Sacred opera or sung sermon? Bach’s Matthäus-Passion balances between these two extremes, its singers switching instantaneously between the retelling of Jesus’s suffering and death, and what that means to each one of us in the here and now. The congregation of listeners are embraced through the universalising power of familiar hymn tunes and texts.
Transferring to St James's Spanish Place, Solomon’s Knot does away with both vocal scores and conductor to bring Bach’s masterpiece up-close and personal in an intimate and visceral performance.