Harry Christophers's account, with The Sixteen Choir and Orchestra it was recorded live in the rich acoustic of St John's Smith Square, London, in March 1989, with a chorus of eighteen and a period instrument band of twenty-one. Christophers leads a solid, warm, and effective account of the 1724 version. Ian Partridge is a distinctive and compassionate Evangelist; the unusual timbre of his elegant, mature voice often calls to mind that of Aksel Schiøtz. Once again, the singing and the playing are of a particularly high quality. Having opted for the original versions of 'Betrachte meine Seel' and 'Erwäge', Christophers makes extensive use of the lute as a continuo instrument in other portions of the Passion.

…The only source for the `St. Luke Passion' is a score copy begun by Johann Sebastian Bach and completed by his son Carl Phillip Emanuel….Wolfgang Helbich is a persuasive advocate of the score. Good sound, texts and translations.

Peter Neumann ist der erste, dessen Aufnahme die zweite Fassung der ›Johannes-Passion‹ in einem Durchlauf hören läßt. Dies ist insofern wichtig, als durch die Änderungen die Aspekte ›Schuld‹ und ›Sünde‹ stärker akzentuiert werden, die theologische Aussage des Werks also in eine etwas andere Richtung weist. Das eigentlich Bemerkenswerte der vorliegenden Einspielung ist der Einsatz einer großen Kirchenorgel als Continuoinstrument, was den Arien und Chorälen eine ganz eigene Färbung verleiht.

Bachs Passions and other great choral works in performances with the Staatskapelle Dresden under the masterly direction of Peter Schreier who also sings the role of the Evangelist. Schreiers aim in Bach interpretation is to bring new lightness without following the full dictates of authentic performance, and in this he succeeds superbly. The recording is first rate, with the choral forces well separated.

The Concerto Copenhagen is Scandinavia’s most renowned Baroque ensemble and one of the most innovative such formations worldwide. Its trademarks are its unusual program combinations featuring Scandinavian rarities and famous Baroque masterpieces. This world-class orchestra now turns to Handel’s great Brockes-Passion in a CD recording based on the Halle edition of this composer’s works. The Passion text published by the well-to-do Hamburg resident Barthold Heinrich Brockes was a literary bestseller during the early eighteenth century.

Felix Mendelssohn's celebrated 1829 revival of the St. Matthew Passion lives on in legend as the starting point of the rediscovery of Bach's music. Mendelssohn performed the work again in 1841 in Bach's own church in Leipzig; the score and performing parts from that occasion have survived, so it's possible to revive Mendelssohn's revival fairly accurately. Conductor Christoph Spering, Chorus Musicus, and Das Neue Orchester (playing 19th-century period instruments) have done just that–with fascinating results.

Rattle’s performance gives us a fascinating view of a masterpiece – we feel that he has approached the music afresh on its own terms, without being influenced by tradition. He has the advantage, as Britten did not, of a choir and orchestra with the music in their blood, so there need be no concerns on grounds of musical accuracy. His pacing of the work overall is masterly in his projection of the overall structure; the drama of earlier parts of the score such as the Dies Irae is not allowed to overshadow the final cataclysmic climax in the Libera Me, which is devastating in its power. In the Owen setting, “Strange Meeting” which follows is sung with great concentration by both Tear and Allen, emphasising as Britten intended the personal cost of conflict and its futility.

The Freiburger Barockorchester, directed from Gottfried von der Goltz’s violin, released a brand new recording of Telemann’s rare Passion, entitled Seliges Erwägen (Contemplative Meditations). More than just setting to music the story of the passion of Christ, such as Bach did, we hear in this score a succession of meditations. If we know little about its genesis, it is acknowledged that the success of this work was considerable, even more than that of his Passion after Brockes or his oratorio The Death of Jesus. The clear diction and the transparency of the voices in the chorals perfectly convey the dramatic expression, typical of these sacred works.

The opening with the opening choir "Kommt, ihr Töchter" immediately sets the tone; not a quick-played waltz, but imposing and wide-set, like the start of a great human drama. Richter exceeds 11 minutes with this tempo. Only the version by Otto Klemperer is even slower. But unlike Klemperer, here in the rest of the MP we are not dealing with a somewhat stately approach, but with a sharply profiled and dramatic one!

Johann Sebastian Bach’s St Matthew Passion is widely recognised as one of the greatest masterpieces in Western sacred music. With its double orchestra and chorus this is a work of enormous proportions in every sense, and Bach was extremely resourceful in treading a fine line between creating the almost operatic spectacle valued by the secular authorities in Leipzig, and the elevated religious atmosphere sought by the clergy. This inspired mix of moving drama and theological discourse led Leonard Bernstein to declare that ‘there is nothing like it in all of music’.

The changes in musical style that were taking place in Italy in the late 16th century came to a head in 1600, with the performance and publication of three path-breaking works: two settings of Rinuccini's libretto for Euridice by Giulio Caccini and Jacopo Peri, and Cavalieri's Rappresentatione. All three composers were associated with the Medici court in Florence, and they were bitter rivals in their claims to the "marvelous invention" of drammi posti in musica per recitar cantando, dramas in music in recitative style. Emilio de' Cavalieri (c1550-1602), a Roman nobleman who had been appointed superintendent of Lorenzo I's musical establishment, had lost ground in Florence to the other two and the Rappresentatione was first produced in Rome, probably as a challenge to the others, and its innovative nature was immediately recognized and warmly received.

Dunedin Consort continues to apply its pioneering approach to recordings by releasing two alternative performing versions of one of Handel’s greatest dramatic works, Samson. This is the Full Chorus Version.
This version employs an authentic Handelian chorus, comprising both boy trebles from the Tiffin Boys' Choir and solo sopranos – a sonority largely unheard in the modern age.

Hungarian conductor Pál Németh seems to be starting a series of larger-sacred works by Viennese composer Antonio Caldara. Coming on the heels of his Paschal work La passion di Gesù Cristo , likewise on Hungaroton, this particular oratorio features something that should resonate in Budapest, since it focuses on King Stephen, the country’s patron saint. Regardless of the subject matter, however, the work conforms to the typical Italian oratorio of the early 18th century, that is to say, a sacred mirror of the opera seria consisting of a series of da capo arias following recitatives.

Nikolaus Harnoncourt präsentierte 2009 einen der spannendsten Beiträge zum Haydn-Jubiläumsjahr. Seine Neueinspielung der berühmten Jahreszeiten von Haydn mit dem Originalklangorchester Concentus Musicus Wien bietet einen liebevoll im Detail ausgemalten, kontraststarken und spannungsreichen Bilderbogen - mit wild brausenden Winterstürmen, brütender Sommerhitze, heftigem Gewitter und einem ausschweifenden Winzerfest. Das Solistenterzett mit Genia Kühmeiers mädchenhaften Sopran, dem kultivierten Tenor von Werner Güra und dem ausdruckstarken, lyrischen Bariton von Christian Gerhaher lässt keine Wünsche offen. 2010 erhielt Nikolaus Harnoncourt für diese Einspielung den Echo Klassik für die beste Chorwerk-Einspielung des Jahres.

This live recording of the concert of 31st March 1985 document the performances of the Passion which have been given annually by Nikolaus Harnoncourt and the Concertgebouw Orchestra for ten years now.