Classical Music Forum banner

Recommend a St. Matthew Passion recording

66K views 113 replies 47 participants last post by  stelastic 
#1 ·
I realized I have yet to hear this work in its entirety, so (being home) I went looking through my parents' recordings and found one, a rather new one--Riccardo Chailly with the Gewandhausorchester. I was just listening to it and was a bit put off right from the beginning. The tempo for "Kommt, ihr Tochter, helft mir klagen" seemed too fast, which lessened its impact.

So, though I will try the rest because maybe I'll like it better, I want to find a different recording of the St. Matthew Passion. What recording do you like, and, importantly, why do you like it?

Thanks!
 
#2 ·
My first St. Matthew was Richter's video recording of it, and I actually like that one quite a lot. It's definitely (defiantly?) not HIP in the current sense (vibrato, large ensemble, slowish tempi), but it's very light compared to Klemperer, Mengelberg, etc. There's a dignity and spiritual integrity to it that I've always deeply admired, though, and tremendous dramatic purpose and import; hearing "Erbarme dich" from this video alone is deeply moving, but watching it in the whole context is shattering. The sheer depth of the whole work is brought out amazingly well.

I'm no expert on this piece, by the way, but another to consider is Suzuki's (obviously). It's different than others. One interesting thing I read about it that I happen to agree with is that it doesn't feel like an enactment of the passion story so much as a re-telling of it, somewhat detached. It's not really a first-choice one, but it's still darn good.

You might also want to check out Herreweghe. It's quite highly thought-of (the newer one, that is...although I can't find the older one so I don't know if that distinction matters) though I haven't heard it.
 
#6 · (Edited)
I quite like what I've heard of Suzuki... although there is something stark or detached... quite removed from my other experiences of Bach. Herreweghe is most certainly a top choice. For me, however, the top choice would have to be that of John Eliot Gardiner with the English Baroque Soloists and the Monteverdi Choir... and just look at some of the soloists: Anthony Rolfe Johnson, Barbara Bonney, Anne Sofie von Otter, Michael Chance...





Gardiner's recording IS HIP. His pacing is appropriate for the profundity of the subject, but also brisk enough so as to avoid the deadening leaden effect of older recordings, and to emphasize the drama and the urgency. The orchestra, choir, and soloists are all top notch and their performance is laden with emotion.

Seriously, considering that this box set...



can be had for perhaps less than twice what many St. Matthew Passion recordings go for in spite of the fact that this set includes 22 discs: the St. John AND St. Matthew Passions, the Mass in B minor, the Magnificat, the Easter Oratorio, and some 10 discs of the finest cantatas... all in recordings regarded as the first choice (or one of the first choices), I can't find a better place to start with Bach's choral works.
 
#7 ·
... For me, however, the top choice would have to be that of John Eliot Gardiner with the English Baroque Soloists and the Monteverdi Choir... and just look at some of the soloists: Anthony Rolfe Johnson, Barbara Bonney, Anne Sofie von Otter, Michael Chance...
I concur.

To me, modern instrument versions of this masterpiece from decades past just sound horrible.
 
#8 ·
... found one, a rather new one--Riccardo Chailly with the Gewandhausorchester. I was just listening to it and was a bit put off right from the beginning. The tempo for "Kommt, ihr Tochter, helft mir klagen" seemed too fast, which lessened its impact.

So, though I will try the rest because maybe I'll like it better, I want to find a different recording of the St. Matthew Passion. What recording do you like, and, importantly, why do you like it?

Thanks!
I have to say, though I'm no afficianado, I love the Chailly recording which put you off. Probably because I've been to Leipzig, and I like the idea of this being done by the Thomanerchor (the same choir Bach led) and I'm a sucker for boys choirs (the only female voices in this recording are soloists)...but I can understand how the etherial light sound of a boys chorus instead of women sounds odd, when you're not used to it. It is however, how Bach would of know it though, isn't it?

As to the faster tempo...it's my understanding that musicologists have found that typically the original baroque performances were done at a noticeably faster/lighter tempo than modern large/heavy orchestra/choirs usually attempt.

This is the first Mattheuspassion I've listened through, so perhaps I'm prejudiced, but I love the mysterious dancing tempo and light(er) voices...just seems more authentic to me. But hey, what do I know?
 
#9 ·
These are the St Matts in my collection at the moment:

- Klemperer
- Richter
- Gardiner
- Rilling
- Herreweghe (both of them)
- van Veldhoven

Unfortunately, I have to give a big thumbs down to the Gardiner. He takes it at a much faster tempo than the others, such that Komm ihr tochter sounds more like a gay dance than the serious work that it is. It is lacking in gravity. I acknowledge that I have the minority opinion on this one - it seems to be well reviewed and comes highly recommended by many. It just doesn't work for me.

I also have to give another thumbs down to the van Veldhoven. Of all the versions of St Matts, the sonics on this one are the best (released on SACD). The players sing with a lot of commitment, but the performance can be a little bit scrappy, and again - seems to be lacking in gravity.

All of the others (Klemperer, Richter, Rilling, Herreweghe) can be safely recommended, but with a couple of asterisks against the Klemperer and Richter. The Klemperer is a landmark recording, featuring outstanding singers like Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (when he was still young and smoking!), and Peter Pears. This is probably as far away from Bach as it is possible - the orchestral forces are massive, and the chorus is overwhelming. The tempo is exceedingly slow, such that there is an anecdote that Fischer-Dieskau complained to Klemperer that the soloists were turning blue sustaining the long notes. Klemperer frowned and conducted even slower still! The sound is quite muddy, and it is difficult to hear what the chorus is singing. However - this recording positively throbs with emotion and tragedy, and you really feel as if the performers are Christians singing in fear of God.

I have to put another asterisk for the Richter. He uses a modern orchestra, but it is cut down in size compared to Klemperer. The chorus in this recording is exceedingly good - not surprising given Richter's career. Richter's conducting is absolutely straight laced and traditional. Norman Lebrecht did not like Richter - he said that Richter played in a way that made Germans feel safe to be Germans (remember, this was in the 1950's, soon after the war). It is not HIP, but it is still an enjoyable recording.

If you are after a HIP recording, the Herreweghe can be safely recommended. Both the earlier and later recordings are good, but I prefer the one with Bostridge as the evangelist.
 
#12 ·
To my shame, I don't know this work at all. I'm going to see it here & I want to familiarise myself with it.

Someone lent me a CD a few months ago & I copied it on to my PC but never played it. Now I've come to play it, it's faulty, but I love what I managed to listen to.

I don't really know what I'm looking for but I'd be very grateful if you could give me a link to one with a good libretto booklet.
 
#13 ·
Hi Annie, every recording I listed in my post above has a good libretto. Unfortunately, I am not aware of one online. However - when I typed "St Matthews Passion libretto" into Google, the 6th suggestion links to a PDF of "part one" of St. Matts. I don't know where the other parts are, but you may have to dig deeper. Good luck!
 
#29 ·
I'm late to the party but I stand for Klemperer, and I cannot explain it more beautifully than Amfibius did in his/her post.
 
#30 ·
This work has a special place for my wife who was in the choir as a girl at the Festival Hall under Sir David Willcocks. I did not know it at all until I bought my wife Karl Richter's. 1958 recording. The first chord sent shivers down my spine! That old recording is still worth hearing for its reverential understanding of the work, even though it may seem somewhat slow and old fashioned now.
Since then. I have acquired Gardiner, Herrewegh (1) and Harnoncourt's last one. All superb, but I think Harnoncourt shades it.
 
#33 ·
I have a very simple test for checking the quality of a recording of this timeless masterpiece.

Listen to the recitative no. 17 in Part I, the Last Supper.

If you are not reduced to a quivering heap, stunned by the majesty of what you have just heard, chills running up and down your back, tears in your eyes and a lump in your throat...

... then the recording is trash.

It's not a fool-proof test, because such is the greatness of the music in this section that any recording that failed would be a crime against humanity and those responsible should be put on trial at the Hague, but some are better than others.

For me, the one that passes with the most ease is Fischer-Dieskau and Pears on the Klemperer recording. The closest I've come to encountering a failure is the Herrewehge.

My advice is to test a few with that section.
 
#42 ·
I have a very simple test for checking the quality of a recording of this timeless masterpiece.

Listen to the recitative no. 17 in Part I, the Last Supper.

If you are not reduced to a quivering heap, stunned by the majesty of what you have just heard, chills running up and down your back, tears in your eyes and a lump in your throat...

... then the recording is trash.
Well I've failed the test completely. I can't identify the section that you mean.
On the only version I one, Harnoncourt from 2000, section seventeen is a Chorale - "Ich will hier bei dir stehen", and whilst lovely did not induce the sensations described.
Can any one help?
 
#35 ·
Rene Jacobs is certainly keeping busy these days. This is his latest release:

View attachment 26470

It's getting rave reviews, by the looks of it. I haven't listened to it yet, but I certainly would like to.
I will also look out for this recording. Rene Jacob's interpretations of baroque music (especially opera) on the Harmonia Mundi label have been consistently excellent.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top