"The "St John Passion" isn't the equal of the "St Matthew Passion," but let's not quibble. It's still amazing, as is this performance. All hail the Bach Collegium Japan and their Bach work. I also recommend their Cantatas cycle; matchless."
Excellent
Vallini Gabriele | Italy | 11/09/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Great recording by BIS, great performance by Suzuki. Includes arias normally not present in the other editions of the St. Johannes Passion such as "Ach, windet euch nicht so, geplagte Seelen" and "Himmel Reisse, Welte Erbebe" two precious diamonds which beauty would have been sufficient to award Bach as the greatest composer of "at least" his century. Thanks, thanks, thanks, JSB!
"
Bach by Suzuki is Sublime
Kerry K. Kaneko | 04/06/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The internationally acclaimed HIP (Historically Informed Performance) instrumental and choral ensemble Bach Collegium Japan, under music director Masaaki Suzuki, delivers an outstanding performance of the St. John Passion by Johann Sebastian Bach. This superb 1998 BIS recording won a Cannes Classical Award in 2000. In his August 18, 2005 article for the highly respected, high brow, German nationwide weekly newspaper Die Zeit, "The Meistersingers from Tokyo: Conductor Masaaki Suzuki and his Japanese Bach Collegium left audiences speechless in a recent tour of Germany," Die Zeit journalist Wolfram Goertz writes, "Masaaki Suzuki was born in Kobe, in 1954. He is the conductor of the Bach Collegium Japan, a hand-picked group of musicians who since the group's formation in 1990 have dedicated themselves so unswervingly and competently to Bach's music that the western world has been left speechless. The jury of Germany's phonographic award, the Deutscher Schallplattenpreis, recently honoured Suzuki's team for the 27th sequel of its recordings all of Bach's cantatas. Now the troop is in Franconia to perform Bach's Mass in B Minor. After the concert the audience looked as if they couldn't quite believe what they'd just heard. Some were clearly asking themselves what on earth had happened to the world and its traditions that their beloved Bach could be delivered with such profundity, virtuosity and sincerity by, God forbid, the Japanese.""
A St. John Passion notable for being natural and lovely
Santa Fe Listener | Santa Fe, NM USA | 12/25/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Period eadings of Bach can tend toward weirdness, the field evinces so many conflicting theories about "authentic" style. No two recordings of the St. John Passion sound alike, yet as one after another appears, Suzuki's relatively early version stands up very well. It is notably lovely in the instrumental parts (no wiry, buzzy strings, even without vibrato) and the prefect ensemble and intonation of the small choir. The vocal soloists aren't first-rate compared to Gardiner's, but Suzuki doesn't press them beyond their comfort zone. From the Evangelist on down everyone sings in a natural if low-key style. Only the dry, colorless Christus is a disappointment -- we are used to Jesus having the most beautiful and moving voice.
Other reviewers have offered more detail, and the Amazon reviewer's judgments seem totally accurate and jsut, so I won't go on. I can only add another appreciative voice in praise of this intimate, appealing performance, which ranks among the vest on disc."