"If ever a composer showed polyphony in its greatest strength and employed the most hidden secrets of harmony with the most skilled artistry it was certainly our late lamented Bach." The judgement of one of Bach's sons is marvellously confirmed in this most tautly dramatic and compelling of Passion settings.

Paul Agnew (tenor), Sanford Sylvan (baritone), Ruth Ziesak (soprano), Michael Chance (countertenor), Toby Spence (tenor), Gerald Finley (bass-baritone), Choir of Clare College, Cambridge, St James's Baroque Players, conductor Ivor Bolton

Bach St John Passion, BWV245

(R)