On Good Friday, every seat in Melbourne’s Elisabeth Murdoch Hall is occupied for the Melbourne Bach Choir’s performance of Bach’s St Matthew Passion.

Twenty years ago, conductor Rick Prakhoff, the late Richard Divall, and a group of determined choristers formed the Melbourne Bach Choir specifically to perform the St Matthew Passion.

This monumental work calls for three choirs, two orchestras, and seven soloists. Alongside tenor Andrew Goodwin (the Evangelist) and bass-baritone Adrian Tamburini (Jesus) at the front of the stage are Lorina Gore (soprano), Sally-Anne Russell (mezzo-soprano), Henry Choo (tenor) and bass-baritones Simon Meadows and Christopher Hillier.

Singers of the Yarra Voices during St Matthew Passion, Elisabeth Murdoch Hall, Melbourne.

Behind them, the Melbourne Baroque Orchestra, playing on period instruments, forms itself into two small orchestras in front of the two MBC choirs, while the Yarra Voices, a children’s choir, is seated in the balcony. The assembled forces give a thrilling performance of Bach’s extraordinary opening chorus, one of the highlights of this work.

The Evangelist’s narrative role is pivotal, and Goodwin’s performance is exceptional. He makes the recitatives...