This is a hybrid Super Audio CD playable on both regular and Super Audio CD players.

Bach revised his Johannes-Passion regularly. He returned to it over a period of 26 years, from 1724 until his death. It is the version hallowed by tradition, established by the Kantor a year before his death, that is presented on these CDs. However, the 1725 version, equally outstanding musically, has also been recorded complete and can be downloaded as a bonus in high-resolution sound. Comparison of the two versions reveals the underlying meaning of this matchless Passion.

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REVIEW:

Jacobs picks singers to suit his purpose, and all here show a controlled expressive ardency that never allows the performance’s emotional coherence to slip. Werner Güra’s Evangelist is both elegant and immediate, the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin are typically excellent, and while the RIAS Chamber Choir is not as coolly blended an ensemble as some, who says it has to be in a piece where personal involvement counts for so much.

­– Gramophone