The Bach-Mendelssohn Project

In celebration of their 140th season, Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia reconstructed Felix Mendelssohn's 1841 revision of Johann Sebastian Bach's St. Matthew Passion, in an American premiere at Girard College Chapel. Mendelssohn's edits to the original score were designed to popularize Bach among mid-19th-century audiences, who were more likely to study than to perform the composer's work. Artistic Director Alan Harler, who traveled to Oxford University to study Mendelssohn's handwritten edits, conducted the February 8, 2015 performance. Participating musicians included the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, soprano Susanna Phillips, mezzo-soprano Marietta Simpson, tenor Yusuke Fujii, bass Andrew Bogard, and Michael Stairs, organ. Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia also produced a "BIG SING" concert, during which audience members will be invited to sing several of Bach's St. Matthew Passion chorales.