Passion st John Bach

‘Layton has directed this annual St John Passion for several seasons now. His readings, which are becoming ever more dramatic and daring, have a raw intensity. It was easy to see why these concerts have become one of the highlights in London’s musical calendar’ (The Guardian)

Suzuki presents the 1749 version of the St. John Passion, a work that underwent many changes since its first performance in 1724.

This will play on conventional CD players A landmark recording of J.S. Bach s St John Passion, sung in English the first for over forty-five years. With communicative zeal, beautiful articulation, and focused energy, the 100 voices of CEFC lend precision and power to the performance alongside the instruments of the Bach Camerata, one of the finest UK baroque orchestras, all under the inspired direction of David Temple. They are joined by a superb array of soloists including Robert Murray, Ashley Riches and Sophie Bevan.

Johann Sebastian Bachs St John Passion is, along with the St Matthew Passion, without doubt one of the most important works he ever composed. It established a new tradition for Good Friday vespers in Leipzig, and with sublime skill Bach managed to retain a spirit of church worship while creating an almost operatic narrative that movingly depicts Christs trial, death, and ultimate apotheosis. Bachs numerous revisions always demand a certain amount of scholarly decision-making, and this recording of the St John Passion uses the final 1749 version that not only draws on and reinforces the best of Bachs original concept, but incorporates the additional movements of the 1725 version.

The Passio secundum Joannem or St John Passion (German: Johannes-Passion), BWV 245, is a Passion or oratorio by Johann Sebastian Bach, the earliest of the surviving Passions by Bach. It was written during his first year as director of church music in Leipzig and was first performed on 7 April 1724, at Good Friday Vespers at the St. Nicholas Church.

The Passio secundum Joannem or St John Passion BWV 245, is a Passion or oratorio by Johann Sebastian Bach, the earliest of the surviving Passions by Bach. It was written during his first year as director of church music in Leipzig and was first performed on 7 April 1724, at Good Friday Vespers at the St. Nicholas Church.

Bach’s St John Passion is like an eternal cry into the void, carrying the essence of western, protestant answers to the fundamental questions in Life, in music. Our wrongdoings on Earth contrasted with higher moral principles. Nowhere else does it crystallise into music more profoundly and more beautifully than in this immortal manifestation of Bach’s genius.

Cantata Collective, an ensemble "of San Francisco early music luminaries" (San Francisco Chronicle) inaugurates a major series of J. S. Bach's choral works with a live recording of the composer's St. John Passion. With celebrated conductor Nicholas McGegan, the toast of today's new generation of vocal soloists and a three-to-a-part chamber choir, the Cantata Collective conveys the emotional intimacy and dramatic power of this monumental passion in a highly polished performance that led Early Music America to implore: "To the excellent musicians of Cantata Collective: More Bach Please!"