St. John Passion - J. S. Bach

 Our Description

2 CD Set with a richly illustrated book.

Netherlands Bach Society, Jos van Veldhoven

The Netherland's Bach Society's 2003 release of Bach's Christmas Oratorio was met with high praise not only for its musical excellence, but also for its lavish packaging.  Now, Channel Misuc offers a recording of Bach's St. John Passion made with similar forces, and again, thanks to the label's collaboration with the Catharijneconvent Museum of Utrecht, the set is accompanied by a richly illustrated book featuring liturgical art from one of Europe's premier collections.  Conductor Jos van Veldhoven has chosen to record Bach's earliest versions of this work (1724) in a reconstruction by musicologist Dr. Pieter Dirksen.  This performance features a small-scale scoring with ten singers and eleven instrumentalists, with no distinction made between choristers and soloists.  According to the most recent research, this constitutes a very close approximation of the ensemble with which Bach gave the first performance of the work.  Although the St. John Passion is less well known than Bach's St. Matthew Passion, this new version may open some ears to the majestic quality of this masterwork of baroque.

About the Artists
"The choral performances are first rate - vibrant, exciting and involved, with crisp, clear articulation and bright yet full-bodied tone." -ClassicsToday.com

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• Catholic CDs > Catholic Music > Sacred Music > Non-Liturgical

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