Turku Cathedral
Musicians of the King’s Road a cappella
Markus Yli-Jokipii, conductor
Vesper
Miika Ahola, priest serving in the worship
Melchior Vulpius:
Das Leiden und Sterben unsers Herrn Jesu Christi
aus dem heiligen Evangelisten Matthaeo
– St Matthew Passion 400 years
Revival of the first passion performance in Finland
In 1613, in Erfurt, Germany, a St Matthew Passion, composed by the local church musician Melchior Vulpius, was published. During the next decades the music spread also to the Nordic countries and it thus became the fountainhead of the passion tradition in Finland.
Based on early historical documents it can be said that the passion that was performed in a worship service in Turku Cathedral in 1672 was this work.
The Passion and its historical background in Turku have inspired the Musicians of the King’s Road to offer the public the opportunity to hear this interesting piece in the year of its 400th anniversary.
Free admission
The vesper was recorded by:
The performance can also be watched on the Virtuaalikirkko (the Virtual church) site: www.virtuaalikirkko.fi
