Johann Sebastian Bach, The Saint Matthew Passion

The 2026 Masterworks Concert: Engaging With Bach, The St. Matthew Passion

Berkshire Lyric presents J.S. Bach’s Saint Matthew Passion on May 31, 2026. This represents perhaps the biggest challenge in our six decades of going big, and is the latest in a long line of encountering larger works at our performances at Seiji Ozawa Hall, Tanglewood. Most musicians agree that Bach may be the most significant musician of all time, and many believe his 1727 setting of the Matthew passion narrative may be the greatest single work of music in the entire western canon.

The Concert

This three hour work combines all of Bach’s dramatic and poetic power to tell this grand story of betrayal, judgment, sacrifice and death. Above all, it is the story of the power of love. Bach has scored the work for two choruses, an additional children’s chorus, double orchestra, six main soloists, and several smaller solo parts. It was not conceived as a concert work, but as a transformative ritual that can reach across time and space. Audience members are often pulled out of their comfort zone as they enter the story. During a 30 minute intermission we will all join at complimentary refreshment tables and stretch a bit on the Tanglewood grounds.

The Vocal Soloists

Lectures on the Bach St. Matthew Passion

Sunday, April 26 at 4:00 pm
Roeliff-Janson Community Library
Rt. 22, Hillsdale, NY
Artistic Director Jack Brown unpacks this monumental work, and what makes it great.

May 1
Berkshire Lyric Annual Masterworks Video Lecture by Director Jack Brown. Available on this website and on the Berkshire Lyric YouTube page.

Sunday, May 3 at 2:00 pm
First Congregational Church of Stockbridge
4 Main Street, Stockbridge, MA
Artistic Director Jack Brown and Rev. Dr. Rick Floyd will unpack the music and meaning in this monumental work.

Wednesday, May 6 at 7:00 pm to 8:15 pm
Kimball Farms, Lenox, MA
Artistic Director Jack Brown explores the music and preparation for the concert from the inside.

Wednesday, May 13 at 9:30 am
Berkshire Community College, Pittsfield, MA
Osher Lifelong Learning Institute lecture – Artistic Director Jack Brown unpacks this monumental work, and what makes it great.

The Berkshire Lyric People’s Chorus

For the May 31 Bach St. Matthew Passion we are including a large, non-auditioned chorus of the broadest range of singers to sing with us the 12 chorale movements of this multifaceted work. They will be seated just above the stage and rise to join with us in these important parts of the passion story that were known to, and likely sung by the audience as well as the congregation at the original performance. There will be several Saturday afternoon rehearsals during the spring for just this group, as well as two dress rehearsals at Ozawa Hall with the Berkshire Lyric Chorus and our orchestra and soloists. This is an unusual and exciting opportunity to be on the inside of this performance. For more information, visit our Sing With Us! page.

A Journey to Bach

I have been blessed to be leading Berkshire Lyric for almost 20 years. In many ways, this encounter with the St. Matthew Passion represents the culmination of much of my work: building the chorus, teaching young singers, and engaging with challenging music for us year in and year out. Personally, it is fitting to me that my very first opportunity with Berkshire Lyric was as the bass soloist in Bach’s Mass in b Minor with Bob Blafield several decades ago. I was too young to fully realize how hard this music was at the time, but it was a significant experience in my development. Bach remains a touchstone to what approaches both perfection and a deeply personal emotional resonance. This is true not only to fully professional musicians and scholars, but to amateurs and a broader public. I hope that I can help provide an opportunity for many to come along with us and participate in this journey of musical wonder.

Useful Links

Documentaries about J.S. Bach
Bach, A Passionate Life – John Eliot Gardiner | 90 minutes. A wonderful overview.

Glory to God Alone: the Life of J.S.Bach | 45 minutes.

Encountering Bach: A Documentary film (2020) David Chin | 120 minutes. Gorgeous to look at, and wonderful interviews with scholars on location.

Program Notes and Lectures on the St. Matthew Passion by tenor James Gilchrist | Video overview.

Panel Discussion Video for the Lincoln Center with Director Peter Sellers and Berlin Rundfunkchor’s Simon
Halsey

Bach and the St. Matthew Passion by Janet Bedell for LA Opera
https://www.laopera.org/discover-la-opera/explore/blog/bach-and-the-st-matthew-passion

Pre-Concert Talk for Liverpool Philharmonic

Notes by tenor David Gordon
https://www.spiritsound.com/matthew.html

Notes for Boston Baroque by Martin Pearlman | Includes an incredibly detailed organizational chart of the entire work.
https://baroque.boston/js-bach-st-matthew-passion

“Where has your beloved gone?” A conversation on Bach’s St. Matthew Passion by Emmanuel Music Boston

A Listening Guide to J.S. Bach’s St. Matthew Passion by Thomas Dawkins
https://chaplaincy.tufts.edu/wp-content/uploads/document.pdf

Performance Links

Full performance by John Eliot Gardiner, English Baroque Soloists and Monteverdi Choir, 1988 | One of the most admired performances ever. Most of our tempos will be in this ballpark.

Full performance by Otto Klemperer, Philharmonia Orchestra and Chorus, 1962 | An all-time great cast of soloists, including Fischer-Dieskau, Schwarzkopf, Nicolai Gedda, and Walter Berry. Great performance, very slow, solemn and majestic, with a full throttle chorus.

Full performance by Philippe Herreweghe and Collegium Vocale Ghent, 1984 | Smaller forces and a bit quicker with incredible clarity and attention to detail.

Tools for learning individual choral parts on your own. Cyberbass, very useful and free!
https://www.cyberbass.org/Major_Works/Bach_J_S/Bach_StMatthewPassion.htm

A fee involved, but well worth it:
https://www.choraline.com