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JS Bach - St Matthew Passion

£25.43

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Label: Harmonia Mundi

Cat No: HMM90269193

Barcode: 3149020943878

Format: CD

Number of Discs: 3

Genre: Vocal/Choral

Release Date: 18th March 2022

Works

Bach, Johann Sebastian

St Matthew Passion, BWV244

Artists

Julian Pregardien (tenor)
Stephane Degout (bass)
Sabine Devieilhe (soprano)
Lucile Richardot (alto)
Reinoud van Mechelen (tenor)
Hana Blazikova (soprano)
Tim Mead (countertenor)
Emiliano Gonzalez Toro (tenor)
Christian Immler (bass)
Maitrise de Radio France
Pygmalion

Conductor

Raphael Pichon

Works

Bach, Johann Sebastian

St Matthew Passion, BWV244

Artists

Conductor

Raphael Pichon

About

Bach and Pygmalion: the story of a passion linking the genius of the Thomaskantor to a reflection on inner drama and constantly renewed vocality.

This Matthäus Passion marks a major stage in this fifteen-year companionship and testifies to the culmination of their work on Bach, characterised by its precision and humility.

Read through the prism of a tragedy in five acts, at once intimate and theatrical, human and metaphysical, the Passion is revealed here in a new light: as a deeply moving epic exploring the very heart of Lutheran spirituality.

Sound/Video

Paused

1

Prima parte - Nr.1. Chorus I & II Kommt, ihr Tochter, helft mir klagen
2

Prima parte - Nr.2. Da Jesus diese Rede vollendet hatte (Evangelista, Jesus)
3

Prima parte - Nr.3. Choral Herzliebster Jesu, was hast du verbrochen
4

Prima parte - Nr.4. Da versammleten sich die Hohenpriester (Evangelista)
5

Prima parte - Nr.5. Recitativo Du lieber Heiland du
6

Prima parte - Nr.6. Aria Buß und Reu
7

Prima parte - Nr.7. Da ging hin der Zwölfen einer (Evangelista, Judas)
8

Prima parte - Nr.8. Aria Blute nur, du liebes Herz
9

Prima parte - Nr.9. Aber am ersten Tag der süßen Brot (Evangelista)
10

Prima parte - Nr.10. Choral Ich bin's, ich sollte büßen
11

Prima parte - Nr.11. Er antwortete und sprach (Evangelista, Jesus, Judas)
12

Prima parte - Nr.12. Recitativo Wiewohl mein Herz in Tränen schwimmt
13

Prima parte - Nr.13. Aria Ich will dir mein Herze schenken
14

Prima parte - Nr.14. Und da sie den Lobgesang gesprochen hatten (Evangelista, Jesus)
15

Prima parte - Nr.15. Choral Erkenne mich, mein Hüter
16

Prima parte - Nr.16. Petrus aber antwortete (Evangelista, Petrus, Jesus)
17

Prima parte - Nr.17. Choral Ich will hier bei dir stehen
18

Prima parte - Nr.18. Da kam Jesus mit ihnen zu einem Hofe (Evangelista, Jesus)
19

Prima parte - Nr.19. Recitativo a doi Cori O Schmerz! hier zittert das gequälte Herz
20

Prima parte - Nr.20. Aria a doi Cori Ich will bei meinem Jesu wachen
21

Prima parte - Nr.21. Und ging hin ein wenig (Evangelista, Jesus)
22

Prima parte - Nr.22. Recitativo Der Heiland fällt vor seinem Vater nieder
23

Prima parte - Nr.23. Aria Gerne will ich mich bequemen
24

Prima parte - Nr.24. Und er kam zu seinen Jüngern (Evangelista, Jesus)
25

Prima parte - Nr.25. Choral Was mein Gott will, das g'scheh' allzeit
26

Prima parte - Nr.26. Und er kam und fand sie aber schlafend (Evangelista, Jesus, Judas)
27

Prima parte - Nr.27. Aria a doi Cori So ist mein Jesus nun gefangen
28

Prima parte - Nr.28. Und siehe, einer aus denen (Evangelista, Jesus)
29

Prima parte - Nr.29. Choral O Mensch, bewein' dein Sünde groß
30

Seconda parte - Nr.30. Aria Ach! nun ist mein Jesus hin
31

Seconda parte - Nr.31. Die aber Jesum gegriffen hatten (Evangelista)
32

Seconda parte - Nr.32. Choral Mir hat die Welt trüglich gericht'
33

Seconda parte - Nr.33. Und wiewohl viel falsche Zeugen herzutraten (Evangelista, Testis I & II, Pontifex)
34

Seconda parte - Nr.34. Recitativo Mein Jesus schweigt zu falschen Lügen stille
35

Seconda parte - Nr.35. Aria Geduld, Geduld!
36

Seconda parte - Nr.36. Und der Hohepriester antwortete (Evangelista, Pontifex, Jesus)
37

Seconda parte - Nr.37. Choral Wer hat dich so geschlagen
38

Seconda parte - Nr.38. Petrus aber saß draußen im Palast (Evangelista, Ancilla I & II, Petrus)
39

Seconda parte - Nr.39. Aria Erbarme dich
40

Seconda parte - Nr.40. Choral Bin ich gleich von dir gewichen
41

Seconda parte - Nr.41. Des Morgens aber hielten alle Hohenpriester (Evangelista, Judas)
42

Seconda parte - Nr.42. Aria Gebt mir meinen Jesum wieder
43

Seconda parte - Nr.43. Sie hielten aber einen Rat (Evangelista, Pilatus, Jesus)
44

Seconda parte - Nr.44. Choral Befiehl du deine Wege
45

Seconda parte - Nr.45. Auf das Fest aber hatte der Landpfleger (Evangelista, Pilatus, Uxor Pilatus, Chorus I & II
46

Seconda parte - Nr.46. Choral Wie wunderbarlich ist doch diese Strafe
47

Seconda parte - Nr.47. Der Landpfleger sagte (Evangelista, Pilatus)
48

Seconda parte - Nr.48. Recitativo Er hat uns allen wohlgetan
49

Seconda parte - Nr.49. Aria Aus Liebe will mein Heiland sterben
50

Seconda parte - Nr.50. Sie schrieen aber noch mehr (Evangelista)
51

Seconda parte - Nr.51. Recitativo Erbarm es Gott
52

Seconda parte - Nr.52. Aria Können Tränen meiner Wangen
53

Seconda parte - Nr.53. Da nahmen die Kriegsknechte (Evangelista)
54

Seconda parte - Nr.54. Choral O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden
55

Seconda parte - Nr.55. Und da sie ihn verspottet hatten (Evangelista)
56

Seconda parte - Nr.56. Recitativo Ja! freilich will in uns das Fleisch und Blut
57

Seconda parte - Nr.57. Aria Komm, süßes Kreuz
58

Seconda parte - Nr.58. Und da sie an die Stätte kamen (Evangelista)
59

Seconda parte - Nr.59. Recitativo Ach, Golgatha, unsel'ges Golgatha
60

Seconda parte - Nr.60. Aria Sehet, Jesus hat die Hand
61

Seconda parte - Nr.61. Und von der sechsten Stunde (Evangelista, Jesus)
62

Seconda parte - Nr.62. Choral Wenn ich einmal soll scheiden
63

Seconda parte - Nr.63. Und siehe da, der Vorhang im Tempel zerriß (Evangelista)
64

Seconda parte - Nr.64. Recitativo Am Abend da es kühle war
65

Seconda parte - Nr.65. Aria Mache dich, mein Herze, rein
66

Seconda parte - Nr.66. Und Joseph nahm den Leib (Evangelista)
67

Seconda parte - Nr.67. Recitativo Nun ist der Herr zur Ruh gebracht
68

Seconda parte - Nr.68. Chorus I & II Wir setzen uns mit Tränen nieder

Europadisc Review

It is only 16 years since Rafaël Pichon, while still studying at the Paris Conservatoire, founded his ensemble Pygmalion. Yet, from their first recording just two years later – two of Bach’s so-called ‘Lutheran Masses’, soon followed by two more, all on the Alpha label – it has been evident that their characteristically vibrant yet stylistically impeccable way with Baroque music marked them out as something very special. A steady stream of beautifully considered but exceptionally vivid recordings has followed, on CD and DVD, including more Bach (the Traeur-Ode and motets) as well as plenty of opera (Gluck, Cavalli and, of course, Rameau) and a widely-acclaimed and highly imaginative composite Mozart opera (Libertà!).

Now they tackle one of the pinnacles of Baroque music – and indeed of the whole choral repertoire – with Bach’s St Matthew Passion. It’s a work they carefully prepared for over a period of ten years, along the way cutting their teeth on the B minor Mass and St John Passion among others, before first performing it in 2016. A further five years of experience passed before they were ready to record it. And it’s been worth the wait: this is one of the most deeply-considered yet life-enhancing performances of the St Matthew that there’s been on disc for many years.

It helps that most of the performers are by now perfectly attuned to Pichon’s direction and, vice versa, that Pichon knows exactly what he can achieve with his singers and players. And then there are the soloists: not every recording featuring ‘big names’ succeeds in creating a truly unified ‘team’ achievement, as several recordings of yesteryear unhappily prove. This one bucks the trend. With sopranos Sabine Devieilhe and Hana Blažíková and mezzo Lucile Richardot leading the line-up, tenor Julian Prégardien as a supremely sensitive Evangelist, and baritone Stéphane Degout as a marvellously expressive, grainy yet profoundly spiritual Christus, this is the sort of cast one dreams of but which rarely comes together. And they all (with the understandable exception of Prégardien) take part in the choruses as well, as Bach would have expected.

Right from the outset, in the surely paced opening chorus – no rush-to-the-Cross, but with enough momentum to suggest an underlying, dance-like momentum – the strengths of Pichon’s approach are evident: careful shaping of lines, a fine sense of balance and proportion, care over dynamics and articulation, and judicious employment of rhetorical gestures, like the way he approaches and places the chorus’s closing E major chord (‘at once red with the blood to be shed and ripe with the promise of resurrection’). And then we are into the drama of the unfolding narrative. The St Matthew Passion is a very different beast from the slightly earlier, more theatrically gripping St John, yet Pichon’s approach is by no means short on drama – the ‘crowd’ choruses are thrilling, often blood-curdling, without being over-driven. And the progress from number to number is obviously carefully considered. This is a reading that holds the narrative and reflective, the dramatic and meditative aspects in ideal balance.

The antiphonal spacing of the two choirs and orchestras is palpable without the separation feeling (as it does on some rival recordings) contrived, the choir slightly recessed compared with the orchestra, but with the well-focussed soloists singing from ‘within’ the orchestra. And the ripieno soprano chorale line of Part 1’s opening and closing choruses rings out bell-like from the members of the Maîtrise de Radio France.

Prégardien, as we’ve already suggested, is a superb Evangelist. His diction throughout is excellent, and he comes across as a ‘reliable witness’: sufficiently involved and expressive to bring home the immediacy of the narrative, yet sufficiently detached (or rather, poised) to be credible. The role’s extreme demands prove no hurdles in terms of tessitura or stamina; the range of dynamics he deploys in his Part 2 recitative just before Jesus’s cry of ‘Eli, Eli, lama, lama asabthami?’ is just one magnificent moment among many. His mounting involvement as the Crucifixion looms is thrilling to experience, yet there is no loss of focus in his singing.

Similarly, Degout’s Christus is one of the finest now on disc, a gently commanding presence in all he sings, his admonishments as authoritative as his enigmatic replies to Pilatus are suggestive. The advantages of him singing the bass solos in the latter stages of Part 2 are many, not least the spellbinding recitative ‘Am Abend, da es kühle war’ with its magically susurrating strings, and the glorious, lilting aria ‘Mache dich, mein Herze, rein’, its keen momentum and otherworldly feel creating the undoubted expressive highpoint of this performance.

The women are a classy group, Blažíková wonderfully light in ‘Blute nur, du liebes Herz’, Richardot bright-toned yet boyish, with a rich, incisive lower range, expertly shaping the long phrases in, for example, the meltingly beautiful ‘Erbarme dich’ (with Sophie Gent’s exquisite solo violin). Devieilhe, on whose recent acclaimed Erato disc of Bach and Handel she was accompanied by Pichon and Pygmalion, now returns the favour, and then some. ‘Ich will dir mein Herze schenken’ is winningly animated and articulate, while ‘Aus Liebe will mein Heiland sterben’ in Part 2 – with its devastating accompaniment of solo flute and pair of oboes da caccia, arguably the emotional heart of the entire work – has rarely if ever sounded so touchingly delicate yet radiant.

The other male singers are impressive too, tenor Reinoud van Mechelen rather earthier than his choir 2 counterpart Emiliano Gonzalez-Toro, who is admirably expressive in the demanding ‘Geduld, Geduld!’. Countertenor Tim Mead brings a dusky but focussed tone to ‘Können Tränen meiner Wangen’ and its preceding recitative, while bass-baritone Christian Immler makes his mark not just in his two arias, ‘Gerne will ich mich bequemen’ and ‘Gebt mir meinen Jesum wieder’, but as an imposing yet anguished and very human Pilatus.

There are a number of imaginative touches – to ornamentation, dynamics and scoring – that may raise a few eyebrows among purists, but which we find utterly convincing. The last occurrence of the ‘Passion’ chorale – ‘Wenn ich einmal soll scheiden’, just after Christ’s death – is sung completely a cappella: in context, and when sung with such carefully shaped intensity, it’s a bold move that pays off completely. The continuo group includes organ, harpsichord and theorbo, variously deployed throughout, and evidently carefully considered at every turn, even down to whether or not they fill in the (major or minor) third of final chords.

Handsomely presented, the accompanying booklet includes a revealing and unusually insightful interview with Pichon and Prégardien, which offers much food for thought regarding the work’s dimensions (spatial and temporal) as well as its intellectual, spiritual and expressive scope and achievement. The recording is similarly immersive, in the best possible sense, and this is an account of the St Matthew Passion that is likely to stand the test of time and should earn a favoured place among seasoned collectors and newcomers alike. Life-enhancing indeed!

Reviews

From the outset the listener is under no illusions that Pichon is ambitious for shining revelation. Pygmalion are primed. The opening chorus throws wide its doors with a tantalising blend of circumspection and purpose... Julian Prégardien’s Evangelist is completely mesmerising throughout and the main channel for setting the emotional parameters, with a tender religiosity at the heart of his performance. ... Degout’s ‘Mache dich’ is a tantalising burst of adrenalin so palpable as to make us spring up and dance. Above all, sustained eloquence is the golden seam in a recording that markedly enriches the Passion’s famously illustrious discography through its quest for endless possibilities. Jonathan Freeman-Attwood (Recording of the Month)

Gramophone April 2022