The RIAS Kammerchor Berlin opened the Bach Passion series on Wednesday with a Passion according to Saint Matthew high-voltage in a packed Palau de la Música. Accompanied by the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, the version conducted by Englishman Justin Doyle was far removed from the typical British phlegm and emphasized the dramaturgy, contrasting the enraged energy of the crowds with the warmth of the more introspective passages. The speech sounded perfectly coherent, and the tension increased in each scene, from the thirty pieces of silver, to Peter's rejection, the unleashed mob, Pilate's washing of his hands, and the subsequent crucifixion and death of Christ.