Album review: René Jacobs, RIAS Kammerchor, Akademie Für Alte Musik, Berlin Bach: Matthäus-Passion (Harmonia Mundi)

René Jacobs could have profited from the surround-sound technique on the Ramon Humet CD. Instead, he's driven to analyse the complex relationships of the bi-choral forces, soloists and accompanists in order to make the stereo image conform as closely as possible to J S Bach's intentions with the Matthäus-Passion. Care is taken to represent the distance between the choirs, along with the parts played and sung from the "swallow's nest gallery". The results are magnificent, particularly the choral blend in "Kommt, ihr Töchter, helft mir klagen" and "Ich will hier bei dir stehen"; until a 5.1 mix is attempted, this will surely be the spatially definitive version.

Download: Kommt, ihr Töchter, helft mir klagen; Ich will hier bei dir stehen