The St. Matthew Passion represents the culmination of not only the Lutheran tradition of liturgical Passions, but of the entire genre as well. It is a work of majesty which demonstrates the height of Bach's compositional mastery as well as the profundity of his musical expression and his understanding of the liturgical and spiritual elements of his faith. After some 275 years since its first performance, the St. Matthew Passion remains the summit of the choral art alongside the Mass in B minor.

The opening chorale from Bach's greatest work  -- a work described above by Dr. Lisette Canton -- is today's sacred selection:

Come, ye daughters, share my mourning,
See ye -- Whom? -- the bridegroom there,
See him -- How? -- just like a lamb!
O Lamb of God, unspotted
Upon the cross's branch slaughtered,
See ye -- What? -- see him forbear,
Alway displayed in thy patience,
How greatly wast thou despisèd.
Look -- Where, then? -- upon our guilt;
All sin hast thou born for us,
Else we had lost all courage.
See how he with love and grace
Wood as cross himself now beareth!
Have mercy on us, O Jesus!

This particular version is performed by the Munich Bach Orchestra and Choir, led by Karl Richter -- the conductor whose online interpretation of Bach's masterpiece most closely resembles that of Herbert Von Karajan and the Vienna Symphony Orchestra. Sadly, I could not find a complete version of Karajan's recording online for this selection, but I cannot recommend it enough. Many of the more recent period recordings seem to focus on a more aggressive approach to the tempo. And while Karajan (or Richter or Klemperer) can seem almost maddeningly deliberate at times, there are a number of the work's more dramatic moments where I believe the slowness to be absolutely essential. (This opening chorale is just such a moment.)

The internet is filled to the bursting with fascinating Matthäuspassion links, including the entire text and its English translation, a highly entertaining "guided tour" of the piece from the folks at NPR, and for those with a bit more time on their hands, an entire performance of the work from Ton Koopman and the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra.

And to close, the finale from Richter.