91Èȱ¬

Gareth Malone stages Bach’s St John Passion with the help of amateur singers.

This Easter, acclaimed choirmaster and broadcaster Gareth Malone takes eight novice singers and stages Bach’s St John Passion on the 300th anniversary of its first performance, alongside the 91Èȱ¬ National Orchestra of Wales and the 91Èȱ¬ Singers.

This is a rare television foray into the world of classical music for Gareth – better known for series like The Choir: Military Wives and Boys Don’t Sing – but he is a massive Bach fan. He will be putting his own twist on this choral masterpiece that tells the dramatic story of Jesus’s final days.

This first episode sees Gareth encouraging people from all walks of life to apply – his only requirement being that they love singing and have a good voice but no classical training or background in a classical choir. Hundreds of applications flood in, which leads to Gareth auditioning, amongst others, a drag queen from Port Talbot, a train conductor from Newport and a flute- and saxophone-playing fitness enthusiast from Cardiff.

With the eight singers selected, an intense two-month training and rehearsing schedule kicks off, with the group learning to follow a complex music score and beginning to tackle four-part harmonies. Alongside group and individual lessons, Gareth is also keen for his singers to understand the Passion. Jesus’s arrest, trial and crucifixion form the backbone of a musical work that covers betrayal, suffering, grief, but also hope – timeless human themes that the eight singers find they can relate to.

Gareth too is facing his own challenge, having never conducted a work like this before, but this project has been a dream of his for decades.

As part of his preparations, Gareth pays a visit to Leipzig, where Bach first performed his revolutionary Passion on Good Friday, 1724. Gareth now hopes that his performance – which he decides will be sung in English, not German – can bring Bach’s musical interpretation of the Easter story to a new audience.

The amateurs have just one month to prepare before they take to the stage at Cardiff’s Hoddinott Hall alongside the 91Èȱ¬ Singers and the 91Èȱ¬ National Orchestra of Wales. Three of Britain’s finest soloists also perform – tenor Nicholas Mulroy as Bach’s Evangelist, Bach specialist, soprano Julia Doyle, and baritone Roderick Williams, who sang at the King’s coronation, in the role of Jesus.

The full performance is broadcast on 91Èȱ¬ Two and 91Èȱ¬ Two Wales on Easter Sunday evening, with the series available to watch on 91Èȱ¬ iPlayer.