Bach’s St Matthew Passion was conceived on a monumental scale – indeed he referred to it as ‘the great Passion’. Composed for St Thomas’s Church, Leipzig, where Bach was director of music, the oratorio was first performed on Good Friday, 1727. It is widely regarded as one of the supreme masterpieces of Western classical music.
The story of Christ’s betrayal, trial and death is told in the words of the Evangelist Matthew, while the other soloists and the choir take on the roles of Jesus, his disciples, Pilate and the crowd. To accentuate the drama, Bach employs a double chorus, two chamber orchestras and a children’s choir. Imaginative settings of the Gospel narrative are interspersed with profoundly expressive choruses, arias and chorales meditating on the spiritual significance of the events. The result is a work of intense emotional and dramatic impact, which will be enhanced by the clarity of Counterpoint’s period instruments. Also taking part in this performance will be members of Fulham Prep School Chamber Choir and Heath Mount School Bax Choir. The work will be sung in German.