On Palm Sunday, as we enter the final preparations for Easter, we will hear Johann Sebastian Bach’s St Matthew Passion. This monumental work was first performed on Good Friday 1727 or 1729 at St Thomas' Church in Leipzig. At the NFM, we will hear it interpreted by an international lineup of soloists, the NFM Choir, and Wrocław Baroque Orchestra, conducted by Jarosław Thiel.
The genius of the theologian musician from Eisenach continues to fascinate. Both of his surviving Passion works, based on the story of the suffering and death of Jesus Christ as recorded in the Gospels, were written late in the Bach’s career. The St Matthew Passion is the later one. Exactly a century after its premiere, a performance at the Sing-Akademie in Berlin, conducted by Felix Mendelssohn, initiated a revival of interest in the Baroque master’s music that continues to this day. This was also its first presentation outside of Leipzig – nowadays the St Matthew Passion can be heard worldwide.
Listening to this masterpiece, we will witness the Last Supper, the prayer in the Garden of Olives, the arrest of Jesus, as well as his trial, crucifixion, and burial. The plot does not unfold at a steady pace. It is occasionally paused to provide a deeper theological context, consistent with the composer’s times. The biblical texts are supplemented with Lutheran chorales and a poetic commentary by the German librettist Christian Friedrich Henrici, known by his alias Picander. The sounds composed by Bach are deeply moving, serving as a perfect testament to his mastery of musical rhetoric. Bach considered the St Matthew Passion his greatest achievement.