On the eve of Holy Week, it was tempting to review the publications on the subject. We retained this Passion according to Saint John recorded in Copenhagen in 2021. You may recall that Mortensen is one of the more low-key safe bets among Baroque conductors. In particular, we brought to the pinnacle his complete Brandenburg concertos at CPO. This Passion is driven by the same values: balance and taste. Mortensen wants a Passion at Human scale. The ripieno (choir, 8) is double the concertino (soloists, 4), facing an orchestra of 16 instrumentalists. We are therefore in a narration, a kind of “sacred musical theater piece”, very far from the great choral masses. Obviously, everyone has a key role in such a device and if there are two huge surprises, soprano Joanne Lunn and countertenor Alex Potter, there is also the small disappointment of tenor Nicholas Mulroy, on the cramped show. Very positive results, however, with Benoît Haller remaining the benchmark.
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