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Musica Angelica is one of the finest period instrument orchestras in the country, if not the world.

at that moment, they convinced me that there could be no more meaningful music.

This "St. Matthew" is a big opportunity for Musica Angelica.

With a tour and recordings lined up, the period instrument group is raising its profile.

"St. Matthew" became a battle of the bands, Baroque style.

The countertenor, Carlos Mena, proved to be its highlight. The young Spanish singer has a concentrated tone that cut through the church with the purity of perfectly tuned organ pipes yet was ideally flexible. Most of his arias were slow, but he certainly wasn't, embellishing all he sang with exquisite ease.

The greater triumph belonged to the excellent Haselboeck, for his taut, beautifully shaded, forthright, dramatic reading. That man knows his Bach.

The performance itself… under the baton of Music Director Martin Haselboeck, was blessed with extraordinary performances, powerful emotions and the clarity and invigorating complexity that Bach put into one of his greatest, most personal and most elaborate works.

To hear two superb Baroque-style orchestras play together was in itself a treat, and Haselboeck mixed their orchestral voices with perfection.

Haselböck created an evening that was at once intimate and expansive, delicate and rich… It is hard to remember a performance of this work that showed so well Bach's complexity and his simplicity… It was a blessed evening.

It was a Passion as God and Bach commanded.

The single most ambitious event in this year’s [Savannah Music] Festival is Bach’s St. Matthew Passion… One of the [Festival's] very few can’t miss performances.

[the audience] showed their appreciation with a standing ovation and shouts of 'bravo!'

a highlight

When Martin Haselböck cheerfully asserts that recreating Bach begins as an act of historical imagination, it's difficult to argue and impossible not to be charmed. The former Court Organist for Vienna and a world-renowned conductor, composer and soloist, the tall and sprightly director of L.A.'s prestigious Musica Angelica baroque ensemble speaks with deep conviction and disarming enthusiasm. The performance of J.S. Bach's eternal masterpiece, 'St. Matthew Passion' pairs Haselböck's two orchestras, Musica Angelica and Wiener Akademie Baroque of Vienna, in spiritual and mimetic rapture.

An impressive interpretation.

Haselböck's perfect tempos and his feeling for the dramatic context… outstanding soloists… enthralling music.

Haselböck's interpretation was full of musical power… he found beautiful, diverse characteristics, especially for the chorales. His thoughtful phrasing gave each passage deepness, structure and musical shape.

The earthy beauty of Musica Angelica contrasted with the bright and brilliant sound of Wiener Akademie.

[Haselböck conducted with] intense spirit and soul… Martin Haselböck is a superb conductor. The festival concert in the packed concert hall was a triumph.