Cornelius Hauptmann, Bach:St. Matthew Passion, London Oratory Junior Singers, Olaf BA¤r, Monteverdi Choir - Bach: St. Matthew Passion / Rolfe Johnson, Bonney, von Otter, Chance, Crook; Gardiner

John Eliot Gardiner's reading of the Matthew Passion is conceived and executed on the highest level, an example of period practice that is unlikely to be bettered any time soon. The performance as a whole vibrates with life: soloists are first-rate, and wonderfully well chosen for their respective parts, and the work of chorus and orchestra is exemplary. The recording, made in 1988 in the spacious ambience of Snape Maltings (England), is well balanced and exceptionally vivid. --Ted Libbey Amazon.com essential recording

Bach: St. Matthew Passion / Rolfe Johnson, Bonney, von Otter, Chance, Crook; Gardiner

Bach: St. Matthew Passion / Rolfe Johnson, Bonney, von Otter, Chance, Crook; Gardiner is such an amazing accomplishment that words such as amazing and stupendous come to mind. Bach has here created on of the finest religious works. Being a very devout person this verily touches my heart and soul very deeply. This is part Opera, church service and one can also talk about elements of the old Greek tragedy. The book-let is massive and very well done. It contains 124 pages. It contains 2 very well-written essays. The first on the "Bach's great passion" by Christoph Wolf and the second written by Gardiner "An Approach to Bach's Great Passion". The book-let contains the lyrics in 4 languages, latin, english, german and french. I definitely give this fine recording 5 stars. August 5, 2008

Triumphant

The debate between performance styles will likely rage for the remainder of recorded/performed music.

Set all of that aside.

The Matthew Passion is one of the greatest works of Western art ever conceived in any medium. Retelling the story of Christ's passion according to the Evangelist Matthew, the colossal, epic work embraces the whole gamut of emotions and probes the very depths of religious feeling.

Gardiner, whatever cookie-cutter category he may be shoved into, meets with unmatched success in communicating the greatness, the emotion, the sorrow and the anguish of the passion story as retold by the master of them all: Johann Sebastian Bach.

The Monteverdi Choir--perhaps the "real" star of this set--is thunderously powerful in such sections as the overlapping layers of the first chorus ("Kommt, ihr Töchter"), and both the choir and orchestra can pile on the power where needed, such as the rumbling, roaring basses in "Sind Blitzen und Donner" and the shocking, furious "Laß ihn kreuzigen!" The whole dramatic thrust of the passion story is captured here--the soloists sing as though their lives depend on it, and the orchestra and chorus match them with equal intensity and commitment to this massive work.

From the glorious intricacies of the opening chorus to the great, exalted prayer of the final "Wir setzen uns," the ensemble, chorus, and soloists alike present what is probably the definitive recording of this work for many years to come.

As the conclusion to John Eliot Gardiner's "Bach pilgrimage," this three disc set of the Matthauspasion is difficult, if not impossible, to top. Hear and be overwhelmed. November 20, 2007

No equal

Bach's Matthauspassion has no equal; this is unquestionably the most accomplished choral piece in the history of music. I prefer the Monteverdi Choir performance because of its emphasis on the choir - some would argue this is one of Gardiner's weaknesses - I however think is how Bach would have wanted his work performed given his passion for choral music. October 11, 2007

i stand corrected

i heard a performnce of the st matthew passion when i was 17 that steered me so far away from enjoying bach that i thought i was a lost cause. in the course of my undergraduate studies i performed and listened to various compositions by bach and finally became addicted to the monteverdi choir and all of their recordings. i still remained steadfastly against matthew, despite being told that i was crazy to not think it was simply one of the greatest pieces ever written. as a result of my love for gardiner and his choir; as well as the fact that i was singing the alto solos in my studies, i purchased this cd. wow. not only is the recording superb and the choir brilliant but the sheer genius behind the piece is unbelievable. the first six measures take the listener to a place that is not of this world. The countertenor sings so clearly and beautifully it doesn't sound human. i recommend this recording to anyone who loves bach and appreciates great choral music, but also to those who need a good place to start. June 28, 2007

a voice teacher and early music fan

MARVELOUS MONTEVERDI CHOIR - A REASON FOR BUYING THIS DISC.

After hearing this recording, I was very happy that I chose to get the Cleobury rendition of 1994(also a DVD) mostly because of the soloists Gardiner chose to use. This must have been early in von Otter's career because her renditions were quite unemotional and dull. Fortunately Gardiner did use Michael Chance for the beautiful and very intense 'Erbarme dich, Mein Gott' for he sings it with great emotional investment as he does in the Cleobury recording. Even the Herreweghe disc has much better soloists; such as Ian Bostridge and Andreas Scholl.
BUT the Gardiner chorus is truly great!!It sings with much spirit; his tempos are very upbeat, but unfortunately one does not hear enough of the chorus on this recording, which is only highlights.
I actually bought it to compare Chance's 1988 rendition of "Erbarme" to the 1994 Cleobury disc; sounds the same; just as intense and as perfectly implemented. June 24, 2007

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