Customer Reviews

St John's Passion

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I am an addict to Bach. And the truth is that this is not only the best interpretation I have ever listened of this passion, but also of Bach as author of coral works in general. I prefer this recording of the Johannes-Passion to any other, including those of more noted orchestras and more expensive seals. The Arie "Ich folge dir gleichfalls mit freudigen Schritten" sung by Janet Coxwell proves that true beauty exists. As a sample of the excellence of the choir, listen to "Wer hat dich so geschlagen".

I believe that the goal when interpreting Bach is not only to achieve technical perfection, but also creating an appropriate atmosphere. The atmosphere of this work of the Scholars Baroque Ensemble is incredibly intimate, the voices are limpid, the orchestra is expressive and there's a careful balance between the instruments and the choir.

Congratulations to Naxos and to the English Baroque Ensemble for so magnificent work.

Naxos has once again continued its tradition of producing good performances, clearly recorded, at bargain prices.

This recording is very good (although I admit I'm no expert on the work), and the digital recording is great - I could clearly hear the enunciation of each word. The CD notes include the full text, also.

I gave it four stars only because I thought I could hear a little bit of an echo, perhaps from the place it was recorded. However, it could have been the speakers I was using at the time, which aren't my best. Without that echo, I'd give it five stars.

At the Naxos price, this very good recording is a great buy - definately recommended!

Of Bach's two surviving passion settings, the St. John Passion is the one that tends to be treated as an also-ran. It lives in the shadow of its larger and more famous sibling, the St. Matthew Passion. This is quite a shame, because the St. John Passion has charms that are every bit as wonderful as any in the other score. And, clocking in at just less than two hours, the dramatic passing of this Passion setting is perhaps greater than the other work.

Traditionally sung on Good Friday, when the Passion story according to St. John is required in the liturgy, this work follows the form that had become standard by the 18th century. The story of the Passion was sung by an evangelist soloist, with the words of the characters and crowd were taken by other members of the ensemble. Early in German settings of the Passion consisted of just this bare skeleton, but by Bach's time, the settings were fleshed out with meditative arias and duets sung by soloists, and with hymns for choral forces, and possibly even for congregational singing. This is the pattern Bach inherited, and he did nothing innovative with the form. Bach's genius in this work is not in innovation, but in the perfection of its details. From the driving counterpoint of the opening chorus, to the beautiful meditations after the descent from the cross, this is a work of supreme spirituality and deep emotion.

There are many excellent versions of this work on CD, but none can beat this Naxos CD for quality at an excellent price point. The work is performed by the Scholars Baroque Ensemble. This group is small in numbers and performs the work in an historically informed performance. The eight member choir doubles as soloists as well, as would be most likely in Bach's own time. The orchestra is of similar small dimensions. But what the work looses is overwhelming sound it more than makes up for in clarity, transparency and emotion. I for one, think the jury is no longer out on HIP of Bach. I still have old recordings of Bach with casts of thousands, that I certainly love dearly, but the HIP performances are vastly superior now to my ears. The vocal style and transparency of instrumentation point out what a marvelous orchestrator Bach really was, something that gets lost with the large ensembles of the past.

The hallmark of the Scholars Baroque Ensemble is that they are conductorless, as an ensemble of Bach's time would be. Performances are coordinated by one of the members, but all members are free to work together in a chamber music fashion. This serves the music very well. The quiet moments are possessed of an intimacy that I've rarely heard in this work, and even the larger sections seem to gain power. The pacing of the group is outstanding. It would be fascinating to hear the work live to see if they can duplicate this extremely difficult feat in performance. But on CD it is certainly impressive and makes for a wonderful experience of this most eloquent of Bach's sacred works.

I'll get my one beef out the way first. This preformance/recording is probably pretty close to what J.S. himself may have heard it -- and that is one of the problems. Bach frequently complained about the quantity and quality of the musicians he had at his disposal. While the *quality* of the performances here cannot be faulted (The Scholars Baroque Ensemble delivers an excellent rendition), it is too bad that the singers are overused. For example, one of the bass soloists does quadruple duty (as Peter, Pilate, the bass arias, plus singing with the choir); plus his voice and that of the bass singing the part of Jesus are extremely similar -- it's hard to tell them apart. All of this is the only reason I've knocked my rating down one star.

On the other hand, the number of instrumentalists is just about right (19 plus organ). And including a gamba and a lute (!) are very nice touches. The all-important role of the Evangelist is done very well -- Doveton's voice has that almost "weightless" quality common to the best Evangelists. Most of the time, it is sung in a straightforward manner, as if reading the scriptures to the congregation (as it should be), but at critical junctures he becomes more "dramatic", more like an "actor", sometimes catching you a bit off-guard, so that you sit up and take notice of the story.

As for the St. John itself, it of course receives less attention than its "big brother" the St. Matthew. However, it is shorter and easier to perform, even if it lacks some of the dramatic depth of its bigger brother. Listening to this recording is the first time I've *really* paid attention to it, and there are some very nice bits, especially in Part 2. Examples:

In the accompaniment to the Evangelist's description of the earth quaking and the temple shaking (right after Jesus dies), the little band of instruments gives us an outsized and respectable "thunderstorm" of rumbling noise. And something that I hadn't noticed before is that in the two choruses in which the text mentions the laws of the Jews (21f and 25b), Bach writes *fugues* (the only ones in the whole work), to portray in music something of the concept of the text. And in the final chorus, "Rutt Wohl", which is probably Bach's most memorable writing in the work, the perfomers are quite up to the task -- conveying just the right mixture of controlled sorrow and words of hope.

And of course, as with everything Naxos puts out, you can't beat the price. There are better performances available on recording, but get this one, and you'll have enough money left over for some other CD(s) to add to your bulging shelves.

The Scholars Baroque Ensemble's recording of J.S Bach's Johannes-Passion is mesmerizing. The size of the ensemble, the quality of the soloists, and the instrumental players is perfect. This allows the listener to focus on the beautiful music. After I finished this 2-Disc set, I was moved, and I'm not even Christian. In particular, Es Ist Vollbracht! is amazing, and an incredible piece of music. Highly recommended!

Following a style already in vogue, Bach composed as Cantor at Leipzig the Passions of Christ which would be used in holy week.

St. John's Passion was used on Good Friday, thus emphasizing the time of Christ on the cross. The consumes some two-thirds of the work and is just outstanding, especially No. 30 Aria with it's magnificent "o comfort for sick souls! The night of mourning now reaches its final hour. The hero from Juda conquers with power and ends the struggle. It is finished!"

Magnificent work by bass solos.

Just as California's Huntington Library broke the scholarly stranglehold on the Dead Sea Scrolls by making the unilateral decion to publish the photographic plates of which they were stewards, so Naxos can be credited with making affordable classical music available to us masses, who still whince when we pay for a CD.

By employing 'second-tier' performers and recording technologies that are just short of the cutting edge, Naxos has squeezed great value into the mix and now offers a full catalogue of serious music to hungry aficionados.

This Scholars Baroque Ensemble performance of the second of J.S. Bach's two extant 'passions' (the other is his more famous St. Matthew Passion) is Exhibit A in the case for Naxos' triumph. Hardly a household word, the Ensemble produced this recording not in a studio but rather in London's Church of All Saints, a venue that might have caused dear Johann to smile celestially upon the proceedings.

The result is a superb lean-and-mean 'historically accurate' (fighting words in the guild, offered here with all the implicit caveats) reading of Bach by artists whose love for the man's music is patent.

In addition to the expected information, the cd liner contains German-to-English translation of the sung texts.

'Intimate' is perhaps the word that best describes what you'll find in this recording, if that adjective can be used without seeming to damn by faint praise what is in fact an extraordinary and memorable reading of a work that shows that even Bach's less highly regarded works are masterpieces.