With his Passion JS Bach has created a grand lamentation. He does not to believe that coping with our fears and sorrows means to keep them in check in order to quickly get over them. Instead his music gives us a container for our sorrows and seduces us into the beauty of lamentation. Joining in this orchestrated experience of mourning can actually be self-soothing and a strategy for resilience in the face of tragedy.

Apr 12
Apr 12 “Come, hurry and run…” Life Resurrected

Almut Furchert

Passion Week

With this Easter Oratorio by Bach we greet you on this Easter morning one more time. Finally the trumpets and timpani. Bach has led us tenderly through deep emotions of loss, failure, fear and grief, on Easter Sunday trumpets and timpani get their say.

Apr 11
Apr 11 Conducting the Pause. Arriving at the Threshold to Easter

Almut Furchert

Passion Week

When singing the St. Matthew Passion with the Munich Bach choir one moment stood out: silence. The silence entered when our conductor intentionally held onto the rest after Jesus bowed his head and died. He stood still, with his arms in suspension, cradling the time. It was as though the whole audience sighed together, like our hearts stood still for a moment, pausing in unison. Since then I have known that conducting the pause is as important as conducting the whole Passion...

Apr 10
Apr 10 "Release me from my anguish..." Taking refuge in the God who suffers

Almut Furchert

Passion Week

Where is our hope in times of daily death counts? Our hope is in a God who died publicly humiliated outside the walls of a minor city in a great empire. Our hope is in a God who chooses humility over grandiosity, a God who bows deeply, who suffers with us, even unto death.

Apr 9
Apr 9 "Pity me, my God...“ Finding Comfort and Compassion in Bach's Passion

Almut Furchert

Passion Week

One can hardly say anything more meaningful than is already said in this ethereal Aria of JS Bach’s St. Matthew Passion and the angelic earnestness of the interpretation by the male Alto Tim Mead and the Netherlands Bach Society. May you find comfort and healing in it and may it move you to shared compassion with those who suffer in these troubled times.

Apr 8
Apr 8 "He went out and wept bitterly." Finding consolation in Peter's regret

Chuck Huff

Passion Week

Today we walk with Peter through his courage, betrayal, and desolation at the cock crow. The music is frenetic and the themes are challenging. But Bach has strategically placed soothing moments that show empathy for the sufferer and offer consolation. We will look together at both the difficulties and the consolations, and then suggest a process and practice to bind them together.

Apr 7

Apr 7 "Have mercy, Lord, on me...". Finding Healing amidst our sorrows

Almut Furchert

Passion Week

The arias in Bach’s Passions are wells of deep emotion. Time stands still, while we follow a movement of heart to the depth of our soul. Bach’s aria “Have mercy, my God”, invites us almost to dance through our bitter weeping, to get out of our frightened state, and back into motion. It seduces the listener into graceful mourning and the gentle desire for mercy.

Apr 6
Apr 6 "Come ye daughters, share my mourning.” Entering Passion Week in a time of plague

Almut Furchert

Passion Week

With his Passion JS Bach has created a grand lamentation. He does not to believe that coping with our fears and sorrows means to keep them in check in order to quickly get over them. Instead his music gives us a container for our sorrows and seduces us into the beauty of lamentation. Joining in this orchestrated experience of mourning can actually be self-soothing and a strategy for resilience in the face of tragedy.