You might have heard about our performance of Bach’s St Matthew Passion before – it’s one of our most well-loved concerts for a host of excellent reasons. If you’re yet to experience the work, it would be really easy to overlook some of the details that make our performance of it so accessible whilst retaining all of the emotional impact of the work.
An 11am start
We make an exception from our usual 7.30pm starts for this Bach masterpiece. Why do we do this? While it seems a strange time, an 11am beginning allows for a two hour lunch break in which you can properly digest this fantastic work whilst you have lunch. Where you do that is up to you – we’ve put a number of suggestions for that here.
Of course, there are also links to the religious nature of the piece in this starting time, too – and while the piece tells a story that is religious, you absolutely don’t have to be religious to enjoy it. The below interview with Evangelist Ed Lyon illustrates that – he himself is not religious but has an incredible connection with the piece which will become evident upon hearing him sing it.
An arresting performance in English
The St Matthew Passion was originally set in Bach’s native German, and there’s an undeniable beauty to the piece when it’s performed in its original language. However, if you’re not a German speaker it can be easy to get lost in a German performance – the text is so crucial in conveying the intense emotion that runs through the St Matthew Passion. To make sure that there are no barriers to engagement, we perform the piece in English which ensures that everyone can get swept up in the drama. David Hill below elaborates on why we sing the work in English below.
A large ensemble
The choirs that performed the St Matthew Passion in Bach’s day were much smaller than the 200 or so singers that we perform this work with today. While we think it’s hugely important to respect conventions, our larger choir gives the piece a greater sense of scale that fills our large venue (the Royal Festival Hall) better, whilst still preserving the intimacy of the Evangelist’s performance and the soloists’ responses to the choir.
Experience the passion
All of these factors play a part in why our performance has become an important date in London’s classical calendar over the 93 years that we’ve been performing it. This concert fills up fast, so don’t delay – buy your tickets here now.