Bach’s St Matthew Passion is one of the great masterpieces of Western music and has been a cornerstone of the choral repertory ever since it was revived by Mendelssohn in 1829; in recent years it has been at the centre of attempts to understand and revive Bach’s performing style.  This performance, with a distinguished cast of soloists, is a rare chance to hear the work complete and in German using the sort of forces Bach envisaged.  In addition, we believe it is the first British performance of the work as conceived around 1725.  It differs from the familiar 1727 version in many ways, notably in the layout of the forces, the allocation of the voices and, in particular, the assignment of the solo part of the exquisite aria ‘Komm, süßes Kreuz’ to the lute rather than the bass viol.  A concert not to be missed.