Bach: St. Matthew Passion / Rolfe Johnson, Bonney, von Otter, Chance, Crook; Gardiner

One major advantage of a "period instrument" performance, with a scaled-down orchestra and chorus, is that you can hear all the various lines of music. Follow this recording with Bach's musical score in hand and you'll find it's very true to Bach's intentions. "Modern" performances can be positively turgid and lugubrious by comparison, overwhelming Bach's own music by imposing upon it vulgar notions of what constititutes piety" and "holiness."

The secular influences in Bach's music come across in Gardiner's rendition, and this strikes some people as almost blasphemous. But if a snatch of music looks like a dance and sounds like a dance, why pretend it's a hymn, or a lament, just because it's in a "sacred" context? No less a Biblical titan than King David danced for joy while worshipping G-d. True, some people were scandalized, but not everyone, and G-d seems to have appreciated the gesture.

Sacred music enjoyed far more latitude for expression in the Old Days, and provided centuries of composers with a forum for musical experimentation. This goes against the modern trends of religious conservatism and bad taste, and nowadays when someone creates a new Passion setting, it is performed on Broadway, not in a church. In Bach's time the Church was far more involved in all aspects of life than it is today, and that should be borne in mind when a piece of Baroque "sacred" music seems to have a good beat and a catchy tune.

The recording quality is fine, as usual for DG. Do not hesitate to purchase this recording; it is already the standard rendition of Bach's masterwork.