17.03.2022

JULIAN PRÉGARDIEN - A Sought-after Performer of Bach’s Evangelists

“Precise, crystal-clear and unsentimental,” thus the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung recently described Julian Prégardien’s velvety timbre. As a song recitalist, Julian Prégardien is as successful as on the opera stage. In addition, he is among the most sought-after performers of Bach’s Evangelist roles. He is a charismatic narrator of the dramatic events of the Passions, which he has just demonstrated on a new and impressive recording of Bach’s St. Matthew Passion with the Ensemble Pygmalion under the baton of Raphaël Pichon.

During the past two weeks, Julian Prégardien has been performing as part of the extensive and intense Christ Project with the Ensemble Pygmalion and Raphaël Pichon. On three evenings each, they recounted the various life stages of Jesus Christ: his birth, his passion and his resurrection. The trilogy was performed at the Philharmonie in Paris, the Auditorium de Bordeaux, at the Philharmonie in Essen and in Versailles. The three evenings, embodying an impressive musical message of humanism and hope, were recorded by ARTE Concert.

During Passiontide, Julian Prégardien is also heard as the Evangelist in Bach’s St. John Passion with the Ensemble Gli Angeli and Stephan MacLeod in Switzerland before making his debut at New York’s Carnegie Hall as the Evangelist in Bach’s St. Matthew Passion under Bernard Labadie. Finally, he will perform the role of Evangelist in the St. Matthew Passion with the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal under Paul McCreesh’s baton in Montréal.