Anti-Semitic elements in the St Matthew Passion – to be enjoyed only with the accompanying leaflet

Bach’s St Matthew Passion is a high point of Protestant church music. At the same time, verses such as ‘Let his blood be on us and on our children’, spoken by ‘the Jews’, represent a low point in Christian theology. It was not until after the Holocaust that the churches began to engage more deeply with this anti-Jewish legacy. This theological reflection led to discussions on how this work could be performed in an ethically and liturgically responsible manner. How can we prevent anti-Jewish messages from continuing to have an impact, without altering the historical and musical character of the work?