The young Felix Mendelssohn transformed Johann Sebastian Bach’s majestic St Matthew ion for modern orchestra. His groundbreaking performances of his imioned arrangements in Berlin (1829) and Leipzig (1841 – the version heard in this concert) changed the course of music history. Without these, the great Bach revival might never have happened.
Mendelssohn’s version foregrounds the urgent narrative and potent emotions of the ion story, illustrating Christ’s capture, trial, and crucifixion.
us, our Chief Conductor Ryan Wigglesworth, the Edinburgh Festival Chorus, and six soloists, – including ‘star evangelist’ (The Arts Desk) Ed Lyon – as they rekindle an epoch-defining event.