St Matthew Passion, BWV 244

​Johann Sebastian Bach wrote his sacred oratorio for solo voices, double choir and double orchestra, with German libretto by Christian Friedrich Henrici in 1727. Considered one of the masterpieces of Baroque sacred music, it sets the 26th and 27th chapters of the Lutheran Bible’s Gospel of Matthew to music. This nearly three hours piece is the more popular of the two Passion oratorios, the other being the earlier St John Passion. The first performance was said to be at St Thomas Church in Leipzig around 1727 on Good Friday. Bach was the church’s music director at the time.

Here are four albums:

Bach: St Matthew Passion. Sir John Eliot Gardiner with James Gilchrist (Evangelist), Stephan Loges (Jesus), Hannah Morrison, Zoë Brookshaw, Charlotte Ashley (soprano), Reginald Mobley, Eleanor Minney (alto), Hugo Hymas (tenor), Ashley Riches, Alex Ashworth, Jonathan Sells (bass), and English Baroque Soloists, Monteverdi Choir, Trinity Boys Choir. Release Date: 10 Mar 2017. Label: SDG.
 
Bach: St Matthew Passion. Masaaki Suzuki with Benjamin Bruns (Evangelist), Carolyn Sampson (soprano), Aki Matsui (soprano), Damien Guillon (counter-tenor), Clint van der Linde (baritone), Makato Sakurada (tenor), Zachary Wilder (tenor), Christian Immler (baritone), Toru Kaku (bass), and Bach Collegium Japan. Release Date: 7 Feb 2020. Label: BIS.
 
Bach: Matthaus-Passion. Raphael Pichon with Julian Prégardien (Evangelist), Stéphane Degout (Christus), Sabine Devieilhe & Hana Blažiková (sopranos), Lucile Richardot (mezzo), Tim Mead (countertenor), Reinoud Van Mechelen & Emiliano Gonzalez Toro (tenors), Christian Immler (bass-baritone), and Pygmalion. Release Date: 11 Mar 2022. Label: Harmonia Mundi.

​J.S. Bach: St Matthew Passion. Jos van Veldhoven with Amaryllis Dieltiens (soprano), Siri Karoline Thornhill (soprano), Tim Mead (alto), Matthew White (alto), Gerd Türk (tenor - Evangelist), Julian Podger (tenor), Charles Daniels (tenor), Peter Harvey (bass) & Sebastian Noack (bass), and The Netherlands Bach Society with Kampen Boys Choir. Release Date: 18 Apr 2011. Label: Channel.

Reference: (2014). Schwarm, B. St Matthew Passion, BWV 244, Work by Bach. Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/St-Matthew-Passion-BWV-244