Matthew Passion (Final Performing Version, c. 1742)

Dunedin Consort - Matthew Passion (Final Performing Version, c. 1742)

Matthew Passion (Final Performing Version, c. 1742)
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Artist: Dunedin Consort
Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach
Conductor: John Butt
Orchestra: Dunedin Consort & Players
Performer: Dunedin Consort & Players
Edition: Music CD
Audio: English (Unknown)
Format: Hybrid SACD - DSD, Import
CD Release Date: 2008-03-11
Music Label: Linn Records
Soundtracks:
  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
  21. Aria: Ich will dir mein Herze schenken
  22. Evangelista, Jesus: Und da sie den Lobgesang gesprochen hatten
  23. Choral: Erkenne mich, mein Huter
  24. Evangelista, Petrus, Jesus: Petrus aber antwortete und sprach zu ihm
  25. Choral: Ich will hier bei dir stehen
  26. Evangelista, Jesus: Da kam Jesus mit ihnen zu einem Hofe
  27. Recitativo: O Schmerz! Hier zittert das gequalte Herz; Choral: Was ist die Ursach aller solcher Plagen?
  28. Aria: Ich will bei meinem Jesu wachen; Chorus: So schlafen unsre Sunden ein
  29. Evangelista, Jesus: Und ging hin ein wenig
  30. Recitativo: Der Heiland fallt vor seinem Vater nieder
  31. Aria: Gerne will ich mich bequemen
  32. Evangelista, Jesus: Und er kam zu seinen Jungern
  33. Choral: Was mein Gott will, das g scheh allzeit
  34. Evangelista, Jesus, Judas: Und er kam und fand sie aber schlafend
  35. Aria: So ist mein Jesus nun gefangen; Chorus: Lasst ihn, haltet, bindet nicht!
  36. Chori: Sind Blitze, sind Donner in Wolken verschwunden?
  37. Evangelista, Jesus: Und siehe, einer aus denen, die mit Jesu waren
  38. Choral: O Mensch, bewein dein Sunde gross
  39. Aria: Ach, nun ist mein Jesus hin!; Chorus: Wo ist denn dein Freund hingegangen
  40. Evangelista: Die aber Jesum gegriffen hatten
  41. Choral: Mir hat die Welt truglich gericht
  42. Evangelista, Testis I/II, Pontifex: Und wiewohl viel falsche Zeugen herzutraten
  43. Recitativo: Mein Jesus schweigt zu falschen Lugen stille
  44. Aria: Geduld!
  45. Evangelista, Pontifex, Jesus: Und der Hohepriester antwortete
  46. Chori: Er ist des Todes schuldig!
  47. Evangelista: Da speieten sie aus in sein Angesicht
  48. Chori: Weissage uns, Christe
  49. Choral: Wer hat dich so geschlagen
  50. Evangelista, Ancilla I/II, Petrus: Petrus aber sass draussen im Palast
  51. Chorus: Wahrlich, du bist auch einer von denen
  52. Evangelista, Petrus: Da hub er an, sich zu verfluchen
  53. Aria: Erbarme dich, mein Gott
  54. Choral: Bin ich gleich von dir gewichen
  55. Evangelista, Judas: Des Morgens aber hielten alle Hohepriester
  56. Chori: Was gehet uns das an?
  57. Evangelista, Pontifex I/II: Und er warf die Silberlinge in den Tempel
  58. Aria: Gebt mir meinen Jesum wieder!
  59. Evangelista, Pilatus, Jesus: Sie hielten aber einen Rat
  60. Choral: Befiehl du deine Wege
  61. Evangelista, Pilatus, Uxor Pilati, Chori: Auf das Fest aber hatte der Landpfleger Gewohnheit
  62. Chori: Lass ihn kreuzigen!
  63. Choral: Wie wunderbarlich ist doch diese Strafe!
  64. Evangelista, Pilatus: Der Landpfleger sagte
  65. Recitativo: Er hat uns allen wohlgetan
  66. Aria: Aus Liebe will mein Heiland sterben
  67. Evangelista: Sie schrieen aber noch mehr; Chori: Lass ihn kreuzigen!
  68. Evangelista, Pilatus: Da aber Pilatus sahe
  69. Chori: Sein Blut komme uber uns
  70. Evangelista: Da gab er ihnen Barrabam los
  71. Recitativo: Erbarm es Gott!
  72. Aria: Konnen Tranen meiner Wangen
  73. 101 total tracks

Music reviews of Matthew Passion (Final Performing Version, c. 1742)

Music Review: The Most Original St. Matthew Passion I've Heard
Rating: 5 Stars

It wasn't too long ago that Paul McCreesh released his one-voice-per-part reading of the St. Matthew Passion, an effort that seemed to be either revered or hated by listeners. I will not shy away from saying that I do not feel McCreesh is the best interpreter of Bach. Indeed, while I feel his output in early music is exceptional, his Bach does not always apply, in my opinion. One might find it too light and anemic. The voices he chose did not always blend well. Dramatic moments seemed like mere child's play. These were some of a few annoyances one could find in his St. Matthew Passion. This is unfortunate, as it has turned many listeners off to OVPP, though we know this was type of configuration Bach used and, for the most part, desired for performance (I will not tire you with a long list of evidence of this, but instead refer you to the important, eye-opening book by Andrew Parrott called _The Essential Bach Choir_).

But these problems does not apply all one-voice-per-part (OVPP) renditions. OVPP does not inherently lack drama and depth, but its aim is clarity and precision, without sacrificing drama. And that is evident in the outstanding recordings of Cantus Colln, Andrew Parrott, Scholars Baroque, and others. And we may now add Dunedin to that distinguished list of historical Bach performers as well.

This recording by John Butt and the Dunedin Consort took me completely by surprise. I've read scholarly articles about how Bach would have wanted his St. Matthew Passion to sound, and had realized, prior to Dunedin's release, there was no recording out there, not Gardiner's, not McCreesh's, not even the heavenly Herreweghe's (one of my favorites), that use the forces that were available to Bach. I had realized that there was no recording prior to Dunedin's that comes close to duplicating what this great piece of our cultural heritage would have originally sounded like. Where is the harpsichord in the second orchestra? Were is the full continuo in the "Geduld" aria? et cetera. Call me a purist, but I am so pleased that John Butt has released this recording attempting to duplicate the forces Bach had, and the impressive research that went into making this set is not to be missed.

First thing's first- this recording grabbed my attention from the beginning, and gripped it until the end of the final chorus "Wir setzen uns." One of the benefits of using OVPP is how much the listener begins to identify and "know" the singers far more intimately. Yet in the more explosive moments, there is still very much an element of surprise and grandeur.

The soloists are each well-chosen. In McCreesh's we might see how his chosen voices do not blend well, using too much vibrato, which are both fatal errors in recording Bach OVPP when the main goal of OVPP is the clarity of voices that can still sound as a unit when needed. We know Bach used well-trained boys as sopranos in his choirs, and I was elated to hear Cecilia Osmond's rendition of the arias here. The light sound of her voice seems perfect for the role, and does not hint at any operatic tibre that never seems apropos in the work. This recording TRULY gives the St. Matthew Passion back to the church. But the TRUE standouts of the cast are Nicholas Mulroy's Evangelist and Matthew Brook's Jesus. While I have praised the scholarly aspect of this set, the artistic merit of it is almost unparalleled. Nicholas Mulroy keeps the recitatives flowing with honesty, DRAMA, and urgency. He ranks alonside Ian Bostridge as a great evangelist, in my opinion. Matthew Brook's Jesus, I believe, is the most heartfelt on record, judging from what I have heard (and I have heard many). His arias performed with vigor, and I've never heard such a heart-wrenching "Eli, Eli Lama Asabthani" as his. Mulroy's and Brook's performances are truly unforgettable.

The orchestra plays with a certain amount of suavity and clarity that one misses from McCreesh. The singers even feel free to use some tasteful ornamentation here and there. Case in point is in the da capo section Susan Hamilton's "Ich will dir mein Herze schenken."

One worries, naturally, if the sense of mightiness is lost in this and other OVPP recordings. I've mentioned that I felt McCreesh's ensemble sounded, at times, too light and anemic. There seemed to be no urgency in "Barrabam!", "Lasst ihn! Haltet!," or when the crowd shouts for Jesus to come down from the cross and save himself. But that is definitely NOT the case here with Dunedin. When all eight of the singers required to perform his gem of Western culture are correctly chosen, their ensemble numbers sound every bit as weighty as those of full-scale choirs. "Kommt ihr Toechter" has as much drive, power, and pathos and any recording. The choral interjections of "Lasst ihn! Haltet! Bindet Nicht" are explosive, and when the crowd screams for "Barrabam!" and "Lass sehen, ob Elias koome und ihm helfe!" it is dramatic. The balance between the St. Matthew Passion's inherent reverence and inherent drama is perfectly realized here.

I cannot begin to express how excited I am to have discovered this relatively new ensemble called the Dunedin Consort, and will not hesitate to add them to my list of favorites including Cantus Colln and Collegium Vocale.

Do not let McCreesh's recording deter you from the idea of the St. Matthew Passion being performed OVPP. John Butt and Dunedin have shown how great OVPP in the St. Matthew Passion can sound. But if you happened to like McCreesh's set (I also admit, there were many moments in his pioneering recording that I admire) you will love Dunein Consort's. It is truly the most original rendition, both musicologically and artistically, I have heard so far. One might hope that Cantus Colln or Andrew Parrott offer their readings of it in the near future, but Dunedin Consort's St. Matthew Passion is not to be missed by any classical listener, whether familiar with the OVPP concept or not.
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Description of Matthew Passion (Final Performing Version, c. 1742)

Import only Hybrid-SACD pressing.

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