Sebastian Junger

Bach revised his Johannes-Passion regularly: he returned to it over a period of twenty-six years, from 1724 to his death. It is the version hallowed by tradition, established by the Kantor a year before his death, that is presented on these CDs. But the 1725 version, equally outstanding musically, has also been recorded complete and can be downloaded as a bonus in high-resolution sound. Comparison of the two versions reveals the underlying meaning of this matchless Passion.

Philippe Herreweghe uses the second of Bach's four versions of the St. John Passion, the one from 1725, which substitutes some of the arias and the opening chorus, along with lesser changes. The result is somewhat more dramatic than the standard version, which Herreweghe recorded previously. Those familiar with the conductor's work will find his usual warmth, making the most of the lyric moments, but they'll also find greater sensitivity to rhythmic and dramatic thrust and a generally livelier approach. The singers are uniformly fine. Padmore is an unusually effective Evangelist, projecting the drama without undue overacting.

Harry Christophers's account, with The Sixteen Choir and Orchestra it was recorded live in the rich acoustic of St John's Smith Square, London, in March 1989, with a chorus of eighteen and a period instrument band of twenty-one. Christophers leads a solid, warm, and effective account of the 1724 version. Ian Partridge is a distinctive and compassionate Evangelist; the unusual timbre of his elegant, mature voice often calls to mind that of Aksel Schiøtz. Once again, the singing and the playing are of a particularly high quality. Having opted for the original versions of 'Betrachte meine Seel' and 'Erwäge', Christophers makes extensive use of the lute as a continuo instrument in other portions of the Passion.

This recording of J.S. Bach's John Passion gives listeners a refreshing outlook, shining a new light into one of the best known pieces of the choral repertoire. John Butt recreates the Good Friday vesper liturgy of a passion performance during Bach's time at Leipzig; in addition to the Dunedin Consort performance of Bach's composition, this recording features music from an original Leipzig hymn book with works by Jacob Händl, J. H. Schein and J. Crüger performed by a congregational choir and the University of Glasgow Chapel Choir. John Butt takes centre stage to perform organ chorale preludes by Bach and Schütz on the Collins organ at Greyfriar's Kirk in Edinburgh, where the recording took place.

Außerordent- lich lebendige, dramatisch gespannte Wieder- gabe durch ein kleines, stimmlich tüchtiges Ensemble. Gute Solisten sowohl im vokalen wie instrumentalen Bereich.

This issue of the St. John Passion is also a special event in the world of music, because a choice has been made for Bachs very earliest version of this work (1724) in a reconstruction by musicologist Dr. Pieter Dirksen. The Netherlands Bach Society performs the work in a small-scale scoring with ten singers and eleven instrumentalists, no distinction being made between choristers and soloists. According to the most recent research, this scoring constitutes a very close approximation of the ensemble with which Bach gave the first performance of the St. John Passion. Bachs St. John Passion is less well known to some than his St. Matthew Passion: unjustly so, in many peoples opinion. Judge for yourself, as you treat both your ears and eyes to this performance of the Netherlands Bach Society…