J.S. Bach – St Matthew Passion
Châtelet, Paris – March 14 2005 Ton Koopman, conductor. Evangelist: Jörg Dürmüller. Jesus: Ekkehard Abele. With Cornelia Samuelis, soprano; Bogna Bartosz, alto; Paul Agnew, tenor; Klaus Mertens, bass. Breda Sacramentskoor boys’ choir. Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra and Choir. All’s well that ends well Remember Beecham on Bach? "Too much counterpoint," he declared, "and what is worse, Protestant counterpoint!" Counterpoint doesn’t come more protestant than with Ton Koopman. His group’s instruments aren’t just “original” or “historic;” they’re positively primitive, as if any improvement on the ur-design has been rejected and every gut string lovingly hand-crafted by a vegetarian in Birkenstock sandals. The approach is ascetic. They play as if their regular diet is bread and water (dry, unleavened bread at that) and they’re now observing lent – which I suppose they are. During the chorales, you can imagine the words in simple cross stitch or poker-work, hung on a distempe...