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Background

• Written in 1727 for solo voices, double choir and double orchestra, with libretto in German by Picander.
• Sets the 26th and 27th chapters of the Gospel of Matthew, interspersed with chorales and arias.
• One of two Passion settings by Bach that have survived in their entirety; the first being St John Passion.

Recordings

• St Matthew Passion
  Nicholas Mulroy (tenor), Matthew Brook (baritone), Susan Hamilton (soprano), Cecilia Osmond (Soprano), Clare Wilkinson (Alto), Annie Gill (Alto), Malcolm Bennett (Tenor) & Brian Bannatyne-Scott (Bass).
  Dunedin Consort & Players
  John Butt · Linn
  BBC Music Magazine (2008): Choral & Song Choice
  Radio 3 Building a Library (2012): First Choice

• St Matthew Passion
  James Gilchrist (tenor), Stephan Loges (baritone), Hannah Morrison (soprano), Zoë Brookshaw (soprano), Charlotte Ashley (soprano), Reginald Mobley (alto), Eleanor Minney (alto), Hugo Hymas (tenor), Ashley Riches (bass), Alex Ashworth (bass), Jonathan Sells (bass).
  English Baroque Soloists, Monteverdi Choir, Trinity Boys Choir
  Sir John Eliot Gardiner · SDG
  Gramophone Magazine (2017): Disc of the Month.
  Gramophone Awards (2017): Finalist Baroque Vocal.
  Presto Recording of the Week (2017).
  Presto Recording of the Year (2017): Finalist.
  Radio 3 (2017): Recording of the Week.

• St Matthew Passion
  Christoph Prégardien (tenor), Matthias Goerne (baritone), Christine Schäfer (soprano), Dorothea Röschmann (soprano), Bernarda Fink (contralto), Elisabeth von Magnus (contralto), Dietrich Henschel (bass), Markus Schäfer (tenor), Oliver Widmer (bass).
  Concentus Musicus Wien, Arnold Schoenberg Choir
  Nikolaus Harnoncourt · Warner Classics
  Grammy Awards (2001): Best Choral Performance.
  Gramophone Magazine: 100 Greatest Recordings.
  Gramophone Awards (2001): Winner Baroque Vocal.
  Radio 3 Building a Library (2002): First Choice.

• Matthäus-Passion
  Sunhae Im (soprano), Bernarda Fink (mezzo-soprano), Werner Güra (tenor), Topi Lehtipuu (tenor), Johannes Weisser (bass), Konstantin Wolff (bass-baritone).
  RIAS Kammerchor, Staats und Domchor Berlin .
  Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin
  René Jacobs · Harmonia Mundi

• St Matthew Passion
  Peter Pears (tenor), Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (baritone), Elisabeth Schwarzkopf (soprano), Christa Ludwig (alto), Nicolai Gedda (tenor), Walter Berry (baritone).
  Philharmonia Orchestra and Chorus
  Otto Klemperer · Warner Classics
  Grammy Awards (1962): Best Choral Performance

• Matthäus-Passion
  Julian Prégardien (tenor), Stéphane Degout (baritone), Sabine Devieilhe (soprano), Hana Blažiková (soprano), Lucile Richardot (mezzo), Tim Mead (countertenor), Reinoud Van Mechelen (tenor), Emiliano Gonzalez Toro (tenor), Christian Immler (bass-baritone).
  Pygmalion
  Raphaël Pichon · Harmonia Mundi
  Gramophone Magazine (2022): Recording of the Month.
  Gramophone Awards (2022): Recording of the Year & Choral Award
  Presto Recording of the Week (2022).
  Presto Recordings of the Year (2022): Winner.
  Radio 3 Building a Library (2022): Recommended.
  International Classical Music Awards (2023): Nominated Baroque Vocal.

• St Matthew Passion
  Benjamin Bruns (tenor), Carolyn Sampson (soprano), Aki Matsui (soprano), Damien Guillon (counter-tenor), Clint van der Linde (baritone), Makato Sakurada (tenor), Zachary Wilder (tenor), Christian Immler (baritone), Toru Kaku (bass).
  Bach Collegium Japan
  Masaaki Suzuki · BIS
  Gramophone Magazine (2020): Recording of the Month.
  Gramophone Awards (2020): Winner Choral.
  Radio 3 Building a Library (2022): Recommended.

About Coram Deo

Coram Deo — before the face of God. This blog reflects on Scripture, world events, science, music, psychology, and the human mind — always through the lens of Christian faith. All of life is lived before the face of God.