Jörg Zwicker is a renowned expert in the field of historically informed performance, conductor, cellist, teacher and sincere friend of Ukraine, back in Kyiv! In a joint project of Open Opera Ukraine and the National House of Music, he will conduct two outstanding and undeniably relevant works by Johann Sebastian Bach in the week before Easter: the Easter Oratorio and the Magnificat.

Imagine: just yesterday you listened to the Passion by Johann Bach, which ends with a humble prayer-plea for eternal life, and today the majestic fanfares at the beginning of the Easter Oratorio announce the Resurrection. This is exactly the experience that the believers of Leipzig could have had on Easter in 1725 – when the Easter Oratorio was first performed. This work seems to continue the idea of ​​the Passion, giving the soloists the “roles” of four biblical heroes who were the first to learn the news of the Resurrection of Jesus. These are Mary Magdalene, Mary of James, the apostles Simon Peter and John. They share the joy of the Resurrection, while at the same time acknowledging the sadness that Christ is no longer with them.

In this oratorio, the combination of the grandeur of the event and the laconic presentation is striking. In addition, the instrumental numbers that open the work are a wonderful example of the expressive potential of “reworked” music. The first three movements of the oratorio—the symphony, the adagio, and the chorus—may have been adapted from an existing concerto, most likely written while Bach was in Köthen. The triumphant, fanfare-like symphony and chorus herald the miracle of the Resurrection and the promise of future immortality. In contrast, the melancholy oboe melody that dominates the adagio suggests the sadness felt over loss in the present.

The Magnificat is a hymn of praise to Mary, the mother of Jesus, found in the Gospel of Luke. The title comes from the Latin words of the first line: “Magnificat anima mea Dominum,” or “My soul magnifies the Lord.”

The Magnificat was a regular part of Sunday services in Leipzig. On ordinary Sundays it was sung in German, but on the great feasts of Christmas, Easter, and Trinity, as well as on the feasts of the Theotokos, it was sung in Latin. So, it is precisely this majestic version of the text that will be combined with the anticipation of the Easter Resurrection in this concert program.

Liatoshynskyi Capella
Jörg Zwicker conductor Austria
Natalia Khmilevska choirmaster
Konstantyn Lenchyk choirmaster
Olesya Lyuba soprano
Olena Pinkovska soprano
Vladislava Priymachuk mezzo-soprano
Roman Melish countertenor
Denis Sagirov tenor
Roman Arabadzhi bass-baritone
Tamara Roy flute
Volodymyr Koval oboe d’amore
Basso-continuo part
Natalia Fomenko harpsichord, organ-positive
Tetiana Grechanivska cello