Bach St Matthew Passion

Well known for annual Christmas performances of Handel’s Messiah and other choral works, Perth Symphonic Chorus presents Bach’s immortal St Matthew Passion for the first time in its nearly 30-year history.

The Passion story chronicles the suffering of Jesus Christ, narrated by an evangelist telling the legendary story according to Saint Matthew. Teddy Tahu Rhodes brings depth and resonance to the role of Christus, with tenor John Longmuir bringing a wealth of opera experience to the part of the Evangelist.

Bach’s St Matthew Passion is to music, what Leonardo Da Vinci’s The Last Supper, or Michelangelo’s The Last Judgement in the Sistine Chapel are to visual art. Composed in 1727, the oratorio had its first performance at Good Friday Mass and continues to be performed during the Easter period. The work has achieved the status of masterpiece because of its musical innovations, dramatic power, and complexity of elements - double choir, double orchestra, solo character parts.

Today, the music of Bach enjoys world-wide recognition, but in his lifetime, he was composing for the 30,000 citizens of Leipzig and the Lutheran congregations of its major churches like the Thomaskirche. It is this building which inspired Bach to make use of various spaces and organ lofts giving shape to the St Matthew Passion’s double choir and orchestra. Bach expertly utilises the double choir for full effect, with stunning counterpoint and rousing chorales. His arias for solo singers are some of the most beautiful melodies in any genre.

Don’t miss Perth Symphonic Chorus and the Perth Baroque Orchestra and soloists, conducted by James Pratt, in this once-in-a-lifetime musical experience.