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Radio 3 marks Palm Sunday with a series of concerts from across Europe.

1600 – 1800: Bach’s St John Passion from Helsinki, featuring the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Helsinki Chamber Choir, and conductor Nicholas Collon with soloists tenor Nicholas Mulroy (Evangelist) and baritone Matthew Brook (Jesus)

1800 - 1820: A Patchwork Passion (excerpts). Another chance to hear the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Singers in a modern day re-telling of the Passion Story with music by Pablo Casals, J S Bach, and Roxanna Panufnik. Narrated by Clive Myrie and performed by the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Singers and conductor Nicholas Chalmers with organist Martin Baker.

1820 – 1940: Two alternative musical approaches to Bach's Passions form the basis of our next concert, from Munich. Franz Liszt's "Via Crucis", a 14 movement work, with an introductory hymn, for soloists, choir and piano, expressively traces the stations of the cross. The human drama of poverty and abandonment, which takes on a sad form in the famous fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen about a girl selling matches, forms the literary basis for the "Passion" by Pulitzer Prize winner David Lang. In his "Little Match Girl Passion" from 2007, he brings the girl's ordeal into our time with mystical visions and texts from Bach's "St. Matthew Passion". Performed by the Bavarian Radio Chorus, pianist Herbert Schuch and conducted by Peter Dijkstra, from the Prince Regent Theatre in Munich.

1940 – 2100: Passion Concert from the Danish Radio Vocal Ensemble conducted by Marcus Creed: Scarlatti’s 10-part masterwork Stabat Mater, is performed alongside another setting of the same text by the contemporary Polish composer Anna Ignatowicz. The choir also sing other motets for Passiontide by Antonio Lotti, Johann Kuhnau and Goffredo Petrassi.