Since 2024, the Association des Concerts de Payerne has invited audiences each Good Friday to rediscover the Passions as Johann Sebastian Bach programmed them in Leipzig three hundred years ago. This original approach makes it possible to follow the evolution of musical practice and the composer’s creative process. In 2026, the journey continues with the St Mark Passion, a shorter and more intimate work than the great Passions according to St John and St Matthew. Based on the Gospel of Mark, it is not from Bach’s own pen but originates from the rich musical milieu of early 18th-century Hamburg. Remaining anonymous, it may be attributed to Friedrich Nicolaus Bruhns or Gottfried Keiser. Johann Sebastian Bach nevertheless conducted it several times, adapting it for each performance and occasionally supplementing it with pages of his own. In 1726, Bach was to conduct the Passion at St Nicholas Church in Leipzig, whose galleries were less spacious than those of the Thomaskirche. He therefore chose this work, whose orchestral forces consist solely of strings. Presented in Payerne in a version as close as possible to the sources, this Passion reveals the discreet beauty and expressive depth of everyday musical life in Bach’s world. Musical direction is entrusted to Jean-David Waeber, leading a group of outstanding young soloists from the French-speaking part of Switzerland.
Passio Christi secundum Marcum à 5 Strom. 4 Voci, attributed according to sources and studies to R. Keiser, G. Keiser or Fr. Nic. Bruhns, 1726 revision by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750)
Maël Graa, tenor (Evangelist); Estelle Poscio, soprano (Maidservant); Valérie Pellegrini, alto (High Priest, Judas, Soldier and Centurion); Kevin Hernández Toledo, tenor (Pilate, Peter); Grégory Follonier, bass (Christ).
Choir Ensemble Ad Astra
Orchestra Capella Paterniacensis
Musical direction: Jean-David Waeber
Duration: 1h30
Numbered seats at CHF 45.–, 30.– and 15.– reductions for OASI, students, free for children under 16
Tickets available via this link or at our reception desk during opening hours. Box office on site from one hour before the start.
Concert organised by the Association des Concerts de Payerne.
