If Johann Sebastian Bach was listening from his grave to the performance of his St Matthew Passion in Hereford Cathedral on Tuesday, he certainly wouldn't have been spinning in it. Rather he would have been smiling benignly at a recreation of his great work, authentic in every detail.

It was sung in German, with not a note or word cut, accompanied by a double orchestra of the size he would have known, playing on period instruments to produce that mellifluous baroque sound he must have demanded. And with soloists, both instrumental and vocal, who captured the spirit - indeed the passion - of his masterpiece.

It has to be said that a major work which lasts for best part of three hours is demanding on both musicians and audience, so there were some signs of fatigue in Part II, but the boy trebles stuck to their task valiantly and the final chorus 'We lay ourselves bitterly weeping' brought the Passion to a triumphant conclusion.

Rogers Covey-Crump and Colin Campbell provided the ideal contrast between the tenor and bass voice as the Evangelist and Jesus, with the former striking a plangent pity on the words 'Aber Jesus Schriee abermal Laut und verscheid' (But Jesus cried again in a loud voice and gave up his spirit).

In the alto arias, Robin Tyson's soaring countertenor voice seemed to cut through the muffling echoes of the cathedral acoustic, while Lucy Bowen provided a limpid quality to the soprano arias.

But the Matthew Passion is principally a choral work, and Geraint Bowen, the director of music at the cathedral, deserves the highest praise for preparing the choir and conducting the work with undemonstrative sympathy.

He kept the pace up well without making anything seem hurried. A touch more strength in the altos might have helped the balance, but the wonderful chorales were still resonantly beautiful - especially in Part II, where Bach worked some chromatic variations on the oft-repeated theme of the 'O Sacred head sore wounded' tune.

In sum, a resounding justification for Geraint Bowen's determination to produce a performance of the Passion just as it would have sounded at its first performance in Leipzig on Good Friday in 1729.

I can see JSB nodding contentedly and murmuring 'Es ist gud'.