Our big amateur choirs have always loved to perform the large-scale choral works of J S Bach - the B Minor Mass and the Saint John and Saint Matthew Passions. In recent years this has become problematic, as the fashion for 'authentic' performance style has taken root - small choirs, small orchestras, soloists often drawn from the ranks of the choir.
The 2016 Edinburgh Festival enjoyed a performance of the Saint Matthew Passion by the Monteverdi Choir and English Baroque Soloists under John Eliot Gardiner. Since then, in 2017 and 2023, performances have been given in Edinburgh by the locally-based Dunedin Consort directed by John Butt.
What used to be the tradition - a large chorus with symphony orchestra - has fallen out of fashion. The 1981 Festival saw a performance with superb components which was still given only grudging acceptance, despite having the Edinburgh Festival Chorus and London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Claudio Abbado. The soloists included Peter Schreier and Hermann Prey, renowned for their interpretations of the Evangelist and Christus. The arias were delivered by Dame Margaret Price, Jessye Norman, Philip Langridge and Gwynne Howell - an amazing quartet.
What can be done to keep this tradition alive? The Festival has had the idea of returning to an earlier style. By the 19th century, Bach had fallen out of favour. He was rediscovered by Mendelssohn, who revived the Saint Matthew Passion in 1829 in Berlin, using a revised modern orchestral palette. He produced a second version at Leipzig in 1841, after which the work's genius was recognized, and it entered the choral repertoire. Not heard for many years, this revised version forms this year's opening concert and it should prove a fascinating experience.
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