Stephen Layton's annual performance with Bach's Choir of the St. John Passion in Polyphony and The Age of Enlightenment Orchestra has long been established as a Good Friday tradition in the classical calendar. It should be noted that this was never a matter of routine, but a return to one of the most beloved masterpieces to be reinterpreted in a new way. This debate was significant in many ways.
Leighton's interpretation relies on establishing a balance between storytelling and reflection, tempering the vivid figures and lingering emotions of the opening chorus before a tension that gradually builds as the work progresses. Both the music and the vocals were rich in detail. The jungle alternately cries and comforts. The threads flowed and wept. Beautifully rendered, Obligatos reminds us that lonely people expressing pain are never alone. The polyphony, exemplified by Bach, functioned as a vocal line with the text, ensuring that each word was recorded in complex pauses and counterpoints, vividly depicting the crowd's call to Jesus' death and deeply moving as a mourner. It becomes hope. .
It was just as big alone. Singing from memory, Nick Pritchard's evangelist, in one of the best performances of the role I've ever heard live, guides us through the narrative with incredible vitality, alert to every change of mood and phrase. James Rutherford was a righteous Jesus who stood firm against the astonished, asks Ashley Rich's Pilate. Riches ilte also embraces vital but soulful bass arias, allowing ihr angefokten silen and main ture heiland to open with great eloquence. Tenor Ruairi Bowen was passionate in Ach, mein Sinn and did an excellent job with Erwäge, one of Bach's most difficult arias. Mezzo Helen Charleston Es ist vollbracht! Rich tone and mournful dignity. Rowan Pearce was the soprano, her voice silvery. Beautiful, all of it, and often incredibly exciting.