Cultural Exchange

Alison Balsom chooses the St Matthew Passion by J.S. Bach. She tells John Wilson why the recording by Philippe Herreweghe and Collegium Vocale Gent (Harmonia Mundi) is particularly special to her. The interview is followed by selected highlights from the BBC archives: John Eliot Gardiner on a life spent with JS Bach; the story of the man whose life was saved by the St Matthew Passion; Vaughan Williams on performing baroque music; Alison Balsom on the physical challenges of playing the trumpet and James Naughtie on the score of the St Matthew Passion