Johann Sebastian Bach: St John Passion BWV 245

Johann Sebastian Bach’s compositions continue to foster an unceasing fascination: his settings of the Passion are among the best known works of sacred music. Every year, on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, St Thomas’s Boys Choir sing either the St Matthew or St John Passion at St Thomas’s Church, Leipzig — the very church at which Johann Sebastian Bach himself once held the office of cantor.

Joined by exceptional soloists, as well as the internationally renowned Gewandhausorchester, the choir has put together a recording of the St John Passion which touches listeners emotionally: their musical performance is inspired by the Biblical text and allows listeners to experience Christ’s Passion in a sonic way. The setting for this recording is modelled on the original context of Bach’s composition — a performance on Good Friday at St Thomas’s Church, sung by St Thomas’s Boys Choir. The unique character, clarity, and precision of the choir’s director, Georg Christoph Biller, is unmistakable in this recording.

The present CD was recorded in 2007. Now, the successful recording has been put into fresh clothing and is available at a new price: this double disc costs no more than a single CD!

Ruth Holton
Matthias Rexroth
Marcus Ullmann
Gotthold Schwarz
Henryk Böhm

Thomanerchor Leipzig
Gewandhausorchester
Georg Christoph Biller