New. JS Bach: Johannes-Passion
Julian Prégardien (Evangelist), Huw Montague Rendall (Jesus), Ying Fang (soprano), Lucile Richardot (mezzo-soprano), Laurence Kilsby (tenor), Christian Immler (bass-baritone), Etienne Bazola (baritone)
Pygmalion, Raphaël Pichon
Awards:
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Presto Recording of the Week, 20th March 2026
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Gramophone Magazine, April 2026, Recording of the Month
You feel it in the gut like few other accounts, alongside unalloyed human observation and unyielding quality. Pygmalion have now served us with a trilogy of Bach masterpieces throwing down the...
New. JS Bach: Johannes-Passion
Julian Prégardien (Evangelist), Huw Montague Rendall (Jesus), Ying Fang (soprano), Lucile Richardot (mezzo-soprano), Laurence Kilsby (tenor), Christian Immler (bass-baritone), Etienne Bazola (baritone)
Pygmalion, Raphaël Pichon
Purchase product
Awards:
-
Presto Recording of the Week, 20th March 2026
-
Gramophone Magazine, April 2026, Recording of the Month
You feel it in the gut like few other accounts, alongside unalloyed human observation and unyielding quality. Pygmalion have now served us with a trilogy of Bach masterpieces throwing down the...
About
The superlative Pygmalion chorus are at the centre of this new recording of the St John Passion. Their striking presence radiates throughout the work, their exemplary articulation and collective energy moulding the drama and carrying its emotional charge. Raphaël Pichon’s flexible yet precise direction restores its original dramatic arc, instilling the peerless team of soloists with the same demandingly high standards of musical narrative and truth. This Passion wins out through its clarity of gesture and compellingly forceful actualisation.
Spotlight on this release
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Bach's St John Passion from Raphaël Pichon and Pygmalion
20th Mar 2026
Raphaël Pichon follows up his benchmark recording of the St Matthew Passion with a much-anticipated account of the St John - with the raw immediacy of the narrative tempered by moments of tenderness.
Awards and reviews
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Presto Recording of the Week20th March 2026
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Gramophone MagazineApril 2026Recording of the Month
April 2026
You feel it in the gut like few other accounts, alongside unalloyed human observation and unyielding quality. Pygmalion have now served us with a trilogy of Bach masterpieces throwing down the gauntlet for our times.
20th March 2026
The long-awaited counterpart to Raphaël Pichon’s 2022 St Matthew Passion with Pygmalion doesn’t disappoint. The opening chorus drops us straight into the action with a pulsing and turbulent sound, with the contributions of the bassoon and contrabassoon to the bass line particularly audible...Out of every recording of the St John Passion I’ve heard, I find it hard to place this one anywhere other than the top spot.
20th March 2026
Raphaël Pichon tears into the meat-grinding opening chorus with its agonised cries of desperation...Pygmalion are razor-sharp throughout, including a vigorous engagement with the reflective chorale texts...one of the most theatrical St Johns in the catalogue.
30th March 2026
The confrontation, agony and violence of the Crucifixion scenes couldn’t be more gripping. Yet the special glory of this performance actually lies in its more thoughtful moments, mostly found in the commentary of Julian Prégardien’s Evangelist...So what’s not to like about Pichon and Pygmalion’s latest Bach enterprise? Nothing. Absolutely nothing.
Limelight Magazine 11th March 2026
What is particularly striking about this account is Pichon’s determination to exploit light and shade at every turn...No one artist will ever have the last word on this masterwork, but Pichon’s fresh, re-envisioned approach helps us contemplate it from a different angle and in a different light. Such a compelling commitment to this famous score commands attention and rewards repeated listening.
