On March 19 at 7:30pm, the Vancouver Bach Choir will perform Bach’s St. Matthew Passion at the Orpheum Theatre. HCUBC recently had the opportunity to speak with Anne Grimm, the soprano, about the show.
In the interview, Grimm explained that the show tells the “major story of the betrayal and crucifixion of Jesus” according to the Gospel of Matthew. The show’s characters consist of one Evangelist and several narrators. While the Evangelist has a certain distance to the story, the narrators, who consist of the soprano, the alto, the tenor, and the baritone, all have their own thoughts about the passion story as it progresses. Grimm, who sings the soprano aria, explains that her solo role is about expressing her emotions during the passion.
The music has “so much emotion” and a “certain thoughtfulness”, according to Grimm. She adds, “I myself didn’t grow up very religiously, but for me it’s not just a religious story, it’s a story that speaks to us all.” She continues, “It takes us to the root of humankind. It would be nice if we can touch [the audience] a little bit in their daily life…Not just in the story, but in the music.”
Grimm was very gracious in explaining what the show is like for those, like myself, who are Bach choir newbies. Because this piece is much more religious than what an opera’s content would usually be, the music is sung classically in oratoreo. The soloists are placed in front of the orchestra, rather than the orchestra being in the pit, as is usual for an opera, and the choir is behind the orchestra. In St. Matthew Passion, the choir represents the crowd, which witnesses the passion.
It is traditional in the Netherlands, explains Grimm, to perform a Matthew passion during the time preceding Good Friday, which is on March 25th this year. Grimm expressed surprise that we don’t have the same tradition here, and said she’s thrilled that a Matthew passion will be performed in Vancouver. When asked what she is excited about, Grimm said it was the “sheer fact that the Matthew passion is [being] performed here because it doesn’t happen a lot.” She adds that the show features “such gorgeous music,” and she is “excited to hear it all again and sing it all again.”
If you are interested, tickets can be bought online from the Vancouver Bach Choir website. Grimm emphasizes that, “If you want to hear some brilliant music and impressive choir singing –come; enjoy! In my experience, people who’ve never heard it are blown away by it.”