Passiontide at Merton

The fifth Passiontide at Merton festival - number 5 in BBC Music Magazine's list of 20 unmissable events for April 2014 - opened with the first performance of Gabriel Jackson's The Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ, composed to a libretto by The Revd Dr Simon Jones and commissioned as part of the Merton Choirbook, and closed with Bach's St Matthew Passion, featuring Dame Emma Kirkby as soprano soloist. Dr David Stancliffe was the Festival Lecturer; Choral Evensong on the Saturday and the Sung Eucharist on the Sunday morning were sung by the College Choir.