ABSTRACT
Like Vaughan Williams, Adrian Boult had an excellent knowledge of the choir as singer, committee member and conductor. Boult suggested that the choir should recognize the two-hundredth anniversary of the St Matthew Passion by performing the work in its entirety in two parts in the afternoon and evening as the opening concert of the season at the Royal Albert Hall in December. Boult had never been averse to using family money to support his musical activities and he demonstrated this generosity once again by immediately donating half his salary as Musical Director to choir funds. The Times was complimentary about the style of the continuo and commented that Boult's ability to see the work as a whole made the performance impressive. The reviews of the 1931 performance of the St Matthew Passion which took place at the Queen's Hall on 22 March were very favourable.
