All my life, I have never had a moment of doubt about what Bach’s most moving composition is. Without a doubt, the St. Matthew Passion. Neither in length nor in emotional power is there anything that compares to it.

Maarten 't Hart 

Brute Passie is a contemporary interpretation of the St. Matthew Passion, in which the confused and grieving voices of the choir from Bach’s masterpiece take center stage. The people speaking in it do not understand what is happening around them. Though they are numerous enough to take a stand, a sense of powerlessness prevails. They contemplate, they ask questions, but remain without answers and do not intervene – an unsettling parallel to our attitude today?

Valentijn Dhaenens embodies the polyphony of the people, just as he has previously given voice and presence to a multitude of characters in past productions – think of Degrotemond, DeKleineOorlog, and Het gezin Van Paemel.

Valentijn Dhaenens and accordionist Sara Salvérius have translated Bach’s music into a composition for accordion and voice, turning it into a modern meditation on suffering. The duo had already collaborated on Het gezin Van Paemel and share a fascination for suffering as a theme in music, as a phenomenon throughout (art) history, and as a reality in today’s world.