With vibrant ‘St. Matthew,’ Handel and Haydn Society looks forward and back

To draw attention to its upcoming bicentennial season, the Handel and Haydn Society has been returning to landmark works it introduced in this country, including Bach’s “St. Matthew Passion.’’ That was in 1871, at a time when Baroque music was often performed with a sense of Romantic grandeur: the chorus for the occasion numbered no less than 700 people.