Author: Amy Shake
A huge musical collaboration is underway in Buffalo right now. In Buffalo, and throughout Western New York.
On March 11th, the Chancel Choir from Holy Trinity Lutheran Church here in Buffalo is joining forces with the Fredonia Masterworks Chorus, the Chautauqua Youth Senior Chorus, and the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra to present Bach’s St. Matthew Passion. In addition to the ensembles, this work also features a large cast of solo characters comprised of local Buffalo singers, Fredonia faculty and students, and two world-renowned Baroque specialists – William Hite, tenor, and Aaron Engebreth, baritone.
Nearly two years in the making, this giant undertaking is extremely exciting for all involved — including the city, itself. Buffalo has not seen a performance of the work since 1997, while the BPO was under the baton of Maximiano Valdés. But the “Buffalo Renaissance” is no secret, and there is hope that a performance of this piece, done with integrity, can only empower more growth. Dr. Gerald Gray, Director of Choral Activities at Fredonia and conductor for this performance, hopes that the Matthew will contribute to the cultivation of the arts community, saying, “Buffalo is clearly growing in every way. Young people are moving back into the city. That provides an opportunity for the arts to meet the needs of a new group of people to share and actually lead in that vision of growth, culturally.”
The impetus for the performance came from a very successful performance of Bach’s St. John Passion at Fredonia in 2014. “The Buffalo Philharmonic was the obvious choice for a work of such magnitude and the BPO has been incredibly enthusiastic about the project from its inception.” says Dr. Gray. A close working relationship with the Chautauqua Youth Chorus and James Bigham, organist and choirmaster of HTLC, brought the final pieces into place. And thus, a counties-wide collaboration was born. Mr. Bigham said of the collaboration, “I think it’s a wonderful thing. Financially, it’s impossible to do it on your own. And besides, it’s awfully rewarding to mix the groups up, I think, and to have young people with more seasoned people. It ought to be done much more often.”
Nearly two years in the making, this giant undertaking is extremely exciting for all involved.
While the preparation of this piece provides an indispensable learning experience for the students involved, it can be extraordinarily effective to the audience as well. It’s not just a beautiful work of historical music. Gerald explains, “This piece asks questions. It makes the listener ask questions about themselves, about humanity. It makes them go through a great drama with unspeakable suffering. This piece speaks for them. Exposing the community to what I hope to be a very powerful rendering can simply invigorate.” But Dr. Gray also reminds us, “This is one of the greatest choral/orchestral works in all of the repertoire. It just is. Bach’s music is timeless.” Anyone who is familiar with the Lutheran or Episcopal hymnal may even recognize some of the chorale melodies, which have been set over and over with new words and translations throughout the centuries.
The St. Matthew Passion will be performed in the original German, with English supertitles. The March 11th performance, taking place in Buffalo at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, will also feature a congregational “sing-a-long” element where the audience can sing three of the chorales along with the choirs (in English, of course). Audience participation during a work like this is unprecedented, and unique to the Buffalo performance. Engaging the audience gives a fresh breath of air into the meaning and goals of the Passion, unifying the performers with the audience and creating one humanity. It is with this that the musicians hope to empower people to do more and to do good.
This St. Matthew Passion is a performance not to be missed – a rare performance of one of history’s long-standing works that is powerful and educational for all involved. Buffalo’s performance will be Friday, March 11, 7 PM, at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church (1080 Main Street, Buffalo – across from Anchor Bar). Tickets can be purchased here. There will also be a performance at SUNY Fredonia’s King Concert Hall on Wednesday, March 9 at 7 PM and you can purchase tickets here.