Passione Secondo Matteo (Bwv 244)

• The passion for Saint Matthieu Deluxe Edition including DVD

Product Description Bach's great choral masterpiece, the St. Matthew Passion, has been at the heart of Ren+¬ Jacobs' musical career since he was a child. As a vocalist, first as a boy soprano in Ghent then as a countertenor soloist in adulthood, Jacobs has been steeped in the work's rich tradition (and the historically-informed approaches of several famous musicologist-conductors) for his whole life. In a defining moment that comes at the peak of his musical powers, the great vocalist, conductor and scholar Ren+¬ Jacobs leads a cast of superb soloists, backed by the RIAS-Kammerchor and Akademie f++r Alte Musik Berlin, in a recording of the St. Matthew Passion that will doubtless stand as one of the finest made. Offered in surround-sound on Hybrid SACD, this deluxe, audiophile quality set from harmonia mundi (which also includes a bonus 'making-of' DVD) does full justice to the remarkable performance by these stellar artists. Jacobs' vision of the work focuses on the paradox of a drama that is at once intimate, theatrical, and collective. As always, there are interpretive surprises, but what will strike listeners most is the recording's searing emotional intensity that is a constant from beginning to end. Review "René Jacobs could have profited from the surround-sound technique on the Ramon Humet CD. Instead, he's driven to analyse the complex relationships of the bi-choral forces, soloists and accompanists in order to make the stereo image conform as closely as possible to J S Bach's intentions with the Matthäus-Passion. Care is taken to represent the distance between the choirs, along with the parts played and sung from the "swallow's nest gallery". The results are magnificent, particularly the choral blend in "Kommt, ihr Töchter, helft mir klagen" and "Ich will hier bei dir stehen"; until a 5.1 mix is attempted, this will surely be the spatially definitive version." - ***** The Independent "It [the recording] boasts a sit-up-and-take-notice aspect that’s not gimmick exactly, but certainly a strong selling point … Werner Güra’s heartfelt Evangelist is the recording’s finest asset … The finale’s textures and message were never better managed than here." - **** Mark Valencia, Sinfini Music "A performance of overwhelming sincerity, it's not without controversy… The recording itself accordingly aims to approximate the spatial sound as it might have been heard by someone sitting near the front of the church… one might also be surprised by its sensuous immediacy and by Jacobs's ornate way with the recitatives. But the mix of drama and meditation is breathtakingly sustained and the choral singing astonishing in its beauty. Werner Güra is the impassioned Evangelist, Johannes Weisser the noble, charismatic Jesus. The classy lineup for the arias includes Bernarda Fink, Topi Lehtipuu and Konstantin Wolff, all at their absolute best." - ***** Tim Ashley, The Guardian "Essential listening, not only for Jacobs’s spatial innovations, but for Werner Güra’s gripping Evangelist and Johannes Weisser’s youthful, unsanctimonious Christ." - Hugh Canning, The Sunday Times