From The Guardian: St Luke Passion at Canterbury Cathedral

Sounds New, Canterbury’s contemporary music festival, has focused on postwar Polish work this year, culminating in a performance of Penderecki’s St Luke Passion with forces from Poland conducted by the composer himself. Last heard in the UK at the 1982 Proms, this 1966 work put Penderecki on the international map as an angry, avant-gardist. At Canterbury, with Polish dignitaries in attendance, we were conscious of just what an establishment figure he has become.

As a religious-political statement, the work still arouses intense admiration. Its aim was to redefine the Bach-based tradition of passion music in the aftermath of mid-20th century genocide, and Penderecki’s choice of a Latin text over the vernacular expressed a libertarian Catholic militancy in opposition to totalitarian thought…

The brief review captures a whole swath of history in three paragraphs. Well done.