Product Details

• Actors: Seraphina Magsamen, Teresa Nawrot, Tomislav Potesak, Mario Potesak, Ivana Potesak
• Directors: Garry Lane
• Writers: Garry Lane
• Producers: Garry Lane, Gunter Hanfgarn, John Keogh
• Format: Classical, Color, Dolby, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
• Language: Latin (Dolby Digital 5.1)
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Image Entertainment
• DVD Release Date: November 12, 2002
• Run Time: 185 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00006LPED
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #110,876 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

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  Movies & TV > Musicals & Performing Arts > Classical > By Composer > Bach, Johann Sebastian

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
The greatest work of its kind ever written, Johann Sebastian Bach's technical, emotional, and devotional masterpiece is a massive enterprise employing six soloists and a double chorus. Its deeply moving combination of joy and grief attains the utmost heights of expressiveness, while the Neubeuern Choral Society's Enoch zu Guttenberg brings it to new life with his unique Bavarian choir, world famous for their oratorios ranging from Bach to Stravinsky.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great sound, but, June 21, 2005

By	William Eisenberg "operanut" (Brooklyn, NY USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I had this recording on laser disc, but it deteriorated and became unplayable, so I purchased it in DVD form. I am generally pleased with the performance, but find some of the soloists to be singing out of tune, especially Prey and Marshall, both of whom I usually admire tremendously.

The choral singing is wonderful, but I wish that Guttenberg would have avoided the old practice of stopping at the fermatas in the chorales. I find this to be very annoying. There's also no consistency regarding the style of performance - some arias are decorated in the repeats, while others are not.

One improvement over the laser disc version - the subtitles are complete. In the laser disc version, entire sections of the performance lacked these subtitles.

15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Delight for Eyes, Ears, and Soul, May 29, 2004

By	Mr John Haueisen (WORTHINGTON, OHIO United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

With six soloists and a double chorus, Bach relates with great passion and devotion St. Matthew's story of the Passion.

I was pleasantly surprised by the virtuosity and emotional involvement of nearly all the orchestra's players and the conductor.

The music itself, reminded me of Mozart's genius, because likewise, Johann Sebastian Bach was able to include so many exquisite and movingly beautiful musical passages.

English sub-titles make this easier to follow than any CD recording.

Hermann Prey and Margaret Marshall lead the other very able soloists in an unforgettable performance. The Klosterkirche Alpirsbach provides a perfect setting.

If you enjoy Bach, this will be a delight for your eyes, your ears, and your soul.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb performance, beautifully filmed, March 25, 2005

By	P. Hildebrand - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Highly recommended. The performance is uniformly excellent by all involved. The tempi are appropriately upbeat, as is the norm by today's standards for the St. Matthew Passion, similar to the classic Bernstein recording. The church setting and camera work provide superb visual support for the experience of the music, and the dolby 5.1 sound is a treat, with beautifully clear and sonorous acoustics.