Bach: St. John Passion / Gardiner

GARDINER; PADMORE; MULLER-BRACHMANN; HARVEY; FINK; FUGE; LUNN

Gramophone Editor's Choice - July 2011
This album was recorded in Königslutter in 2003. The booklet contains original notes by John Eliot Gardiner and texts in German, English and French. Considered to be an expressive and intimate oratorio, the St John Passion was conceived by Bach both as a work of art and an act of worship in itself. It has a subtle balance between narrative and contemplative, juxtaposing vivid re-enactment and dramatic scene-setting in the ariosos and arias, with stretches of exposition of its meaning in chorales. The music is in turns evocative, stirring, exultant and profoundly moving. It forces the listener to contemplate the complexities of the Passion story. Regardless of one’s religious view, it captures our attention from beginning to end.

Price: $41.98