‘The St Matthew Passion is one of the most moving experiences of our common humanity that it is possible to share! The story of the Passion of Christ remains today a living drama and moral dilemma of universal relevance, in which – whatever our spirituality or culture – all of us are confronted with our own mortality, our own search for answers. We all share its humanity. Bach’s immense genius is to step completely outside the liturgical framework by placing us at the very heart of the drama: we become the actors, we take part in the action, we feel it, in our sensibility and even physically. We traverse a drama that is above all human: injustice, betrayal, love, sacrifice, forgiveness, remorse, compassion, pity . . . In quite unprecedented fashion, Bach conveys and makes us feel the fragility and failings of humanity and describes a world gone awry, where love and faith are the only answers. In seeking to challenge and console the human conscience, he offers us genuine ‘balm for the soul’, universal and timeless.’ (Raphaël Pichon, booklet accompanying the CD released by harmonia mundi)
