One picture that sums up a powerful response to terrorism and violence

23 March 2016, 17:41 | Updated: 23 March 2016, 17:51

We all know about the power of music in times of trouble, in every corner of the world.

Today, an Instagram post from soprano Rebecca Hardwick illustrated how the act of music making can respond to troubling global events. 

 

A photo posted by Rebecca Hardwick (@the_becksta_) onMar 23, 2016 at 8:49am PDT

Hardwick, a singer in The Monteverdi Choir, took the picture in rehearsal at Bozar - Centre for Fine Arts in Brussels. The choir is there as part of a series of concerts featuring Bach's St Matthew Passion with the English Baroque Soloists and conductor John Eliot Gardiner. 

Gardiner announced that, despite Belgium being on highest alert after terrorist attacks on Tuesday morning, the ensemble will still play the Baroque masterpiece, dedicating the performance to the memory of the victims of yesterday's attacks.

Through arias, recitative, and 15 exquisite chorales, Bach's epic tells the passion story, but - as with all his church music - it's also a profound human experience that resonates in times of trouble.

The oratorio was first performed At St Thomas' Church, Leipzig in 1727, and it will be heard once again in Brussels tonight.