The Dunedin Consort, under the direction of John Butt, follows its award-winning recording of the Messiah with J.S. Bach's Matthew Passion. This recording cements the Dunedin Consort's reputation as a group with particular expertise in Baroque music and performance practice. It was named one of 'Five Favourite Bach Recordings' on BBC Radio 3's 'Record Review' in September 2019.

The Dunedin Consort has established a reputation for performing familiar works from the Baroque era in ways which shed fresh light on the original performance: this new recording presents the Matthew Passion for the first time with Bach's final revisions of scoring, as performed around 1742 (its most familiar form is the 1736 version).

John Butt and the Dunedin Consort recreate the instrumentation and vocal scoring that Bach employed to deliver a unique and historically informed recording. Most striking is the use of eight principal voices (four in each of the two choirs). Matthew Passion, one of Bach's most celebrated choral masterpieces, is an emotional and challenging musical experience delivered with style and insight by the Dunedin Consort.

Gramophone also named the recording 'Disc of the Month' and it was named the 'First Choice Recommendation' by Record Review's Building a Library on BBC Radio 3, who described it as "an opportunity to consider in new light Bach's masterpiece". In 2012 the recording was named one of the '5 Essential Works by Johann Sebastian Bach' by BBC Music Magazine.