René Jacobs

The eminent singer and conductor René Jacobs has been fascinated with Bach's Matthew Passion all his life: initially as a choirboy at St. Bavo's Cathedral in Ghent and later as a solo countertenor. As a conductor he studied the score not only from a musicological perspective but also from a theological point of view. More than ever, the Matthew Passion embodies the paradox of drama that is intimate, theatrical and collective all at once. René Jacobs elucidates this exceptional work and talks about the latest recording he has made for harmonia mundi, from which he plays extracts.