Work: Johann Sebastian Bach – St Matthew Passion, BWV 244
Performers: Netherlands Bach Society; Masaaki Suzuki, conductor
Cast: Nicholas Mulroy (Evangelist); Hana Blažíková, Miku Yasukawa (sopranos); Alexander Chance, Christopher Lowrey (altos); Raphael Höhn, Shimon Yoshida (tenors); Stephan MacLeod, Toru Kaku (basses); Kampen Boys Choir
Date: Sunday, March 29, 2026
Time: 14:30 (Amsterdam, GMT+2)
Streaming: YouTube (Netherlands Bach Society)
For the first time, the Netherlands Bach Society will broadcast Johann Sebastian Bach’s St Matthew Passion live, streaming from the Grote Kerk in Naarden, the historic setting where the ensemble has maintained its long-standing Passion tradition.
The performance is led by Masaaki Suzuki, one of today’s leading figures in historically informed performance. A renowned Bach specialist, Suzuki returns to the Netherlands Bach Society twenty years after his first appearance with the ensemble in this work. Since then, he has performed the St Matthew Passion extensively around the world, developing an approach shaped by decades of experience. Reflecting on the piece, Suzuki has described it as a work that continually demands deeper understanding and renewed commitment, even after more than a hundred performances.
Few works occupy a place in the repertoire comparable to the St Matthew Passion. Bach’s setting of the Passion narrative combines large-scale choral architecture with moments of striking intimacy, creating a work that remains central to both liturgical and concert traditions. The Netherlands Bach Society, whose annual performances of the Passion are known internationally, brings together a cast of specialists in Baroque vocal performance for this tour across the Netherlands.
This live stream also reflects the ensemble’s broader digital presence through its All of Bach project, an ongoing initiative to record and share Bach’s complete works online. By making performances freely accessible worldwide, the project has expanded the reach of historically informed interpretations, connecting audiences far beyond the concert hall.
The broadcast from Naarden offers a rare opportunity to experience this tradition in real time, combining a landmark work, a distinguished conductor, and an ensemble closely associated with Bach’s music.
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