The St. John Pas­sion by J.S. Bach

The Summer Concerts in Skálholt celebrate the 50th anniversary of the festival with a performance of one of the most well-known Baroque works in music history: Bach’s St. John Passion, in Eldborg.

For the first time in Iceland, the 4th version of Bach's St. John Passion will be performed. Bach performed the Passion four times during his career, revising it each time. This final version was performed one year before Bach’s death, in 1749.

Performers
Benedikt Kristjánsson, Evangelist and conductor
María Konráðsdóttir, soprano
Arnheiður Eiríksdóttir, mezzo-soprano
Hrólfur Sæmundsson, Pilate
Tobias Berndt, Jesus
The chamber choir Schola Cantorum
Baroque ensemble Brák and the Finnish Baroque Orchestra

Benedikt Kristjánsson is the artistic director and executive manager of the Summer Concerts in Skálholt. He conducted a performance of the Christmas Oratorio and sang the role of the Evangelist in the Art Society of Reykjavík’s production in December 2024. Benedikt has participated in performances of the St. John Passion in major concert halls across Europe, Canada, and the United States. He also created a special arrangement of the Passion for tenor, harpsichord/organ, and percussion, which was performed in St. Thomas Church in Leipzig on Good Friday in 2020, during the height of the global pandemic. The performance was streamed by Germany’s largest television networks. Benedikt received the German music award Opus Klassik for the most innovative concert of the year for his performance of the work.