J. S. Bach: St John Passion
Sunday 11th March 2012 at 7.30pm
St George's Bristol, Great George Street, Bristol BS1 5RR
City of Bristol Choir
The Bristol Ensemble
with Jeremy Budd Evangelist / tenor
Alex Ashworth Christus / bass
Natalie Clifton-Griffith soprano
Alexandra Gibson mezzo soprano
The St John Passion is the most personal and meditative of Bach's Passion settings, telling the Easter story in music of simple beauty and power. Christ's final days are dramatized with real intimacy, centred on the Evangelist who narrates the story in the words of the gospel. In this bilingual performance, the words of the Evangelist will be sung in English providing clarity and heightening the drama. Arias and chorales in the original German provide reflections throughout.
Jeremy Budd Evangelist / tenor arias
A graduate of the Royal Academy of Music where he studied with David Lowe, Jeremy sang tenor solos in City of Bristol Choir's performance of Monteverdi's Vespers in Clifton Cathedral last season. He regularly performs with many of the UK's leading choirs, including the Monteverdi choir, Gabrieli Consort, King's Consort, European Voices, The Academy
of Ancient Music, the Choir of the Age of Enlightenment, Cardinals Musick, Ex Cathedra, Tenebrae, and is a full time member of The Sixteen.
Alex Ashworth Christus / bass arias
Alex Ashworth was a Choral Scholar at St John's College, Cambridge, before winning a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music. He has worked with many of Britain's main houses, including Glyndebourne Festival Opera, Scottish Opera and Welsh National Opera. His roles include the titles in Don Giovanni (Mozart), Eugene Onegin (Tchaikovsky), Falstaff (Verdi) and Wozzeck (Berg). In addition, Alex is an accomplished interpreter of oratorio, appearing in many of London's major venues including The Royal Festival Hall, The Barbican and The Royal Albert Hall for the BBC Proms. In addition to his busy international solo career, Alex is a Professor at the RAM, where he was recently elected ARAM.
Natalie Clifton-Griffith soprano
Natalie Clifton-Griffith studied at the Birmingham Conservatoire and the Royal College of Music. Highlights of her solo career include Bach's Magnificat (Barbican Hall, ECO), St John Passion and Cantata 82a (Hanover Band), Mass in B Minor (Lyon Early Music Festival), Cantata 209 Non sa che sia dolore (Purcell Room and CBSO centre), and Handel's Messiah at most major cathedrals in England, Apollo e Dafne and Alexander Balus (London Handel Festival) and Laudate Pueri (Welsh Baroque Orchestra). Natalie appears frequently as a soloist with The English Concert and Ex Cathedra on CD and concerts including Lalande's Dies Irae at the BBC Proms. She performs regularly with consort vocal groups such as Ex Cathedra, Tenebrae, I Fagiolini, The Sixteen and The BBC Singers.
Alexandra Gibson mezzo soprano
Alexandra is particularly well known for her interpretation of Baroque music and has collaborated with Harry Christophers and the Symphony of Harmony and Invention, Laurence Cummings and The London Handel Players, Emmanuelle Haim and Concert D'astree, Roger Norrington and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Christian Curnyn and The Early Opera Company, Paul McCreesh and the Gabrieli Consort, The Norwegian Chamber Orchestra, Trevor Pinnock and the English Consort, The Scottish Chamber Orchestra, The Berlin Philharmonic, The Bardi Orchestra, The Academy of Ancient Music and The London Mozart Players. She has appeared recently at the London Handel Festival, Concertgebouw (Amsterdam), Bridgewater Hall, and at the Auditorio Nacional de Musica in Madrid.
Tickets
- Central stalls and balcony: £20(£18 concessions)
- Side stalls and front row of side balcony: £18(£16)
- Side stalls (some restricted view) and second row of side balcony: £14(£12)
- Front two rows of side stalls and third row of balcony (restricted view): £10(£8)
With no booking fee:
• Ring the City of Bristol Choir ticket line: 07932 711379 (card payments accepted)
• Book and pay online by making your selection below
With St George's booking fee:
• Book with St George's box office - telephone 0845 40 24 001 from December
• Online at www.stgeorgesbristol.co.uk - from December
• Book in person at St George's box office - open 12 noon to 6pm weekdays - from December
Book online now below - no booking fee
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Tickets in the two lowest price bands are only available from St George's box office.
Listen to City of Bristol Choir singing the opening of the Gloria from Bach's Mass in B minor
Watch Jeremy Budd sing St John Passion at the BBC Proms
Alex Ashworth singing Monteverdi's Vespers at the BBC Proms
Natalie Clifton-Griffith singing a duet with Carolyn Sampson
Seating plan
Finding St George's
Great George Street, off Park Street, Bristol BS1 5RR
St George's Bristol is located in Bristol's West End, just off Park Street. Access is via Great George Street (Box Office entrance), or Charlotte Street (top entrance, dedicated disabled access).
View St George's Bristol in a larger map
Parking
The nearest car parks are Trenchard Street, West End and College Street (all £1.60 on Sundays). Visit www.travelbristol.org for more information