St. Matthew Passion

Unforgettable!
This performance is ravishing from beginning to end. A seemingly effortless journey for John Nelson, a musician and conductor of great distinction. Not so for the soloists for whom singing with such beauty and conviction the roles of such a well known story required voices and "acting" ability of a high level.
It is worth playing the second disc, "The Journey" first. It gives an intimate account of John Nelson's love of the material and the listener becomes more familiar with each of the soloists and the choir. Such a disc gives such a glimpse of the collegiate effort to create such a performance.
The little band of musicians making up the continuo never intrude. Their artistry and skill add a perfect and very enthusiastic accompaniment to the text and the main actors. Likewise, the choir also never dominate, but only serve to enhance the centrality of the soloists in this performance.
On the debit side one must mention the lack of a libretto. There are subtitles...

Gorgeous
This is a fabulous DVD. John Nelson does a wonderful job of leading this terrific young choir and brilliant soloists through this remarkable work; one of the pinnacles of Western civilization. The soloists are superb, the orchestra is wonderful. I can't say enough about this. I've performed this work three times, and pretty much have it memorized. I was enthralled.

Bach and John Nelson
Bach is the star, but John Nelson could have been his soul mate. His knowledge of the piece was so personal and complete, yet never got in the way,so subtle was his superb direction. I worked with John in NYC in the 60's,Idomeneo etc. He is absolutely first rate, and a wonderful colleague, with which to make music. The quality of the soloists,varied . The Evangelist wore well,but his, and the tenor soloist's open 'AH' vowels were distracting(Fritz Wunderlich,why did you have to die so young?!)and bordering at times,on a yell. The vocal transition from E,F,an G is very difficult to do smoothly, but even so....The young chorus and orchestra were clear in their efforts, and much appreciated by this listener. We are all very fortunate,indeed,to have this music, and so wonderfully performed.Thank you Lord.Mallory Walker

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