Bach: St John Passion

This St John Passion is miles away from the sort of performance being given by the RTÉ Philharmonic Choir and NSO this afternoon. John Butt presents a reconstruction of the Passion liturgy as Bach would have known it, so there are organ pieces, congregational chorales (involving the University of Glasgow Chapel Choir), as well as other additions – and for the full experience you can even download a sermon and intercession for free from url.ie/h4xd. With a team of soloists and a main choir that come to less than a dozen voices in all, and an orchestra on a scale to match, the performance is nimble on its feet, expressively light in the choral numbers, with heavier expressive traction in recitatives and solos.