BaL 7.04.12 - Bach's St Matthew Passion

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

With apologies to all JEGgers enthusiasts, but it doesn't at all surprise me to read that he can even think of conducting the StJP and the B minor Mass in one day.

[JFLL]

With apologies to all JEGgers enthusiasts, but it doesn't at all surprise me to read that he can even think of conducting the StJP and the B minor Mass in one day.

No, lack of stamina isn't one of his weaknesses, unlike some more tender flowers!

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

No, lack of stamina isn't one of his weaknesses, unlike some more tender flowers!

[BBMmk2]

Good luck to all involved, that's what i say!

[jayne lee wilson]

St.Matthew Passion?

Always, only and forever, Hermann Scherchen!
(Vienna State Opera, Vienna Singverein, Standen, Cuenod, Laszlo, Rossel-Majdan, Munteanu)

Westminster 1953 - (Japanese JVC reissue of course - what did you expect?)

If you ever get the chance to sample it, go directly to no.75, "Mache dich, mein herze, rein"... you'll never recover.

[John Skelton]

Thanks for the information about that - I've never heard Kuijken's (first) recording and clearly must do so. And I'm very eager to try his new one.

There's already a fine ovpp recording with the Ricercar Consort directed by Philippe Pierlot http://www.mdt.co.uk/MDTSite/product//MIR136.htm (I think it was given a dismissive review by Jonathan Freeman-Attwood, which is always a good recommendation for something ). Very much looking forward to Kuijken, though.

[makropulos]

There's already a fine ovpp recording with the Ricercar Consort directed by Philippe Pierlot http://www.mdt.co.uk/MDTSite/product//MIR136.htm (I think it was given a dismissive review by Jonathan Freeman-Attwood, which is always a good recommendation for something ). Very much looking forward to Kuijken, though.

Ah yes! Pierlot's ovpp Magnificat is fabulous, I think. And the bad review from JF-A is, as you say, a useful recommendation. At the price...well, I've just ordered it :) - thanks for the link.

[makropulos]

Though I should say - that link is to the St John rather than the St Matthew. Has Pierlot done the SMP yet?

[John Skelton]

Though I should say - that link is to the St John rather than the St Matthew. Has Pierlot done the SMP yet?

No he hasn't - sorry, I was as ever drifting off-topic (referring to the new Kuijken Johannes-Passion). Kuijken's ovpp SMP is an essential recording for me.

[euthynicus]

Always, only and forever, Hermann Scherchen!

Not sure about the only, but as for the general sentiment, I couldn't agree more. Funny how Cuenod and Scherchen couldn't agree at all on how it should go, and apparently just went their own ways during the recording. You'd never know.

Of course all recordings are available now, one way or another, and bachcantatas.com lists over 100 recordings - I suppose I have about half of them - so JS won't cover more than a fraction of them. Of modern performances, I feel that the first Netherlands Bach Soc/ Veldhoven version has often unfairly been overlooked (the one with Scholl and Zomer). I wonder if he'll cover the new DVD of Sellars's 'ritualisation' in Berlin with Rattle? I saw Rattle do it in Birmingham, and the solo singing was extraordinarily fine.

[BBMmk2]

That's a lot of St matthews to go through, plus the additions!

I have two, the JEG and Herrwege's.

[vinteuil]

9.30 Building a Library: Jeremy Summerly with a personal recommendation from recordings of Bach's St Matthew Passion.




Cantate Domino Schola Cantorum, Collegium Vocale & Collegium Vocale Orchestra, Philippe Herreweghe

There are two Herreweghe recordings, both on harmonia mundi, both with Collegium Vocale Gent.
The 1984 recording has Howard Crook, Ulrik Cold, Barbara Schlick, Rene Jacobs, Hans-Peter Blochwitz, Peter Kooy.
The 1998 recording has Ian Bostridge, Franz-Josef Selig, Sibylla Rubens, Andreas Scholl, Werner Gura, Dietrich Henschel.

I like them both. I prefer the 1984.

[Chris Newman]

My first recording was Nikolaus Harnoncourt and David Willcocks on Teldec, 1970 with Concentus Musicus Wien, Boy's Voices of the Regensburger Domspatzen, Men's Voices of the King's college choir> The Soloists: Kurt Equiluz, Karl Ridderbusch, boy soprano soloists of the Wiener Sängerknaben, Paul Esswood, Tom Sutcliffe (remember him?) James Bowman, Nigel Rogers, Max van Egmond, Michael Schopper This was the first recording of the St. Matthew Passion to use period instruments. It was pretty good.

A couple of years before I heard my first St Matthew at the Proms under Karl Richter. It was just before the introduction of flying saucers at the Albert Hall but astonishingly the echo took the day off. Very impressive too as joint leaders Kenneth Sillito and Emanuel Hurwitz encouraged the strings to imitate the decorations of the dream cast in those days of soloists: Peter Schreier, Elly Ameling, Janet Baker, Max von Egmond and Kieth Engen (he deliberately spelt Keith that way to stop Germans calling him Kite) and John Shirley-Quirk. Bach performance underwent seismic changes around that time.

[Mary Chambers]

My first and only recording is on vinyl - Klemperer, the Philharmonia, Pears, Fischer-Dieskau, Schwarzkopf, Ludwig, Gedda, Berry. Not fashionable now, but perfectly valid. It's still available on CD. I don't collect recordings (of anything), but hear any performances I can, and I have sung in the chorus (in rather less exalted company) very many times.

[MickyD]

It's surely time that Edward Higginbottom and New College Oxford gave us their take on the work - for me, their St John Passion on Naxos is very good indeed.