Somewhat Brisk J S Bach's 'St John Passion' - heard by GEOFF PEARCE 'All in all, this is a fine set ...'

I once played in a performance of J S Bach's St John Passion, and have a great recording that I purchased back in the early 1980s with Harnoncourt directing his Concentus Musicus Wien and the Vienna Boys Choir, and using soloists drawn from The Vienna Boys choir for the high solo parts.

This new set from Mainz, conducted by Ralf Otto, is different in quite a number of ways. Perhaps most importantly, the last version completed in Bach's lifetime (most likely in 1749) was used, in comparison to my Harnoncourt recording which I think uses an earlier edition. The structure of this new recording is a bit tighter, and the length of the performance is shorter...

JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH

GERMANY

CHORAL MUSIC