The English Concert

Bach’s peerless ‘Great Passion’, as it was known to the composer’s family, captures the human drama and earth-shattering shock of the holy saviour’s death. The narrative’s dramatic events, taken from St Matthew’s Gospel, are interleaved with profound reflections on the meaning of the Crucifixion, God’s once-for-all redemption of humanity’s sins. The English Concert marks the 300th anniversary of the work’s first performance on Good Friday 1727, directing its collective experience and expertise to the service of music created for ‘the glorification of God and the refreshment of the spirit’.