality. The music is experienced with the full intensity and charm of the live moment – and, inevitably, with a few creaks from the responsive audience on the pews.

‘The dream of a joint presentation of a new and great Passion of St John, as a prelude to the Reformation anniversary in 2017, emanated from the chamber choir’s fruitful cooperation with Sandström on a new Nordic Mass for the premiere at the Bergen International Festival in 2014.

‘From the outset, Sandström was thrilled at the idea of a joint Passion of St John and asked that the chamber choir’s own artistic advisor, Jakob Holtze, delivered the text for the new work.

‘The cooperation reached its initial culmination in a short, enthusiastic personal message from the composer: “I finished writing our piece ten minutes ago. I feel so happy! It is 100 minutes of pure love”. A few days later, Sandström’s handwritten score arrived in my mailbox in the concert hall at Islands Brygge, Copenhagen.

All conductors sense a pronounced joy of anticipation, as well as a certain nervousness, in connection with the first realization of an entirely newly written composition. Oh, what an inexpressible happiness it is, when you realize that you have been handed over something truly exceptional – as it happened on that spring day in 2015. 4

‘Personally, I have no doubts that The Passion of St John is one of the works that will endure. The passion immediately joins the strong Nordic vocal tradition and, at the same time, it appears as a distinctive work of art within the great sacral choral tradition. With this work of art, the timeless drama of Easter has indeed become a passion work for the 21st Century.’

– Mogens Dahl, conductor