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Track Listings
| 1. Chorus: Kommt, ihr Tochter, helft mir klagen; Choral: O Lamm Gottes, unschuldig | |||
| 2. Evangelista, Jesus: Da Jesus diese Rede vollendet hatte | |||
| 3. Choral: Herzliebster Jesu, was hast du verbrochen | |||
| 4. Evangelista: Da versammleten sich die Hohenpriester | |||
| 5. Chori: Ja nicht auf das Fest | |||
| 6. Evangelista: Da nun Jesus war zu Bethanien | |||
| 7. Chorus: Wozu dienet dieser Unrat? | |||
| 8. Evangelista, Jesus: Da das Jesus merkete | |||
| 9. Recitativo: Du lieber Heiland du | |||
| 10. Aria: Buss und Reu | |||
| 11. Evangelista, Judas: Da ging hin der Zwolfen einer | |||
| 12. Aria: Blute nur, du liebes Herz! | |||
| 13. Evangelista: Aber am ersten Tage der sussen Brot | |||
| 14. Chorus: Wo willst du, dass wir dir bereiten | |||
| 15. Evangelista, Jesus: Er sprach: Gehet hin in die Stadt | |||
| 16. Evangelista: Und sie wurden sehr betrubt | |||
| 17. Chorus: Herr, bin ichs? | |||
| 18. Choral: Ich bins, ich sollte bussen | |||
| 19. Evangelista, Jesus, Judas: Er antwortete und sprach | |||
| 20. Recitativo: Wiewohl mein Herz in Tranen schwimmt | |||
See all 73 tracks on this disc
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Product Description
Review
Fresh from the success of their double award winning Messiah, the Dunedin Consort and John Butt are back with another historically-informed 'first', this time Bach's final revision of the Matthew Passion. Broadly, this means the substitution of a harpsichord for one of the normal two organs, plus changes in the vocal numbers and combinations.
From the word go, the Dunedin Consort draws you in. The instruments are perfectly balanced, the playing is soulful, there are subtle swells, and the lilting tempo strikes a happy medium between pace and sobriety. So, nothing to dislike in the instrumental department, and everything to love. As for the vocal, the debate over how many voices to a part (three to four, or one) Bach used or wanted has raged for a good quarter of a century and no doubt will continue for some time to come. For the purposes of this review, you just need to know that John Butt falls squarely in the single-voice-to-a-part camp. This will mean that, if you're used to a traditional choral performance, the entry of the voices will take you by surprise, sounding quite thin in comparison to your expectations and to the full instrumental sound. Give it a chance, though, as it doesn't take long for the ears to adjust, and then you'll begin to appreciate that what is lost in body is gained in the clarity of the beautifully sung vocal lines and the transparent texture. My one quibble would be with some of the chorales. With their observations for today's believer I expect, even crave, to be lifted to another spiritual plain, but it doesn't always feel as though the singers' bodies and souls have completely surrendered to the passion of these extraordinary words. That said, there are some lovely solo moments, such as Clare Wilkinson's Erbarme dich.
Essentially, whether you love this recording will boil down to how you feel about one-voice-to-a-part Bach. However, even if you're not usually a fan, such is the quality of sound, you may end up being converted. --Charlotte Gardner
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Review
Yet Linn s on-going commitment to SACD pays off handsomely, with three-dimensional crowds and vocal soloists standing forward of their accompaniment all confirmation of this as my new benchmark. --BBC Music Magazine, April 2008
Butt's St Matthew is truly original in spheres resonating beyond established parameters. --Gramophone
One of the finest available one-voice-per-part Bach performances. --Independent on Sunday
Butt's St Matthew is truly original in spheres resonating beyond established parameters. --Gramophone
One of the finest available one-voice-per-part Bach performances. --Independent on Sunday
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
43 of 44 people found the following review helpful
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).
39 of 41 people found the following review helpful
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.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Having seen the Dunedin Consort perform the Passion this Easter in Edinburgh I just had to buy the recording.
There were changes in some of the singers but it was still magnificent to see the soloists work together as the choirs.
The individual voices put a full character into each of their parts. More so when you see them perform live.
Although it is SACD I have only been able to have repeated listening by ipod or in the car. even so the recording is first class.
I now find it hard to listen to the more conventional full choir recordings.
There were changes in some of the singers but it was still magnificent to see the soloists work together as the choirs.
The individual voices put a full character into each of their parts. More so when you see them perform live.
Although it is SACD I have only been able to have repeated listening by ipod or in the car. even so the recording is first class.
I now find it hard to listen to the more conventional full choir recordings.
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