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Markus Passion
“An astonishing rebirth
A new world premiere staging of Bach’s lost Passion has dazzled audiences across the US and UK with its simple, dramatic storytelling.
This 80 minute ‘pocket passion’ features beloved actor Joseph Marcell with four singers and 14 elite baroque players, restoring to the world a masterpiece we never should have lost.
“Phenomenal, enthralling, and profound.”
-Thoroughly Good Reviews
J. S. Bach wrote Passion settings for the gospels of Mark as well as for Matthew and John – two of the greatest artistic works of all time. Shortly after Bach’s death in 1750, his Markus-Passion was hand-delivered by his son C.P.E. to his Leipzig publisher, Johann Breitkopf.
Not until after 1850, when the centennial complete works of Bach’s music began, was its loss spotted. Now in a landmark moment in historical performance, Concert Theatre Works has re-framed Bach’s lost masterpiece, convincingly reconstituted by Malcolm Bruno, and republished by Breitkopf as the most authoritative version we will ever have.
“Emotionally supercharged.”
-The Times
Trailer
J. S. BACH
Edition by Malcolm Bruno
Directed by Bill Barclay
Forces
Actor (Evangelist)
4 Singers (SATB)
Strings & Continuo
2 flutes
2 oboes
2 gambas
2 lutes
80 minutes
2025 Production History
APRIL – Carnegie Music Hall, Pittsburgh
The Sebastians with Chatham Baroque
APRIL – Music Before 1800, NYC
Jeffrey Grossman, Music Director
JUNE – Aldeburgh Festival, UK
The Dunedin Consort
John Butt, Music Director
JULY – Eugene, OR
Portland Baroque with Oregon Bach Festival
JULY – Portland, OR
Portland Baroque with Oregon Bach Festival
Julian Perkins, Music Director
JULY – Seattle, WA
Portland Baroque with Oregon Bach Festival
SEPTEMBER – Edinburgh, Scotland
The Dunedin Consort at The Lammermuir Festival
Early music has few masterworks that reliably sell tickets, and most are enormous and expensive undertakings.
Concert Theatre Works has theatrically revealed a new masterpiece that can reliably pack regional festivals, supporting the entire field of historical performance. We aspire for this Passion to join the ranks of the Matthew and John as a guaranteed box office attraction, with our without our involvement.
Ensembles and presenters are welcome to license our script, staging, and approach as a separate pack in order to realize this adaptation on their own. Please contact us for more information info@concerttheatreworks.com
“Concert Theatre Works, artistically directed by Bill Barclay of early-music and theatrical prestige, created a production with orchestra, four singers and an actor/narrator to tell the story of Jesus’ last days on earth. There’s no more dramatic story than that, and Bach’s Eastertime music rose to the occasion.”
-Angela Allen, Oregon Arts Watch
“Quite magnificent…Bill Barclay has devised a simple yet effective staging, with the singers acting the roles during the narrative…Holding the whole thing together, and commanding the stage completely, was the Evangelist, Joseph Marcell, perhaps best known for Geoffrey the Butler in ‘The Fresh Prince of Bel Air’ but also widely admired as a fine stage actor. His beautifully enunciated text was perfectly projected into the nave of the church, and his vocal range throughout, including many of the words of Jesus, was used to great effect.
“There was a hushed silence at the end of the performance, before the bravos rang out around the church. What a brilliant way to bring this brilliant festival to an end!”
–Edinburgh Review
An Historic Achievement:
“Impressive premiere…artfully arranged for dramatic and musical effect… vividly played and sung.”
-NY Classical Review
“A synergistic creative effort to blend and balance theater and early music, or ‘story and symphony.'”
-Oregon Arts Watch
“New York should be suitably impressed.”
-Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Images
Testimonials
“I just attended your production of Markus at Town Hall in Seattle. It was utterly transcendent. I cried. Thank you so much for this moving interpretation of the Passion – such as I have never experienced. I know the Passions well – this was an entirely different experience, as you promised. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
“I am still recovering from the experience. Brought up in the Catholic church, the Passion story has a deep resonance for me, and this was told with such immediacy and engagement, and gentleness, and passionate response, that it will remain with me for a long time.”
“And I’d like to tell you again how extraordinary it is to experience singers/actors being completely themselves while also being totally engaged in being the character needed in the moment. I think I said this better last night and I cannot remember for the life of me what I said… The coherence of the company, the simplicity and sincerity of the performances was astonishing, the balance of naturalness and necessary art was delicate and beautiful.”
