The ‘St Matthew Passion’; the masterpiece full of drama, full of human emotions. The way Johann Sebastian Bach poured this into music is a miracle. It continues to fascinate, every year. We do owe this to fellow composer Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, who showed the immense power of the piece to the world again 100 years after its premiere. Fortunately, we didn’t let go of the ‘Matthäus’ after that.

For conductor Patrick van der Linden, Bach’s message is in one word: love. Almost every aria revolves around love. In the aria ‘Aus Liebe’, when the bass instruments fall silent, love itself becomes heavenly. The cross? Weep? Treachery? Debt? Naturally. But love glistens through everything. The ‘St Matthew Passion’ holds up a mirror to us; She makes us look at the person we are and at the people around us. With benevolence and love we come closer together. A message for all times, and certainly for ours.

Ars Musica – Your travel companion in classical! Ars Musica provides a musical stage for musicians and unfolds musical treasures for the audience. Ars Musica also functions as a knowledge center in the field of music in general.