It's only one of two surviving Passion settings by Bach (he may have written 4-5), first heard in 1727 and not heard again until over 100 years later when Felix Mendelssohn presented Bach's St. Matthew Passion in Berlin. This week Bill McGlaughlin dives into the St. Matthew Passion on Exploring Music (Weekdays at 7pm).
in 2011, the Berlin Philharmonic and Simon Rattle presented a compelling, semi-staged version of the St. Matthew Passion directed by Peter Sellars. It was also released it on DVD and Blu-ray.