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ST MATTHEW PASSION

Ex Cathedra at Symphony Hall ****


This was authenticity with no holds barred. Not only did we have the excellent period-instrument Ex Cathedra Baroque Orchestra at lower pitch, Jeffrey Skidmore also Tardised us back to the circumstances of the original performance of Bach’s St Matthew Passion in 1727, given as part of Good Friday Vespers, surrounded by liturgy and interspersed with a sermon (oh, those unforgiving pews in Leipzig’s Thomaskirche!).

So here we were topped and tailed with organ preludes (the excellent Rupert Jeffcoat), imported choral offerings, and a congregational hymn. There was also an interval sermon, recitations of texts by Ben Okri and Dietrich Bonhoeffer.  All of this was rationalised in Skidmore’s excellent and engaging programme-notes, but what of the actual performance of Bach’s miraculous score?

Under Skidmore’s discreet direction this was a flowing, lightly-textured account, unforced in its projection, and achieving a fine balance between sonority and detail. This was particularly notable in the many solos (as ever, taken by members of the chorus) with well-crafted instrumental obbligati.

Outstanding among these were the two arias with solo violin, Orchestra I leader Lucy Russell combining with alto Martha McLorinan in “Erbarme dich” and Orchestra II leader Catherine Martin doing the same soon afterwards with bass Thomas Lowen in “Gebt mir meinen Jesum wieder”.

The two chief soloists, Themba Mvula as Jesus, Sebastian Hill as the Evangelist, made gripping contributions, Mvula standing constantly out front, portraying the victim, Hill set amongst the ensemble, and perhaps undeservedly underpowered from there.

As the Passion reaches its conclusion the bass recitative “Am Abend”, followed by “Mache dich” seems to set the seal upon all the terrible events which have happened, and Lawrence White here captured all its serene poignancy.

Ex Cathedra, joined by the Ex Cathedra Academy of Vocal Music and a community choir drawn from all over the region, combined emotional involvement with unfussy technique. For some reason the frequent appearances of the famous Passion Chorale were sung in English, which seemed oxymoronic in this performance otherwise sung in German.

Christopher Morley


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