Coventry Cathedral will host a unique collaboration of Europe’s most distinguished boys’ choirs performing Bach’s St Matthew Passion on 4 April.
JS Bach’s St Matthew Passion at Coventry Cathedral
This landmark collaboration between Trinity Boys Choir (London) and Kieler Knabenchor (Kiel, Germany) will bring together over 100 young voices from the UK and Germany who will perform Bach’s masterpiece to audiences in London, Coventry and Germany.
This year marks the 85th anniversary of the bombing of Coventry Cathedral, so the choice of Coventry—a city twinned with Kiel—adds a poignant and timely connection to this cultural and artistic partnership.
Like Coventry, Kiel was heavily bombed during the War and the then Mayor of Kiel, Andreas Gayk sent a letter to the Lord Mayor of Coventry, Councillor George Briggs in 1946 proposing a friendship link.
One year later, the Friends of Coventry Society was founded, which later became the Deutsche-Britische Gesellschaft Kiel (German British society) and later that same year, a delegation from Coventry, which included the Lord Mayor, presented a cross of nails to Kiel, made out of nails from the destroyed Coventry Cathedral.
“Music has the extraordinary ability to transcend borders and connect people from all walks of life,” said Nick Mulroy, Director of the Trinity Boys Choir.
“This project allows us to immerse ourselves in this wonderful music and timeless story, but is also about fostering international friendship, meaningful cultural exchange, and a profound, shared experience.”
The choirs will be joined by the Meridian Sinfonia, an acclaimed period instrument ensemble and renowned experts in historically authentic performance of music of this era.
For ticket information and performance details, click here.
