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Track Listings
| 1. Matthew Passion (Bach's Last Performing Version) (101 Tracks On 3 CD's) - Johann Sebastian Bach |
Product Description
Product Description
For the many fans of the Consort's award-winning Messiah,the release of another Handel album is welcome news and Acis and Galatea does not disappoint! Classic FM Magazine named the recording 'Opera & Vocal Disc of the Month'.In addition to awarding the recording five stars the magazine also stated...the freshness with which they sing radiates joy throughout the entire score.This adds to the numerous recommendations and outstanding reviews that the double award-winning group have received for their recording of this pastoral entertainment by Handel. Gramophone magazine also named the recording 'Disc of the Month' and it was named the First Choice Recommendation by CD Review's Building a Library on BBC Radio 3,described as a vivacious performance brimming with sheer happiness. In 2012 the recording was named one of the 5 Essential Works by Johann Sebastian Bach' by BBC Music Magazine.Album of the Month,Utterly magical... rival Handel sets will have to be special indeed to top,or even to approach,this.Gramophone.Opera & Vocal Disc of the Month,The freshness with which they sing radiates joy throughout the entire score.(five stars)Classic FM Magazine.CD of the Week,Wonderfully intimate reading.The Observer.[An]outstanding new recording...warmly recommended.International Record Review. Recording of the Month,Already a strong contender for the 2009 Recording of the Year.MusicWeb International.Handel fans rejoice-a definitive Acis and Galatea at last!(five stars)Audiophile Audition. Such radiant music-making is an ideal hors d'oeuvre for the upcoming Handel year.(five stars)Financial Times.
Product Description
3SACD Final Performing Version C.1742//Dunedin Consort/Butt
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
45 of 47 people found the following review helpful
By FL Traverso
Format:Audio CD
John Butt is a respectable Bach scholar and he has done a great deal of work with regard to Bach's vocal scoring in the two Passions. Here for the second time on record (I think) he has used the OVPP (one voice per part) for his performance of St Matthew Passion. Six concertists, Jesus, Evangelist and two soprano repienists constitute the entire vocal force. It works brilliantly to convey both senses of intimacy and austerity in Bach's score. This is matched by Butt's fluid pacing of the music and the performer's lucid diction (no operative singing style here) and the result is a most refreshing and natural sounding Matthew Passion that I have heard in years. Highly recommended as an alternative to usual HIP recordings of this music such as Herreweghe's, Gardiner's, or even the more self-consciously dramatic McCreesh (the first OVPP recording).
42 of 44 people found the following review helpful
By Tommy
Format:Audio CD
The sheer quality and accuracy of instrumental playing is quite wonderful on this recording - slightly superior even to the already supremely high standards for Gardiner or Suzuki. The solo singing is also notable for incredibly accurate intonation - in particular from the very firm Bass/Baritone of Matthew Brook, in my opinion the finest Jesus I have heard in any recording. The house-style here is period singing of the sort that eschews vibrato to a very large extent. Clearly the idea of one-per-part in the choir will put buyers off. I can only urge that any Bach fans who are not doctrinaire about 1-p-p give this recording a try - the benefits in clarity in the big contrapuntal numbers are immense, and to my ears the chorales are more interesting and human when I can hear individual voices rather than a blended choir sound. Paul McCreesh's version of the Matthew Passion is also 1-p-p and is very fine also in parts and keenly dramatic but, as the previous reviewer hints, he adopts some extreme tempos and has some mannered touches.
At the moment this would be my desert island Matthew Passion despite how good Gardiner and Suzuki both are. I have no "authentic/period" axe to grind and found that the slight changes to instrumentation in this recording (it claims rather self-importantly to be the first recording of Bach's 1742 version) were too minor to notice - apart from the presence of a Harpsichord in the opening chorus. The reason to buy this set is not due to it being authentic but because it features the most exquisite playing and singing.
Critical reaction in the press, at least that I have read, was somewhat lukewarm in comparison to the accolades heaped on the Dunedin consort's Handel Messiah (many critics do still have a 1-p-p vs larger choir axe to grind). Don't let that put you off, this is very special indeed. The recorded sound is also extremely clear and of the highest modern standards.
At the moment this would be my desert island Matthew Passion despite how good Gardiner and Suzuki both are. I have no "authentic/period" axe to grind and found that the slight changes to instrumentation in this recording (it claims rather self-importantly to be the first recording of Bach's 1742 version) were too minor to notice - apart from the presence of a Harpsichord in the opening chorus. The reason to buy this set is not due to it being authentic but because it features the most exquisite playing and singing.
Critical reaction in the press, at least that I have read, was somewhat lukewarm in comparison to the accolades heaped on the Dunedin consort's Handel Messiah (many critics do still have a 1-p-p vs larger choir axe to grind). Don't let that put you off, this is very special indeed. The recorded sound is also extremely clear and of the highest modern standards.
14 of 17 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Top quality performance and recording. Choir sound particularly good - singing and playing full of energy and impact. Soloists good. Highly recommended - must be among the top St Matthew Passion recordings available.
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4.8 out of 5 stars
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best so far
If you,like me,prefer performances which are what,in our 21stC opinions of how Bach's works would have been performed,then this is the one to buy. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Mr. D. Wilson
5.0 out of 5 stars
A passion for the passion
This is a superb version of Bach's St Matthew Passion, must be one of the best on record! I would recommend this to any serious music lover.
Published 6 months ago by J. K. Bishop
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not so passionate
The St Matthew Passion is a work I can listen to time and time again and not get tired of it, even though I am a sceptical agnostic. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Musica Vita
3.0 out of 5 stars
a mixed bag
I obviously realized this recording uses' one voice per part' approach but it comes with built-in limitations which I have found more significant than expected when I bought these... Read more
Published 11 months ago by hifimuso
5.0 out of 5 stars
Seen live and then bought recording
Having seen the Dunedin Consort perform the Passion this Easter in Edinburgh I just had to buy the recording. Read more
Published on 30 April 2011 by C. Fulton
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