Alto returns the acclaimed 1996 recordings of J.S. Bach’s St. John Passion by the King’s College Choir, Cambridge under the direction of Stephen Cleobury, and joined by an impressive array of Baroque specialists headed by the tenor John Mark Ainsley (Evangelist), the bass Stephen Richardson as Christ, soprano Catherine Bott, alto Michael Chance, and baritone Stephen Varcoe. The orchestra, the Brandenburg Consort, founded by Roy Goodman, was one of the leading period-instrument ensembles specializing in the music J.S. Bach and his contemporaries.

St. John Passion was first performed in 1724 as part of a church service during Holy Week at St.Thomas’ Church in Leipzig with other items being added the following year, included in this recording (‘1725 setting’), although later Bach reverted to the original 1724 version. With its trial scenes St John Passion is noticeably more dramatic than the St. Matthew Passion which followed a couple of years later.