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Logo Concertgebouw Brugge

Masterpiece week Bach

Masterpiece week Bach

Mattheuspassie

  • possibly the largest, longest and most widely performed setting of Jesus’s Passion, this work earned Bach the nickname ‘the fifth evangelist’
  • the alto aria Erbarme dich, with its violin solo that brings tears to the eyes, is a regular top scorer in Klara's Top 100
  • a combination of all the styles and colours of Bach's day, from narrative recitative and operatic arias, to traditional chorales and inventive choral movements, with an ensemble in which only brass and percussion are lacking
  • Mendelssohn's 1829 revival performance, with a huge ensemble, was the starting shot for Bach's rehabilitation with the general public