Composed around 1716 and named after the friend and contemporary of Handel's who penned its texts, Hamburg poet Barthold Heinrich Brockes, Handel's passion oratorio, Der für die Sünde der Welt gemarterte und Sterbende Jesus, was one of only two projects he set to German texts after his move to London in 1712. A free paraphrasing of the Passion narrative, drawing on all four gospels, in musical terms its fresh interests come thick and fast: a three-part opening Sinfonia which shares material with Handel's Opus 3 Concerto in G Major; 28 arias, two duets and a trio ranging from warm serenity to impassioned outbursts; plus various choruses and chorales. All of which means that it's music ripe with potential to be leaping out of the stereo from end to end, which is exactly what we have here from this performance from Jonathan Cohen and Arcangelo, captured with crisp naturalness at St Jude's Church. To begin with Arcangelo themselves, listen to the sudden theorbo swing one minute into the opening Sinfonia at the metre change, and you'll have the measure of these fleetfootedly joyous, brightly crisp instrumental ensemble performances. Then there's the vocal line-up, because if it weren't enough to have soprano Sandrine Piau as the Daughter of Zion, tenor Stuart Jackson as Evangelist and baritone Konstantin Krimmel as Jesus, look at the vocal consort and there's sopranos Mhairi Lawson and Mary Bevan, altos Alex Potter and David Allsopp, tenors Matthew Long and Andrew Tortise, baritone Marcus Farnsworth and bass William Gaunt. It's hard to pick highlights. However Krimmel's sombre accompagnato Ist's möglich, das dein Zorn sich stille strikes for his sombre drama. Then there's the clean-toned tender beauty of Piau's Brich, mein Herz, zerfliess in Tränen, supported by theorbo fabulously out in front in the balance, and delicate upper strings. Or Mhairi Lawson's warmer tones over her short but very sweet Ich seh' an einen Stein gebunden, where an equal star of the show is Cohen's rippling harpsichord playing. Or lead violinist Michael Gurevich over Dem Himmel gleicht sein buntgefärbter Rücken, whether in his beautifully coloured and shaped solos spots where the engineering puts him satisfyingly right in the spotlight, or when he's sensitively dueting with Lawson, placed slightly further back. Handel vocal music at its finest. © Charlotte Gardner/Qobuz

Handel's Brockes Passion, HWV 48, so-called because it sets a distinctive German-language text by Barthold Heinrich Brockes (1680-1747), is not often performed or recorded. The work has been thought to suffer both in comparison to Bach's Passion settings (a judgment Bach himself did not share -- he admired the work and may have included it in the pastiche St. Mark Passion, BWV 247) and to Handel's more Apollonian later choral works. The Brockes Passion might be called operatic: neither the Evangelist nor the chorus has much to do, and the action takes place among a fairly large set of principal singers. The cast, headed by Cody Quattlebaum as Jesus and Gwilym Bowen as Peter, rises to the occasion. However, "operatic" is an incomplete term. Brockes' libretto, drawing on all four gospels, comprises a group of punchy, sharp chunks that convey the Passion story in unusually physical, often even gory terms. Handel responds with music that, whether the work chimes with you or not, fits this text unusually well. There are few da capo arias; instead, there is a sequence of short, dramatic moments that bring out the physicality of Brockes' text. Sample Peter's outburst "Gift und Glut, Strahl und Flut." The work on the first two CDs includes no fewer than 105 tracks. The third CD includes alternate versions and the like, and extensive essays about the work are included. Egarr's large continuo group adds to the drama, but he doesn't overdo the gore; he lets it speak for itself. A convincing reading that makes a strong case for the Brockes Passion as a neglected masterwork. © TiVo