Saint Peter’s Church presents J.S. Bach’s Passion According to St. Mark: A Contemporary Reconstruction by Dr. Bálint Karosi on April 7, 2023, 12:00 p.m. The performance is the first classical showcase since the Church’s extensive structural and acoustic renovation, heralding an exciting return to concerts in its iconic, modernist Sanctuary.

By its very nature, J.S. Bach’s St. Mark Passion, BWV 247, is a composition open to reinterpretation. It comes to us in missing, lost parts, requiring a composer to fill in the blanks to complete the non-extant composition. Dr. Karosi, Saint Peter’s Cantor and Director of Music, joins a small number of composers who have undertaken this considerable task. In his reconstruction Dr. Karosi reimagines Bach’s lost Passion, one that does not exist in a definite form, for Saint Peter’s annual Good Friday liturgy.

In contrast to Bach’s St. Matthew Passion and St. John Passion which have been performed at Saint Peter’s dozens of times, this will be the first iteration of the St. Mark Passion. This performance is an exciting and appropriate development for Saint Peter’s, a parish with German roots and a robust classical program, with a history of fostering experimentation, community, and creativity through music for over 60 years.

The presentation of the St. Mark Passion continues Saint Peter’s long-standing tradition of generally performing one of the Bach Passions on Good Friday. These programs require significant resources and are funded entirely by generous donations.