Johann Sebastian Bach’s St Matthew Passion is widely recognised as one of the greatest masterpieces in Western sacred music. With its double orchestra and chorus this is a work of enormous proportions in every sense, and Bach was extremely resourceful in treading a fine line between creating the almost operatic spectacle valued by the secular authorities in Leipzig, and the elevated religious atmosphere sought by the clergy. This inspired mix of moving drama and theological discourse led Leonard Bernstein to declare that ‘there is nothing like it in all of music’.

Ralf Otto’s recordings of J.S. Bach for Naxos have been widely acclaimed. The St John Passion (857381718) released in March 2018 was admired by MusicWeb International: ‘The Bachchor Mainz is a fine ensemble: it shows great flexibility in those turbae which are performed at a high speed, and produces a surprisingly transparent sound, also thanks to the good acoustic of the Christuskirche in Mainz.’ The Christmas Oratorio (857400102) released in October 2018 was admired by Pizzicato: ‘There is a lot of gorgeous playing and singing in this new recording… the soloists… are outstanding.’

Tenor Georg Poplutz (Evangelist) is renowned for his more than 40 recordings and expressive performances of lied and oratorio, performing at festivals and leading venues all over Germany and Europe with conductors including Hermann Max, Sir Roger Norrington, Ralf Otto, Hans-Christoph Rademann, Ludger Rémy, Michael Schneider, Masaaki Suzuki, Winfried Toll, and Roland Wilson.

Baritone Matthias Winckhler (Jesus) was awarded the First Prize as well as the Special Prize of the Mozarteum Foundation Salzburg at the International Mozart Competition Salzburg 2014. He has taken numerous acclaimed operatic roles and has also recorded for OehmsClassics.