Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #280599 in Music
• Released on: 2003-10-13
• Number of discs: 3

Album Description
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

St. Matthew Passion, BWV 244 (1727)

King's College Choir
Jesus College Choir
Brandenburg Consort
Leader: Roy Goodman
Directed: Stephen Cleobury

Rogers Covey-Crump (tenor-Evangelist)
Michael George (bass-Jesus)
Emma Kirkby (soprano)
Michael Chance (alto)
Martyn Hill (tenor)
David Thomas (bass)

see booklet for details of tracks & timings

Customer Reviews

a voice teacher and early music fan
A PASSIONATELY SUNG PASSION INDEED!!!

Bach (1685-1750) was a Lutheran, who was specifically asked by St. Thomas' Church, Leipzig, to compose a non-theatrical Passion, which in this context stands for the act of passive suffering, and of watching while occasionally empathising in the suffering of Christ. This approach was used througout the Middle Ages, when the church was attempting to popularise the Bible.

When sung, the role of the narrator (Evangelist)would be taken by a tenor and the role of Jesus, by a bass. As various instruments were added they were grouped with certain roles and any dramatic action in the text would occur during the recitative. The purpose of the chorus would be two-fold: to be part of the action and then reflect upon it; such reflections being provided by the chorales which were familiar Lutheran hymns.

The St. Matthew Passion was composed for Good Friday at the St. Thomas Church in Leipzig in 1727. Through the years Bach revised and inserted other pieces which subsequently made this Passion the largest and grandest of his works. He used a double chorus, plus a third soprano group for the opening and closing of Part One, two orchestras (split so that they always either accompany the first or the second chorus), four soloists who carry specific parts and a number of other singers for incidental roles.

The Gospel of Matthew, Chapters 26 & 27, traditional Lutheran chorales and meditative poems (by Henrici also known as Picander) supplied the text. As with St. John Passion the Evangelist narrates the action scene by scene.As one might suspect, the work is often sombre and somewhat heavy, as is evidenced by the huge opening chorus:"Kommt ihr Tochter" (Come,you daughters). However, there are lighter moments and none more delightful than the soprano aria in part one: "Ich will dir mein Herze schenken" (I will give my heart to Thee). Part two includes the best known aria from the entire work: "Erbarme dich, mein Gott" (Have mercy, my God) written for alto and violin obligato with pizzicato bass. The death itself is brief but highly dramatic, the apex being the heart-rending cry"Wahrlich,dieser ist Gottes Sohn gewesen" Truly this was the Son of God). The monumental work closes with a Sarabande-like chorale bidding Jesus rest in peace.

This is a truly marvelous rendition of the St. Matthew Passion. The King's College Choir combined with the Jesus College Choir provide a highly dramatic background to the six OUTSTANDING soloists: Rogers Covey-Crump (tenor-evangelist), Michael George (bass-Jesus), Emma Kirkby (soprano), Michael Chance (alto), Martyn Hill (tenor) and David Thomas (bass). They all displayed lovely tone-quality, proper dramatic response and flawless diction. Special mention must be made concerning Michael Chance's solos, especially "Erbarme dich..." His voice just overwhelmed me with it's emotional content; I felt as if I were experiencing it along with him. But then, to my mind, he is perfection. And I love the quality of Emma Kirkby's soprano voice; she seems to sing everything so effortlessly, and with that clear, clean sound. Mention must also be made of the Brandenburg Consort, whose instrumental accompaniment was truly excellent. All in all, my favorite CD of this Passion.

More Passion Wanted!
It would have been nearly impossible to assemble six better soloists in England in 1994 than those on this recording: tenors Rogers Covey-Crump and Martyn Hill, basses Michael George and David Thomas, alto Michael Chance, and soprano Emma Kirkby. Covey-Crump is outstanding as the pivotal Evangelist, possibly the best in the role on any CD. Kirkby is just a little less sweet here than usual - perhaps the air in King's College Chapel was chilly that day - but Michael Chance is utterly luscious. I might rather have heard Thomas singing Jesus and George taking the other bass roles, but both are resonantly masculine and musical.

The downside of this performance is the choir. Possibly on the site, there in the chapel, the choir might have sounded grand enough to compensate for its murky timbre and its lack of polyphonic transparency. Via the digital technology of this recording, it's just another big rumble of approximate pitches. Since the miking of the soloists brings them right to the fore, this great gravelly groaning seems to emerge from a cave of the winds every few minutes, to whoosh away whatever affect the soloists have effected.

I'm not keen on Stephen Cleobury's conducting either. Awfully somber, verging on sluggish. Will I offend everyone if I say it's too "churchy" for Bach? Since I grew up singing as a boy soprano in small-town Lutheran choirs, it's possible that I have a bias based on trauma.