"This week I attended three performances of the St. Matthew Passion by the divine Bach, with the same feeling each time of immense wonder. For someone who has totally given it up, Christianity here truly does sound like a gospel; this is the music of the denial of will, without traces of ascetism". These were the words of Nietzsche in 1870, but the same feeling of wonder still applies today, two and a half centuries after its première in 1729 (or 1727, according to some): Johann Sebastian Bach remains one of the world’s most loved composers, and the St. Matthew Passion is not just one of his major works, but according to some, it is one of Western culture’s essential artistic creations.

Bach, still overwhelmed by the enormous task of his position as kantor in Leipzig, distinguished himself for being a meticulous composer with strict principles, who put special care into crafting this Passion. For this reflection and musical intensification of the gospel text, he contemplated instrumental and vocal resources that most likely exceeded those at his disposal: two choirs with soloists and two orchestras (among the instruments we must point out the precise and beautiful use he makes of the occasional soloists, violins, oboe d’amore, oboe da caccia and flutes). A demanding score,especially for the voices, it is always a challenge for performers. Coral Cármina Nova and Escolanía Sta.Mª de la Victoria, together with renowned soloists and the Malaga Philharmonic have risen to the challenge after more than a decade of absence in the Orchestra Season, to rediscover the genius of a piece that is profoundly expressive, full of contrasts, a piece written to honour God and for the "enjoyment of the soul ".

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