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See Terms & Conditions for p&p rates. | |  | Bach, J S: St John Passion, BWV245
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| |  | Bach, J S: St John Passion, BWV245
Recording made in 2003. The 1725 version is used in this recording. ‘There are fine contributions especially from Stephen Varcoe, and an exceptionally immediate and affecting ‘Es ist vollbracht’ from Michael Chance.’ Gramophone Booklet note and sung texts. Bach produced his St John Passion in 1724, and it was his first setting of the Passion story. The premiere of the first version took place on Good Friday in Leipzig at the Nicolaikirche. Johann Kuhnau had introduced the tradition of Passion oratorios to Leipzig a few years earlier. Bach’s work underwent several revisions right up to the late 1740s, and was performed regularly in all versions. Bach’s Passions have an interesting history. He is credited with five, but only two survive intact, the St John and the St Matthew. The St Mark manuscript was destroyed during a bombing raid in the Second World War, although some music and the text survived, and it has been reconstructed and subsequently recorded. Passion settings appear to have occupied Bach from early on in his career. Some of the material used in the St John Passion dates back to 1714, and it is now believed that Bach reused material from an earlier and now lost Passion. In fact, Bach’s endless revisions saw material from the St Matthew Passion being included in the St John, several Sinfonias were added, and then removed, and these in turn provide material for the many incomplete concertos in Bach’s catalogue of works.Passions are musical descriptions of the events in the life of Christ, from the entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday to the Crucifixion. | | | Usually despatched in 4 - 5 working days. |
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| |  | Bach, J S: St John Passion, BWV2451851 arrangement by Robert Schumann
When Schumann was offered the post of music director in Düsseldorf in 1850, his first main project was to perform the St. John Passion, which had never been presented there, in April 1851: “It is much bolder, more powerful, and more poetic than the St. Matthew. This one seems to me not to be free of diffuseness and to be exceedingly long, but the other – how compact, how thoroughly genial, and of what art!” Robert Schumann | | | (also available to download from $21.00) | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. (Available now to download.) |
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| |  | Bach, J S: St John Passion, BWV245
Eva Maria Leonardy, Ruth Sandhoff, Gerd Türk, Peter Brechbühler & Klaus Mertens Kölner Kantorei & JC Bach Akademie, Volker Hempfling | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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| |  | Bach, J S: St John Passion, BWV245
“In this performance we have attempted to realize Bach’s wishes in the most authentic manner possible.” (Nikolaus Harnoncourt) “With Kurt Equiluz an expressive Evangelist but Robert Holl a stolid Jesus, the soloists in this 1985 performance from Graz Cathedral are mixed, though Harnoncourt's Bach remains vivid.” BBC Music Magazine, May 2007 **** | | | Usually despatched in 8 - 10 working days. |
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| |  | Bach, J S: St John Passion, BWV245Recorded live at the Suntory Hall, Tokyo, 28 July 2000
Subtitles: English, German, French “Suzuki and this select team of vocalists and instrumentalists deliver an exceptional performance that would be difficult to surpass. Highly recommended and without reservation.” Classics Today “this is an outstanding version on DVD...The interpretation remains very similar to Suzuki's early CD account on BIS, with fresh, light textures and generally brisk speeds, which yet allow for depth of feeling; and the sense of occasion is irresistable....[Turk gives] an achingly beautiful performance, with his profound involvement all the more evident when seen as well as heard.” Penguin Guide, 2011 edition | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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| |  | Bach, J S: St John Passion, BWV245
“Bach seems to have performed his St John Passion on four Good Fridays during his tenure as Thomaskantor at Leipzig. However, he continued to make significant revisions right up to the last performance under his direction, on April 4, 1749. Of the four versions, the second, dating from 1725, contains the most distinctive revisions, the first version (1724) and the last bearing close affinity with one another. Masaaki Suzuki and his talented Bach Collegium Japan have chosen Bach's latest version.
All has evidently been carefully prepared and deeply considered: what's refreshing about their approach is the importance afforded to the relationship between text and music, to the theological source of Bach's inspiration, and the emotional impact of the story and music on its audience. Some of their thoughts may strike readers as simplistic, even perhaps a shade sentimental, but on the strength of this fervent performance we can hardly question their sincerity.
The role of the Evangelist is sung with clarity and lightness of inflexion by Gerd Türk. His performance is eloquently measured, his phrasing well shaped and his articulation engagingly varied.
All this makes him a riveting story-teller. The role of Jesus is taken by Chiyuki Urano, warm-toned and resonant. Ingrid Schmidthüsen and Yoshikazu Mera make strongly appealing contributions and Peter Kooij is satisfying and affecting.
Excellent, too, are the contributions of the Collegium's choir of women's and men's voices.
Choral and instrumental articulation is incisive, propelling the rhythms with energy. The performance draws you in from the start. This is a major recording event, and an eminently satisfying one.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010 “What more can I say, other than that I found myself drawn into the drama from the start, at the same time finding much that struck me as fresh in matters of interpretation, and tonality of great beauty. …this is a major recording event, and an eminently satisfying one.” Gramophone Magazine | | | (also available to download from $21.00) | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. (Available now to download.) |
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| |  | Bach, J S: St John Passion, BWV245
Scholars Baroque Ensemble | |
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| | | |  | Bach, J S: St John Passion, BWV245
| | | (also available to download from $21.00) | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. (Available now to download.) |
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