St John Passion discography


Recordings of the St John Passion are shown as a sortable table of selected notable recordings of Johann Sebastian Bach's St John Passion, BWV 245. The selection is taken from the 241 recordings listed on bach-cantatas as of 2015.

History

The work was first recorded by symphonic choirs and orchestras. From the late 1960s, historically informed performances tried to adhere more to the sounds of the composer's lifetime, who typically wrote for boys choirs and for comparatively small orchestras of Baroque instruments, often now called "period instruments". Some scholars believe that Bach used only one singer for a vocal part in the choral movements, termed "one voice per part". On some of these recordings, the solo singer is reinforced in choral movements with a larger orchestra by a ripieno singer.

Table of selected recordings

The sortable listing is taken mostly from the selection provided by Aryeh Oron on the Bach-Cantatas website.
The information lists for one recording typically:Conductor / choir / orchestra, sometimes several choirsSoloists in the order Evangelist, Vox Christi, soprano, alto, tenor, bass.LabelYear of the recordingChoir type