Wow! What a Start to Passiontide!
I have just been
listening to a superb rendition of J.S. Bach's St. Matthew Passion (BVW244) at
Romsey Abbey.
It was a complete
rendition of the 1736 Score on period instruments by the orchestras of the
Bishop’s Consort under the direction of the Rt. Revd David Stancliffe (former
Bishop of Salisbury), and led by Emily White and Morag Johnson.
Hugo Hymas san the part of Evangelist
and Ben Rowath the part of Christus.
The whole performance was very moving and made great use of Romsey
Abbey’s unique acoustic. Bishop Stancliffe’s aim was to recreate the feel of
the 1736 performance, through the use of period instruments and two choirs of
four people. This was particularly effective and provided a clarity that massed
choirs can find hard to match. There is a great sense of crossover with the Evangelist joining in the church’s
corales and Christus ends by singing
of entombing Jesus in his own heart.
The performers all generously gave their time for free with a
retiring collection being taken in aid of Relieving the Famine in Burundi.
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