-Before Bach's "Saint Matthew Passion" there's Mahler's "Resurrection"-

1.
I’ve become increasingly uncomfortable

within gatherings of people coming together in the same place for the same reason,
and by this I don’t mean two hundred thousand people as in a pilgrimage,
but say, ten to thirty people, which is a reasonable range, ten to thirty,
because it covers the usual numbers congregating at backyard cookouts,

house parties, snazzy inboard rides to the Bay and the average numbers

found attending pain-in-the-ass funerals of the faithful departed.

It’s becoming clear to me that these apprehensions for the most part,
cover gatherings of people I know, such as relations and pesky neighbors,

as opposed to people I don’t know, as say in attendance at Symphony Hall.

2.
Reviewing the concert schedule for the coming season, I find anticipated
performances of Bach's "Saint Matthew Passion" in mid-October
tapped for a three-day weekend slot, and before that, Mahler's "Symphony Two"

is on tap for three performances in late September.

So, according to the calculous, that'll be a total of 5,400 people
gathered within the same enclosed space for the same reason,

for approximately 4.9 hours, (both performances) and

of the 5,400 people attending, besides myself, I won't know any of them.