J.S. Bach: Matthäus Passion (DE) - CD

ENGLISH

<br><br>Bach composed his St Matthew Passion in 1727. Only two of his five Passion settings have survived - the St Matthew and the St John. The St Mark survives in a realisation after the manuscript was destroyed in a bombing raid in the Second World War. Of the other two works there is no trace. The work was premiered in Leipzig where Bach was kapellmeister at the Thomaskirche. Revised several times by the composer, it was often performed during his lifetime, but not heard outside Leipzig until 1829 when Mendelssohn performed an edited and modified version in Berlin. Today we take a dim view of the 19th century tampering with a work like the St Matthew Passion. However, Mendelssohn's pioneering work in bringing the music of Bach to a wider public was responsible for the reappraisal of the composer, and the restoration of masterpieces such as the St Matthew Passion to the repertoire.<br /> <br /> Other information:<br /> - Recorded in 1994 in the chapel of King's College, Cambridge, a masterpiece by the great Bach including 'Erbarme dich'.<br /> - First-rate line-up of singers, with one of the greatest choirs of the world. <br /> - The Choir owes its existence to King Henry VI, who envisaged the daily singing of services in his magnificent chapel.<br /> - "The choir of King's College are on top form throughout...so, too, are the excellent obbligato performances from the Brandenburg Consort" (Gramophone, 2003).<br /> - A DVD of the complete Matthäus is included next to the 3CD audio version.<br /> - Sung texts available by clicking on 'Download booklet' below the cover image.