Matthew Passion / Gustav Leonhardt, La Petite Band
There is no other recording of the “Matthew Passion” that is historical in the strict sense of the word. The boy’s soprano is a very fragile thing. After a few years of performing, his voice changes and he goes back to heaven. It is the voice of an angel. The soprano solos of the Tölzer Knabenchor (Christian Fliegner and Maximilian Kiener in young ages) are wonderful here. Excuse me but, a counter-tenor is used regrettably for the alto solo. If possible, I would have liked to have had a boy sing this as well. Another attraction of this recording is the singing of tenor Christoph Prégardien, who is renowned as an evangelist, and Max van Egmond, who sings Jesus. The combination of these two singers made this CD much more valuable.
