St John Passion gets new angle

By Bob Karlovits

PITTSBURGH — Thomas Wesley Douglas is taking “The Passion
According to St. John” away from the holiday to which it is
connected and the churches in which it often is presented.

“I think if you take it away from Easter, you have more of a
chance to think about the human side of Jesus Christ,” says the
music director of the Bach Choir of Pittsburgh.

Douglas will be leading the choir in the monumental work by
Johann Sebastian Bach this weekend at the PPG Wintergarden,
Downtown. He has put it in the secular setting in an effort to tell
the story of the death of Christ in a way that reflects the human
side of the suffering.

He says that aspect is the significance of the St. John gospel.
By focusing on that human element, the gospel gives more credence
and depth to the crucifixion story, Douglas says.

Jon Erik Schreiber, associate conductor of the choir, will be
singing the role of the evangelist in this presentation and is
pleased also at Douglas’ placement of the concert. He thinks the
Wintergarden will give the concert a stronger secular nature,
prompting appreciation of the human side of the story.