Leslie Dala, conductor
Angela Gjurichanin, soprano
Emma Parkinson, mezzo-soprano
Asitha Tennekoon, tenor
Raphaël Laden-Guindon, bass
SSO Chorus with Duff Warkentin

Scroll down to read the full program. Click here for a condensed print-at-home version.

We’re marking three hundred years to the day of the premiere of Bach’s St John’s Passion.

Maestro Leslie Dala returns to the SSO for this very special performance. Premiered on April 7th, 1724, Bach’s Johannes Passion has never before been performed with its full forces in Saskatoon.

Dramatic, immediate, and full of urgency, Bach’s music in the passion still feels new 300 years later.

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The Program

Bach’s Johannes Passion

Leslie Dala, conductor
Angela Gjurichanin, soprano
Emma Parkinson, mezzo-soprano
Asitha Tennekoon, tenor
Raphaël Laden-Guindon, bass
Saskatoon Symphony Chorus
Duff Warkentin, choral conductor
Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra

Recit roles:

Asitha Tennekoon, Evangelist
Raphaël Laden-Guindon, Jesus
Matthew Praksas, Petrus, Pilatus
Michael Friesen, Servus/Diener
Angela Gjurichanin, Ancilla/Magd

 

Johannes Passion

Part 1
1. Herr, unser Herrscher (“Lord, Thou our Master”)
2a. Jesus ging mit seinen Jüngern (“Jesus went with His disciples)
2b. Jesum von Nazareth (“Jesus of Nazareth”)
2c. Jesus spricht zu ihnen (“Jesus saith unto them”)
2d. Jesum von Nazareth (“Jesus of Nazareth”)
2e. Jesus antwortete (“Jesus answered”)
3. O große Lieb (“O wondrous love”)
4. Auf daß das Wort erfüllet würde (“So that the prophesy might be fulfilled”)
5. Dein Will gescheh (“Thy will must all creation do”)
6. Die Schar aber und der Oberhauptmann (“The body of soldiers with their captain”)
7. Von den Stricken meiner Sünden (“From the shackles of my vices”)
8. Simon Petrus aber folgete Jesu nach (“Simon Peter also followed with Jesus”)
9. Ich folge dir gleichfalls (“I follow Thee also”)
10. Derselbige Jünger war dem Hohenpriester bekannt (“That other disciple to the High Priest long had been known”)
11. Wer hat dich so geschlagen (“Who was it, Lord, did smite Thee”)
12a. Und Hannas sandte ihn gebunden (“Now Annas had had Jesus bound”)
12b. Bist du nicht seiner Jünger einer (“Art Thou not one of His disciples”)
12c. Er leugnete aber und sprach (“But Peter denied it and said”)
13. Ach, mein Sinn (“Ah, my soul”)
14. Petrus, der nicht denkt zurück (“Peter, while his conscience slept”)

~Intermission~

Part II
15. Christus, der uns selig macht (“Christ, who knew no sin or wrong”)
16a. Da führeten sie Jesum (“Then led away they Jesus”)
16b. Wäre dieser nicht ein Übeltäter (“If this man were not a malefactor”)
16c. Da sprach Pilatus zu ihnen (“Then Pilate said unto them”)
16d. Wir dürfen niemand töten (“By death we may not punish”)
16e. Auf daß erfüllet würde das Wort (“That so might be fulfilled the word”)
17. Ach großer König (“Ah, mighty King”)
18a. Da sprach Pilatus zu ihm (“Then Pilate said unto Him”)
18b. Nicht diesen, sondern Barrabam (“Not this man, give us Barabbas”)

18c. Barrabas aber war ein Mörder (“Barabbas he set free, a robber”)
19. Betrachte, meine Seel’ (“Bethink thee, o my soul”)
20. Erwäge, wie sein blutgefärbter Rücken (“Imagine that His bloodbespattered body”)
21a. Und die Kriegsknechte flochten eine Krone (“The soldiers platted then for Him a crown”)
21b. Sei gegrüßet, lieber Jüdenkönig (“King we hail Thee, King of Jews”)
21c. Und gaben ihm Backenstreiche (“And then with their hands they smote Him”)
21d. Kreuzige, kreuzige (“Crucify, crucify”)
21e. Pilatus sprach zu ihnen (“Then unto them saith Pilate”)
21f. Wir haben ein Gesetz (“We have with us a law”)
21g. Da Pilatus das Wort hörete (“Now when Pilate heard what thus was said”)
22. Durch dein Gefängnis, Gottes Sohn (“Our freedom, Son of God”)
23a. Die Jüden aber schrieen und sprachen (“But the Jews cried out and shouted”)
23b. Lässest du diesen los (“If thou let this man go”)
23c. Da Pilatus das Wort hörete (“Then when Pilate heard them speaking thus”)
23d. Weg, weg mit dem (“Away with Him”)
23e. Spricht Pilatus zu ihnen (“Pilate saith unto them”)
23f. Wir haben keinen König (“We have no King but Caesar”)
23g. Da überantwortete er ihn (“And then he delivered Him to them”)
24. Eilt, ihr angefochtnen Seelen (“Come ye souls whom care oppresses”)
25a. Allda kreuzigten sie ihn (“And there crucified they Him”)
25b. Schreibe nicht: der Jüden König (“Write Him not as our King”)
25c. Pilatus antwortet (“And Pilate then answered”)
26. In meines Herzens Grunde (“Within my heart’s recesses”)
27a. Die Kriegsknechte aber (“And then did the soldiers”)
27b. Lasset uns den nicht zerteilen (Let us rend not nor divide”)
27c. Auf daß erfüllet würde die Schrift (That the Scripture might be fulfilled”)
28. Er nahm alles wohl in acht (“In His final hour did He think”)
29. Und von Stund an nahm sie der Jünger (“That disciple took her to his own home”)
30. Es ist vollbracht (“The end has come”)
31. Und neiget das Haupt (“Then bowed He His head”)
32. Mein teurer Heiland, laß dich fragen (“O Thou my Savior give me answer”)
33. Und der Vorhang im Tempel zerriß (“And then behold, the veil of the temple was rended”)
34. Mein Herz, in dem die ganze Welt (“My heart, see all the world is plunged”)
35. Zerfließe, mein Herze (“With tears overflowing”)
36. Die Jüden aber, dieweil es der Rüsttag war (“The Chief Priests therefore since it was the preparation”)
37. O hilf, Christe, Gottes Sohn (“Help, O Christ, Thou Son of God”)
38. Darnach bat Pilatum Joseph von Arimathia (“There came unto Pilate Joseph of Arimathia”)
39. Ruht wohl, ihr heiligen Gebeine (“Rest well, beloved, sweetly singing”)
40. Ach Herr, laß dein lieb Engelein (“Ah Lord, when comes that final day”)

Johann Sebastian Bach

 *Please hold your applause until the end of each part.

 

The Artists

Leslie Dala, conductor

Conductor and pianist, Leslie Dala enjoys a multifaceted career spanning the genres of opera, symphonic music, choral and contemporary works. On the podium, he is known for his passionate, dynamic,…

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Angela Gjurichanin, soprano

Angela Gjurichanin is a Macedonian/Canadian soprano based in London, Ontario. In the 2021-2022 season, she was a District Winner for the Metropolitan Laffont Competition and winner of the Gordon Wallis…

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Emma Parkinson, mezzo-soprano

Chinese-Canadian mezzo-soprano Emma Parkinson has performed across Canada and internationally, she has been hailed as “an outstanding voice” (La Scena Musicale). Most recently, she performed the role of Third Lady…

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Asitha Tennekoon, tenor

2017 DORA AWARD – OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE, MALE, OPERA DIVISION – ROCKING HORSE WINNER (TAPESTRY/SCOTTISH OPERA) Praised by The Globe and Mail for “…his silky, emotional presence on stage – both…

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Raphaël Laden-Guindon, bass

Praised for his “authoritative voice” (Boston Musical Intelligencer) and “contagious sensibility” (Revue l’Opéra), Canadian-American Baritone, Raphaël Laden-Guindon maintains an active performing schedule in the US and Canada. In the 2023-24…

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Duff Warkentin, conductor

Duff Warkentin has been a choral conductor and clinician for many years. His formal post-secondary education was at Canadian Mennonite Bible College in Winnipeg, the University of Waterloo, and the…

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Click here to read about your Orchestra!

This concert includes:

Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra Chorus
Duff Warkentin, choral conductor

Special Thanks

Program Notes

Johannes Passion Text & Translations

Leslie Dala, conductor Angela Gjurichanin, soprano Emma Parkinson, mezzo-soprano Asitha Tennekoon, tenor Raphaël Laden-Guindon, bass SSO Chorus with Duff Warkentin Recit roles: Asitha Tennekoon, Evangelist Raphaël Laden-Guindon, Jesus Matthew Praksas,…

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