Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Johannes-Passion, BWV 245 (Synthesis of versions between 1724 and 1749)
Jan Petryka (Evangelist), Miriam Feuersinger (soprano), Raffaele Pe (countertenor), Ferran Mitjans (tenor), Matthias Winckhler (bass), Christoph Filler (baritone)
La Capella Reial de Catalunya, Le Concert des Nations / Jordi Savall
rec. 2024, Collégiale de Sant Vicenç de Cardona, Spain
Booklet with the sung texts in German with English, French, Castellano, Catalan and Italian translations and commentary in English, French, Castellano, Catalan, Italian and German
Alia Vox AVSA9967 SACD [2 discs: 110]
From the opening chorus, “Herr, unser Herrscher”, with which Johann Sebastian Bach’s Johannes-Passion begins, Jordi Savall’s interpretation is profound and subdued. La Capella Reial de Catalunya (choir) and Le Concert des Nations (orchestra) perform with tremendous precision and refinement, as well as conversational intimacy. The story of betrayal, suffering, and hope for the future, therefore, feels enacted rather than merely retold. Restrained theatricality enables instrumental lines to flow, the continuo to strengthen the recitatives, and the chorales to emerge as moments of communal reflection.
Savall favours transparent textures, agile tempos, vivid interactions between the singers, crisp recitatives, and chorales with enough flexibility for the music to breathe in reflective moments. The tenor Jan Petryka seems to live the Evangelist’s narration, which comes across as empathetic, humane, and riveting. Petryka’s meditative approach, which emphasises personal pain, humiliation, and loss, is harrowing. Bass-Baritone Matthias Winckhler depicts a warm-hearted Jesus who endures accusations, savage punishment, and execution with stoic nobility.
Among the soloists, the soprano Miriam Feuersinger delivers moving accounts of the arias “Ich folge dir gleichfalls” and “Zerfließe, mein Herze”. “Ach, mein Sinn” and “Erwäge, wie sein blutgefärbter Rücken” are rendered plaintively by the tenor Ferran Mitjans, who has a rich, resonant voice. Countertenor Raffaele Pe brings emotional weight to the arias “Von den Stricken meiner Sünden” and “Es ist vollbracht!”, which features Savall himself playing viola da gamba.
Savall and his forces have based their recording on the Neue Bach-Ausgabe (New Bach Edition), which synthesises material from the versions that Bach prepared. A 284-page full-colour book with the libretto and commentary in six languages accompanies the discs, which sound evocative of being present with the musicians, at least on the CD layer that I heard.
This recording brings fresh insight to a well-known oratorio by revealing its inherent vitality, depth, and profound reflections on transience. The performance treats the work as central to a spiritual ceremony. By extricating the Johannes-Passion from any trace of concert-hall monumentality, the performers have made a convincing case for appreciating it as a work of religious art that transcends the early-eighteenth-century liturgical contexts for which Bach conceived it.
Daniel Floyd
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