Bach: St John Passion (1739 version); Patrick Grahl
Francesco Corti; Wigmore HallReviewed 18 April 2025
A profoundly satisfying account with dramatic urgency complemented by intimacy and tenderness in a performance of the Passion that brought a sense of drama and sophisticated music making
All except Patrick Grahl sang in the choruses
whilst Pearse and Riches shared the bass solos between them.
The 13 instrumentalists were led by Nadja Zwiener with Corti directing from the harpsichord and Tom Foster playing the organ
Corti seemed to favour admirably strong harpsichord tone and the instrument contributed significantly to the instrumental timbres (something that does not always happen)
It is worth digging out Paul McCreesh and Gabrieli Consort & Players' 2000 recording of Bach's Easter Oratorio and Magnificat in D recorded in the Saxon church of Brand-Erbisdorf (just South of Freiberg) which has a fine baroque organ by a pupil of Silbermann (the organ builder who was a friend of Bach)
thus giving us the sort of sound world that Bach would have anticipated; one that is rarely reproduced on the modern concert platform
One intensely practical point I noted was that viola da gamba player Samuel Ng (soloist in 'Es is vollbracht') played throughout the evening
As Andrew Parrott's ground-breaking 2000 book The Essential Bach Choir [available from Boydell & Brewer] explained
the Lutheran tradition in which Bach wrote often supplemented single singers on each voice line with an extra quartet (or quintet)
one that worked admirably in a space the size of Wigmore Hall and which preserved the vocal ensemble feel of a performance with just solo voices
Parrott's book includes one intriguing comment that I have never seen or heard implemented
if using an additional quartet of voices then they stand separate from the solo quartet
each group of SATB together and the result must have been an interesting acoustic effect
We caught Francesco Corti directing the English Concert in Bach in 2023 [see my review] and it was very rewarding to see him back again
His St John Passion began with a long moment of silence
but the work that arose out of this was anything but contemplative and despite the restrictions of having 24 people crammed onto the Wigmore Hall platform
the performance had a vibrant energy and sense of drama
The opening contrasted the sustained lines from oboes and flutes with the vigour of the string playing
and the singers' cries of 'Herr' were sharp and intense indeed
and the eight singers imbued the whole chorus with intensity and meaning
Francesco Corti was firmly in charge of the whole performance
whilst Patrick Grahl sang the role of Evangelist from the middle of the stage
The other soloists sang their recitative from the back of the stage
and came forward to stand near Grahl for the arias
It worked because all were so invested in the music and its meaning that the sense of drama carried
That Ashley Riches is tall helped enormously
his Jesus was vocally and visually commanding
At key moments he brought strength and a sharp edge to the narrative
The gospel narrative has strong elements of drama to it and Grahl did not disguise these
such as when Peter warmed himself by the fire
His account of the Evanglist's final recitative in Part One had an expressive beauty to it
leading directly into Grahl's account of the aria 'Ach
yet his performance and that of the instrumentalists was full of rhythmic snap
wie sein blutgefärbter Rücken' with attention to the text and superb long held notes
yet there was also a slightly frustrating sense of reticence
with real gentleness when it came to the passages referring to Jesus' mother
yet his long closing passages were quietly mesmerising with an intense focus on the words
Ashley Riches' Jesus was dramatically engaged
with something of an angry edge to him which was rather interesting
his engagement with the text suggested by the way he made his statements directly to us
his pronouncements became positively gnomic
and he made Jesus' closing moments profoundly inward
Riches sang the aria 'Betrachte' with great beauty of tone and a real sense of contemplation
Soprano Rachel Redmond was brightly joyful and positively engaging
almost soubrette-like in 'Ich folge dire gleichfalls' with the flutes contributing to the dance-like atmosphere
her bright tone contrasting wonderfully with the oboe d'amore and the flute
three contrasting yet complementary timbres
'Von den Stricken' was taken at a lively speed
yet Jess Dandy really conveyed the impression that the words meant something to her
veiled tone yet with vigour in the passagework and forming a lovely contrast in timbres with the oboes
her voice with its low centre of gravity finely offset by the plangent gamba
and the middle section given with real contrast
Morgan Pearse's Petrus was remarkably fierce and bristly
which added to the sense theatricality in the presentation
Corti kept the dramatic pressure up so that the long sequence with Pilate and Jesus had a real urgency to it
ihr angefochtnen Seelen' was wonderfully vibrant with great urgency in the runs
and there was a lovely precision to the chorus entries
vibrant phrases were off set by the gentle beauty of the choral contribution
the whole almost having the feel of a dance
Peter di Toro made a vigorously incisive Servus
the vocal ensemble of eight was fully dramatically involved
Corti was not afraid of taking the chorales fast
they were certainly not gloopily pious as can sometimes happen
and I rather liked his way of sometimes giving the second verses over to just four voices
whilst the opening chorale to Part Two was positively spat out
and the final chorus was beautifully shaped and rather intimate
There was a passion and sense of dramatic engagement from all concerned in this performance
so that individual solos were complemented by similar engagement from the eight-member chorus
the long scene with Pilate had a sense of urgency that almost demanded it be staged
yet the crux of the Passion was done with intimacy and tenderness
The blog is free, but I'd be delighted if you were to show your appreciation by buying me a coffee
Sales and Editorial Contact:editorial@motownindia.comPh: 9958125645Registered Office:Motown India4058
Opposite to Fortis hospital New Delhi - 110070