Visiting Virtuosi: Lyric Tenor Dann Coakwell on Bach’s Evangelists
Johann Sebastian Bach’s St. Matthew Passion is one of the undisputed masterworks of classical music, unfolding over three glorious hours of the composer’s most nuanced and expressive writing. But as familiar as Bach’s music is to our ears today, for Grammy Award-winning tenor Dann Coakwell, every note is still a point of deep artistic contemplation.
Dann has made a career specializing in Bach’s Evangelist roles, and his gorgeous lyric tenor voice has propelled him to an international career singing the B Minor Mass, the Christmas Oratorio, and the titular roles of the two surviving Passions. A regular performer on the most prestigious stages in North America, Europe, South America, and Japan, he currently splits his time between Colgate University and Ithaca College cultivating future generations of Baroque singers.
In 2025, Dann will be joining the Colorado Bach Ensemble to reprise his role as the Evangelist in the St. Matthew Passion. We sat down with Dann to discuss his career, the challenges of these roles, and some of his favorite moments from the piece.
CBE: What makes a tenor well-suited for singing the Evangelist roles?
Dann: The ideal tenor voice for Bach is lighter and leaner than the operatic roles of Puccini, Verdi, and Wagner. That’s because the thicker, romantic writing was conceived with a larger and more modern orchestra in mind. I’m a lyric leggero tenor—or a tenore di grazie—which means my voice is ideal for the more graceful and flexible writing of Bach, Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven. I even do a little Rossini now and then.
CBE: Do composers write for lyric tenors today?
Dann: You know, there’s been a fascinating resurgence of lyric tenor writing in recent years. Not all, but many of today’s composers prefer clarity, lighter vibrato, and pure harmonies because they are deliberately writing in a more instrumental way. A big 19th-century operatic voice isn’t necessarily suited for this kind of style. So I sing Baroque and Classical, skip the Romantic period entirely, and then slide back into the ultra-modern scene!
CBE: Tell us about Bach’s Evangelist roles.
Dann: There are actually more Evangelists in Bach’s body of work than most audience members realize. Beyond the Passions and the Christmas Oratorio, there are a few snippets in the Ascension Oratorio and quite a few cantatas. However, because of how Bach conceived of the tenor voice, there are also many recitatives where an evangelistic role is implied.
At their core, the Evangelists are narrators describing the action, and Bach highlights the singer’s virtuosity and storytelling ability by utilizing the secco recitative.
Secco is the Italian word for “dry”, but don’t mistake that for dull or boring—it’s quite the opposite! Bach strips the accompaniment down to the continuo, and the singer delivers speech-like, nearly a cappella lines instead of regular, rhythmic melodies with accompaniment.
As a result, you’re now responsible for much of the harmony, and my perception is that a great Evangelist should take a keyboard-like approach. Along with the organ, harpsichord, and cello, you work in tandem to create the harmonic landscape the audience hears. In a way, you become the instrument Bach himself used to tell his musical stories, so there’s a very deep metaphorical connection.
CBE:That sounds incredibly challenging!
Dann:It’s both a joy and a burden, for sure. Like a Homeric poet, you’re always striking a balance between dramatizing the story and preserving the underlying structure. You can’t lose the rhythm, melody, and harmony because they’re not coming from anywhere else. But when you find that synergy with the keyboard and cello, that’s where the fun happens.
CBE:How do you approach the Evangelist in the St. Matthew Passion?
Dann:Some people take a more passive stance and allow Bach’s harmony to do the heavy lifting, which is certainly a valid take. However, I prefer an active, dynamic approach that gets more involved in the action. After all, the Evangelist may be a light lyric tenor, but he’s the only character who breaks the Fourth Wall—he’s recounting the story, but he’s also watching it happen.
I want to make it more like you’re watching a movie and the Evangelist is behind the camera. I’m not exactly in the shot, but I can also say “whoa, look what’s happening over here!”
CBE:What’s your favorite moment in the St. Matthew Passion?
Dann: I have two. The first is the sequence where Peter is weeping because he has denied Jesus for the third time. It leads right into the famous alto aria Erbarme dich, which is my personal favorite. The Evangelist’s recitative is incredibly vulnerable, visceral, and painful. Peter is humanity—everyone experiences the pain of questioning their most deeply held beliefs.
It’s a moment that, for me, also transcends the religious context of the work. How do we deny our place in the universe, our planet, our role in society, and taking care of one another? Bach illustrates this as the tenor line rises up twice on similar pitches, first tenderly and then powerfully. In four bars he covers the extremes of human emotion. And then, instead of resolving, the aria becomes a continuation of this very human drama:
Have mercy, my God, for the sake of my tears! Look here, heart and eyes weep bitterly before you. Have mercy, have mercy!
My other favorite moment is late in the piece when the temple veil is ripped in two. It’s a dramatic scene that features the most ariosowriting for the Evangelist in the entire work. It’s an incredibly powerful moment that takes full advantage of the lyric tenor voice to propel the St. Matthew Passion to its conclusion.
CBE: You’ve sung with CBE several times, but this will be your second performance as the Evangelist. We’re glad you’re back!
Dann: Me too. I absolutely love working with Dr. Kim and the Colorado Bach Ensemble. I was actually the Evangelist in CBE’s very first performance of the St. Matthew Passion in 2013, and I’m thrilled to be invited back again. I’m looking forward to bringing this wonderful piece alive for the Colorado audience!
To learn more about Dann, you can follow his career on Facebook, and Instagram. Visit www.coloradobach.orgto purchase tickets for his February 21 and 23 performances of the St. Matthew Passion in Denver, CO.