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Bach: Matthäus-Passion (St Matthew Passion) BWV 244 /Bostridge · Selig · Rubens · Scholl · Güra · Henschel · Collegium Vocale · Herreweghe [+ CD-Rom]
 
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Bach: Matthäus-Passion (St Matthew Passion) BWV 244 /Bostridge · Selig · Rubens · Scholl · Güra · Henschel · Collegium Vocale · Herreweghe [+ CD-Rom] [Enhanced] [Box set]

~ Johann Sebastian Bach (Composer), Philippe Herreweghe (Conductor), Ian Bostridge (Performer), Andreas Scholl (Performer), Collegium Vocale Gent (Orchestra), et al.
4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Performer: Ian Bostridge, Andreas Scholl, Franz-Josef Selig, Sibylla Rubens, Werner Güra, et al.
  • Orchestra: Collegium Vocale Gent
  • Conductor: Philippe Herreweghe
  • Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach
  • Audio CD (1 Nov 1999)
  • SPARS Code: DDD
  • Number of Discs: 4
  • Format: Enhanced, Box set
  • Label: Harmonia Mundi
  • ASIN: B00002R0ZL
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 95,365 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Disc: 1
1. Passio D.N.J.C. secundum Matthaeum, BWV244: 1. Kommt, ihr Tochter, helft mir klagen
2. Passio D.N.J.C. secundum Matthaeum, BWV244: 2. Da Jesus diese Rede vollendet hatte
3. Passio D.N.J.C. secundum Matthaeum, BWV244: 3. Herzliebster Jesu, was hast du verbrochen
4. Passio D.N.J.C. secundum Matthaeum, BWV244: 4. a. Da versammleten sich die Hohenpriester - b. Ja nicht auf das Fest - c. Da nun Jesus war zu Bethanien - d. Wozu dienet dieser Unrat - e. da das Jesus merkete
5. Passio D.N.J.C. secundum Matthaeum, BWV244: 5. Du lieber Heiland du
6. Passio D.N.J.C. secundum Matthaeum, BWV244: 6. Bass und Reu
See all 29 tracks on this disc
Disc: 2
1. Passio D.N.J.C. secundum Matthaeum, BWV244: 30. Ach! nun ist mein Jesus hin
2. Passio D.N.J.C. secundum Matthaeum, BWV244: 31. Die aber Jesum gegriffen hatten
3. Passio D.N.J.C. secundum Matthaeum, BWV244: 32. Mir hat die Welt truglich gericht't
4. Passio D.N.J.C. secundum Matthaeum, BWV244: 33. Und wiewohl viel falsche Zeugen herzutraten
5. Passio D.N.J.C. secundum Matthaeum, BWV244: 34. Mein Jesus schweigt zu falschen Lugen stille
6. Passio D.N.J.C. secundum Matthaeum, BWV244: 35. Geduld, Geduld!
See all 23 tracks on this disc
Disc: 3
1. Passio D.N.J.C. secundum Matthaeum, BWV244: 53. Da nahmen die Kriegsknechte - b. Gegrusset seist du, Judenkonig - c. Und speieten ihn an
2. Passio D.N.J.C. secundum Matthaeum, BWV244: 54. O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden
3. Passio D.N.J.C. secundum Matthaeum, BWV244: 55. Und da sie ihn verspottet hatten
4. Passio D.N.J.C. secundum Matthaeum, BWV244: 56. Ja! freilich will in uns das Fleisch und Blut
5. Passio D.N.J.C. secundum Matthaeum, BWV244: 57. Komm, susses Kreuz
6. Passio D.N.J.C. secundum Matthaeum, BWV244: 58. a. Und da sie an die Statte kamen - b. Der du den Tempel Gottes zerbrichst - c. Desgleichen auch die Hohenpriester - d. Andern hat er geholfen - e. Desgleichen schmaheten ihn
See all 16 tracks on this disc

Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review

This wonderful recording couples two of the most exciting early music talents currently performing, Ian Bostridge and Andreas Scholl, and is worth buying for their contributions alone. Bostridge rivals a former great Evangelist, Peter Schreier, in the fierce intelligence of his approach and the perfect clarity of his diction, but brings a different, more quicksilver, sense of drama to the proceedings. Unsurprisingly, considering the importance of the Evangelist's role, this sets the tone for the whole recording--unshowy, pure; even cool. Andreas Scholl confirms his status as one of the truly great voices with a performance of "Ebarme dich" almost painful in its beauty, and the other soloists too all have clear, attractive voices. The downside is the lack of visceral savagery in the choral interjections: everything is precise, clean and accurate, but, when they cry out for Barabbas to be released and then Christ to be crucified, it does not match the shocking intensity of some other performances. This distanced, more serene sense of drama has its attractions too, and overall this is an excellent addition to the canon of Matthew Passion recordings. The disc also contains an interactive CD-ROM. --Warwick Thompson

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Customer Reviews

2 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.5 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Very fine, but with some reservations, 25 Feb 2008
By William Burn "gingerburn" (Nottingham, UK) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)      
The St Matthew Passion by Bach occupies a unique place in the world of music: its scale, intensity and expressive range set it apart even from the grandest operas, and yet it is music which was composed for the Good Friday service in Leipzig's Thomaskirche, where Bach was organist. The term "passion" refers to the story of Christ's suffering and crucifixion at Calvary; the bulk of the story is told by a tenor Evangelist and Christ's words are sung by a bass. As was traditional, verses from chorales are placed throughout the work, allowing the congregation to take part in the narrative, and solo singers and choruses are allowed the opportunity to comment or reflect on the action taking place.

This rather dry definition, while giving an impression of the different forms of music to be found herein, but words cannot even come close to the incredible dramatic force which Bach achieves in this work. The music ranges from breathtaking stillness (as in "Aus Liebe", sung by a soprano) to virtuoso solo singing ("Geduld", sung by the tenor, is a fine example), to grandly-scaled choruses (as in "O Mensch, bewein") and fabulously expressive writing for the Evangelist (whose part is incredibly demanding, calling for a top Bb right at the end of the work, after about 3 hours of singing!).

To bring this music to life is, it seems hardly necessary to say, a mammoth task. Not only must a conductor have at his disposal singers and instrumentalists of the highest quality, but also be able to control the drama and pace of a performance lasting over three hours. In the case of this recording, Herreweghe achieves these criteria in almost every respect, and this is a fine disc, although there are some disappointing aspects which should be balanced with the clear strengths.

To deal firstly with the pace and drama of the performance, Herreweghe does a very sound job. The tempos are varied, erring on the quicker side, but very few numbers feel rushed (it is disappointing that the wonderful bass aria "Mache dich, mein Herze, rein", is a little too fast, seeming too restless to my ears). Overall, though, there are very few complaints.

On the subject of singers and musicians, the picture is again largely very positive. The choir is, as a unit, excellent - perfectly in tune and very disciplined, although some of the "step-out" roles (where singers from the choir portray roles such as Herod, Peter and the High Priests) are less successful. The orchestra is outstanding 99% of the time, but it is very disappointing that the viola da gamba player on the bass aria "Komm, suesses Kreuz" seems to be suffering an asthma attack during the piece. While I am all in favour of performers engaging fully with the music, this "heavy breathing" is taking it a step too far.

But what of the soloists? Another reviewer on this page argues that the presence of Ian Bostridge (as the Evangelist) and counter-tenor Andreas Scholl should be enticement enough for any buyer, but I would counsel against getting one's hopes up too much. In the case of Scholl, his tone is, it must be said, fabulous, but at times I feel a little disconnected from the meaning of the music when listening to all this glorious sound - his "Erbarme Dich" is just too forthright to really communicate the sense of a plea for mercy. Bostridge is yet more troubling. I have heard live performances where he makes the most appalling hash of some of the difficult passages (yodelling like a lusty Swiss mountaineer), and he is quite simply far too self-indulgent far too often. While a sense of drama is vital to deliver this passage successfully, he veers at times dangerously close to histrionics, and often gets in the way of the narrative. And at other times his voice just is not very pleasant to listen to. The other singers are a mixed bag. Franz-Josef Selig (Christus), is very fine, with a massive, dark tone, and Werner Güra (tenor arias) is brilliant (he is far too under-rated in this country). The soprano soloist Sibylla Rubens sings beautifully, and is very musical. Less felicitous is the bass soloist Dietrich Henschel, who at times simply runs out of room at the bottom of his range (as in "Mache Dich"), and at others is too monochromatic and metallic to be pleasant to listen to.

So the question remains, can I recommend this CD? On balance, yes, and there is an enormous here to really enjoy. There are other fine recordings around, though (Anthony Rolfe-Johnson on Gardiner's recording is a more listenable Evangelist than Bostridge), so you might want to look at some more reviews before shelling out your £25 for this.
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10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Highly recommended, 11 Oct 2000
By A Customer
I cannot recommend these CDs highly enough. There is a clarity and purity to this recording which brings me back to it time and again.
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