A 'St. Matthew Passion' Balances Grandeur and Calm at Carnegie Hall
“Of Bach’s two surviving Passions, “St. John” is the more fiery, dramatic and troubling. “St. Matthew” is something like its wise and contemplative sibling … And that’s how the “St. Matthew Passion” came across on Thursday at Carnegie Hall, with Bernard Labadie leading the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, along with three choirs and a half-dozen soloists … The “St. Matthew Passion” is more meditation than melodrama, and this reading carried that belief to the final measure — its dissonance barely held, the slightest tension resolving with the grace of the restfulness it’s meant to reflect.” —The New York Times
In a triumphant return to live, in-person performances following COVID-19 closures, Principal Conductor Bernard Labadie led Orchestra of St. Luke’s and three choirs—La Chapelle de Québec, the Handel and Haydn Society Chorus, and the boys of the St. Thomas Choir—along with several soloists in Bach’s sprawling, meditative masterpiece, St. Matthew Passion.
“That is the battery of musical forces required for Bach’s Lenten masterpiece … over nearly three hours … with reflective asides in the form of chorales, recitatives and da capo arias.” —The New York Times
Photos by Richard Termine