The sorrowful retelling of Jesus’ final hours is sculpted into a gripping drama under the direction of Jonathan Cohen.
First performed in 1727 and revised until late in his life, in the St Matthew Passion the mystery of faith seems to fully collide with the mystery of JS Bach’s genius.
It is a work of compelling theatricality. The drama is heightened by the collaboration between Bach and his librettist, Picander and the technically deft layering of the gospel texts and Lutheran chorales with meditations for soloists. Above all, the audience is thrust into the heart of the drama by the decision to make the choir active participants in the drama, almost as if we are standing in Pilate’s courtyard.
Jonathan Cohen’s reputation has rocketed in recent years through his work with Arcangelo, the ensemble he founded, his appointment as music director of Boston’s Handel and Haydn Society and with the OAE at Glyndebourne. He is joined by a cast of prized exponents of historically informed performance, including Nick Pritchard (a former Rising Star of the Enlightenment) as the Evangelist and countertenor Iestyn Davies.
