This new recording celebrates the 300th anniversary of the premiere performance of the Brockes-Passion by George Frideric Handel (1685-1769) which took place in Hamburg during Holy Week of 1719. There are at least three extant recordings of this masterwork on the market at the moment, including the esteemed Archiv Produktion release dating back to 1967. What sets this new release on the Academy of Ancient Music's own label apart, is the depth of musicological research that was invested into this project, resulting in a totally new edition of this oft-neglected work. A press release states: "Handel's original autograph score is long-lost, and since the last critical edition was published in 1965, new manuscript sources have been discovered which shed greater light on this extraordinary piece. Over the last two years, AAM has worked closely with scholars and musicologists around the world to set down this new edition. It reinstates the first 63 'missing' bars, brings in additional instruments, and showcases choruses and other numbers omitted from other editions. AAM's exploration has taken in 15 sources from 11 collections, in 9 cities across 5 countries. The text has been revisited too, as previous English translations attempted to adjust Brockes' incredibly vivid libretto to suit the whim of the time, but now feel outdated. AAM has created a new, more literal translation to more accurately reflect the power and raw emotion of Brockes' emphatic word-painting." {AAM Records}

This oratorio was set to a libretto of poetry that Barthold Heinrich Brockes set to paper in 1712. It was originally titled: 'Jesus martyred and dying for the wickedness of the world.' It seems that about a dozen composers set music to this text, including Telemann and even Bach who worked out a few passages, and then went on to compose his own famous settings of the Passion. It is laid-out over 105 arias, ariosos, recitatives, choruses, and instrumental segments. This new recording features Elizabeth Watts (Daughter of Zion), Cody Quattlebaum (Jesus), Robert Murray (Evangelist), Tim Mead (Judas), Gwilym Bowen (Peter), Rachael Lloyd (Mary), Morgan Pearse (as Pilate, Caiaphas and a Centurion), and of course the Academy of Ancient Music Orchestra and Choir all led from the Harpsichord by Richard Egarr.

The overall result is a sprightly and energetic performance, with a genuinely authentic Baroque sound to the instrumental forces. All the soloists slip into their individual roles with conviction and expressive gravitas and/or joviality when called for. And despite the brutality portrayed in the text by Brockes, the focus on the Baroque characteristics of the music within this interpretation, actually enlivens the overall outlook. The hefty booklet is jam-packed with highly informative and enlightening information, as well as photographs and chronological details. So much so that you could spend a solid two hours of quality time just perusing and reading the highly detailed info contained therein. I must add that the overall packaging of this set is well above standards. All of this along with a top-notch audio recording, bring the whole listening experience to life.

In this day and age of bits and bytes, digital downloads, streaming services and disposable media, it's comforting to know that there are still people out there who care enough to lavish so much attention to detail on a project. Anyone buying this recording will appreciate the diligence behind it. Recommended!