The St Matthew Passion is a passion oratorio, which sets to music the 26th and 27th chapters of St Matthew’s Gospel from the German Lutheran bible. These chapters detail the last days of Christ’s life, retold here by solo voices, double orchestra and double chorus. The choral piece is one of two passion settings by Bach that survive today, and so when, in 1829, the composer Felix Mendelssohn discovered the music of the St Matthew Passion, he decided to perform a short version of it in Berlin. This immediately became extremely popular with the public and from then on Bach has always remained recognized as one of the greatest of all composers.
Portsmouth Choral Union will be performing this passion, conducted by David Gostick and accompanied by Southern Pro Musica. Tickets are available in advance on the Portsmouth Choral Union’s website, or on the door.
