IN A NUTSHELL
On this page, we have compiled a broad selection of quotes from the press coverage of our CD release. If you want to read the press articles in full, please click here.
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“The most intriguing new Passion recording this year (…), so baroque – but it was actually created in the last couple of years (…). I found this surprisingly effective, especially in a performance as committed as this. (…) A brand new St. Mark Passion that often feels as old as Bach, but simultaneously fresh and vital.”
RADIO BBC 3
Andrew McGregor, March 30, 2024
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“In respectful accord with Bach’s musical language (…) a deeply serious undertaking, bereft of vanity (…) unceasingly dedicated to the spirit and tradition of the baroque Passions.”
FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE
Werner M. Grimmel, April 7 / 8, 2024
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“A baroque work of today (…) it sounds as if Nikolaus Matthes had been an apprentice to Bach himself.”
RADIO NDR KULTUR – “DAS KONZERT”
Franziska von Busse, Good Friday, March 29, 2024
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“That must be by Bach – Matthes has composed a St. Mark Passion that the Master himself seems to have penned; (…) bold, well-crafted in a style we are conversant with, and worth hearing.”
SÜDDEUTSCHE ZEITUNG
Reinhard J. Brembeck, March 28 / 29, 2024
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“One ear in the Baroque, one in the present.”
MUSIK BASEL
April 10, 2024
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“Matthes has composed a St. Mark Passion in the style of Johann Sebastian Bach, based on Picander’s text – and it sounds so Bach-like that one might think Matthes is a chameleon who, when encountering Bach, is able to adapt his skin perfectly to his counterpart.”
GÖTTINGER KAMMERMUSIKGESELLSCHAFT e. V., Novellette no. 299
Michael Schäfer, February 18, 2026
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“(…) The conductor and composer and, indeed, profound Bach expert Nikolaus Matthes has thrown himself into this text in passionate kamikaze style and has actually set it to music from beginning to end – as close as possible to Bach’s musical language, but by no means with the intention of making a stylistic copy true to the original (…).”
SRF 2 KULTUR, CH-MUSIK – “St. Mark Passion resurrected”
Valerio Benz, April 13 / 19, 2025
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“This is how St. Mark gets his Bachian Passion after all: the composer Nikolaus Matthes (Basel) has composed a St. Mark Passion that could have been written by the Baroque master himself. At least almost.”
BASELLANDSCHAFTLICHE ZEITUNG
Kathrin Signer, April 10, 2024
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“The St. John and St. Matthew Passions by the Thomaskantor are world-famous. Now a St. Mark Passion in Bach’s name has surprised the music-loving public. What is behind this? No, it’s not artificial intelligence!”
AUGSBURGER ALLGEMEINE
Rüdiger Heinze, June 5, 2024
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“The most extraordinary thing is the rich orchestral colour of this new composition, in which the soloists are setting wonderful sound accents. The arias create atmospheric scenarios, deeply felt and of fervent empathy, sometimes of heroic splendour and dancing bliss. ‘Mein Heyland, dich vergeß ich nicht’, sung so intimately and powerfully, accompanied and spun on by the flute in an extremely delicate and playful manner, burrows deep into the consciousness as a poignant confession and important message. (…) Under Matthes’ musical direction, 17 choristers, including soloists and orchestra, impress with their polyphonic precision and beautiful interpretation, which also fascinates as a spatial sound experience on the CD thanks to recording producer Stefan Ritzenthaler. The CD proves once again how human co-operation makes artistic excellence possible. (…) This world premiere recording deserves to be awarded.”
SCHABEL KULTUR-BLOG
Michaela Schabel, March 23, 2025
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“Clearly, Matthes has assimilated so much of what makes Bach so special and brilliant. He has obviously studied and been moved by his music and must have thought many times of how, if Bach had composed this Passion, he would have brought his genius to the work. Bach was the inspiration, no doubt about it, but he has dared to go much further than others in approaching such an ambitious enterprise and he’s brought it off splendidly. It’s his work, not Bach’s, and the more I hear of it, the more I delight in what he has achieved and been moved by it.”
Joel Flegler, publisher of Fanfare Magazine (USA), April 22, 2024
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“The music is a joy to listen to as a purely auditory experience, with a perfect sound picture and impeccable reproduction of instrumental timbres. (…) This is the most remarkable Baroque music of our time. (…) One takeaway is the thought of what Matthes would be like conducting the St. Matthew and St. John Bach originals?”
FANFARE MAGAZINE
Colin Clarke, May 1, 2024
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“(…) Matthes does not by any means attempt to ‘reconstruct’ the Leipzig master, but rather is clear that this is his own project, his own work. (…) In short, this music serves Picander’s text excellently, and one would hope this work might continue to be performed as a fine piece in its own right. It does not intend to be Bach, nor does it aspire to replace the now-lost St. Mark Passion that composer wrote, nor does it need to be seen as a sort of recomposition of Baroque music. Rather, it functions as a fine piece where Matthes has absorbed the idiom and reformatted it to serve the mood, substance, and feeling of the text. View it on its own merits, and you will find it to be an excellent and sensitive setting with an appropriate flavor of the time the text was written and yet absorbing in a fully modern venue.”
FANFARE MAGAZINE
Bertil van Boer, May 26, 2024
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“(…) without a doubt Matthes has accomplished something marvelous. It has more than a hint of Bach, but is it Bach? The jury must be out on that, but then is that not the idea? The production is excellent. The book, the notes, the texts, and other details all deserve much praise.”
FANFARE MAGAZINE
David Cutler, May 26, 2024
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“(…) Matthes proves himself as able a conductor as he is a composer. (…) In sum, both the work itself and this performance are a complete triumph, and do full and worthy honor to Bach. I cannot think of higher praise than that. (…) Urgently, emphatically recommended.”
FANFARE MAGAZINE
James A. Altena, May 26, 2024
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“(…) This is a gigantic project, carried out with scrupulous care. (…) Jörg-Andreas Bötticher writes: ‘Occasionally a turn of phrase reminiscent of Bach seems to shimmer through.’ No, it doesn’t. Bach is the foreground, the palimpsest if you like. Matthes is the background, and he ‘shimmers through’ constantly.”
FANFARE MAGAZINE
Michelle Dulak Thomson, May 26, 2024
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“(…) The Matthes St. Mark Passion triumphs as ‘a contemporary work written in the baroque style.’ It also is a gripping musical and dramatic experience, one that proceeds with arresting momentum. All credit is due to the superb team of Baroque vocalists and instrumentalists Matthes assembled and conducted in the performances and recording of his St. Mark Passion. (…) The recording is first-rate, as is the packaging. (…) This is a quite remarkable and endlessly fascinating achievement.”
FANFARE MAGAZINE
Ken Meltzer, May 26, 2024
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“(…) What Nikolaus Matthes has achieved in this work is nothing short of breathtaking, and he has given music lovers a great gift in writing it. As a Christian, I found this work not only a magnificent musical experience, but also a profoundly moving opportunity for worship. I trust that sooner rather than later this work will receive the wide performance it deserves. (…)”
FANFARE MAGAZINE
David DeBoor Canfield, autumn 2024
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“The result sounds astonishing. It has completely appropriated the musical language of Bach with, however, a note all its own, one frequently driven to the utmost dramatic power by its harmonic intensification: a baroque work with a contemporary signature.”
RONDO
Stephan Schwarz-Peters, March 23, 2024
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“(…) in the ‘fast lane’, leaving behind all musicological reconstruction attempts (…) , an oratory about which one may say: ‘et re-incarnatus est . . . ‘ ”
PRO CLASSICS
Dr. Eckhardt van den Hoogen, February 2024
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“The result is most decidedly interesting: Much sounds familiar, yet somehow different; in some places the composer has after all taken the liberty of overstepping the boundaries of Bach’s musical cosmos, whether harmonically, melodically, or in the instrumentation.”
FONO FORUM
Klemens Hippel, 04/2024
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“(…) an absolutely fascinating undertaking, one that helps Picander’s libretto to new life in the spirit of Johann Sebastian Bach.”
OPERA LOUNGE
Gerhard Eckels, March 30, 2024
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“Matthes has succeeded in making his own musical signature apparent in the choruses, chorales, arias, and recitatives of the 50-part work, without simply imitating the musical language of the Master. A remarkable auditory endeavour.”
KIRCHENZEITUNG DES ERZBISTUMS KÖLN
(Church magazine of the Archdiocese of Cologne)
March 24, 2024
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“The result is as singular as it is appealing, even mesmerizing, from the first note on. (…) Of course it would be possible to debate on questions such as anachronism, Dichtung und Wahrheit, and historically transfigured kitsch. Or one simply takes this Passion for what it is: a serendipitous endeavour, emotionally gripping – one rewarding us with three hours of marvelous music. (…) Both music and recording have cult potential.”
ONLINE-MERKER
Dr. Ingobert Waltenberger, March 10, 2024
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“When I heard this first part for the first time, I was baffled – because I know it’s not Bach, but it has the touch of Bach, a sort of DNA.”
CONCERTZENDER – GEEN DAG ZONDER BACH
Hans Meerman, March 11, 2024
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“The listener is not relegated to the role of passive observer, but becomes in a way part of the occurrences, ceaselessly wavering between inner agitation, intense suffering, hope, optimism, and fear. (…) This is made possible by the fervour of the ensemble, versed in all aspects of baroque performance practice. Singers and instrumentalists are not content with playing the notes: they reflect, comment, shape the text and the music, give structure to the narrative, ignite the arias, dialogues, and choral movements with evocative energy.”
PIZZICATO
Guy Engels, March 9, 2024
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“This St. Mark Passion, a monumental work (…) is, as has been said, not a reconstruction, but in a certain sense the work of a baroque composer of our time. (…) Comparing it with Bach (in so far as this comparison makes sense with relation to a work which seeks to evoke the spirit of Bach without copying him) there is a noticeably stronger interest in dramatic effect, an approach at times almost operatic, at times possessing positively descriptive character. The entire production is highly impressive in several respects. In the first place, Matthes has at his disposal an exceptionally competent and committed instrumental and vocal ensemble, which realizes his score in exemplary fashion. And second, the album itself – designed with a slipcase in DVD format – accompanied by a veritable book (of almost 180 pages!), created with endless care and attention to detail, informs us about the work, its genesis, the composer, the librettist, the performing artists, as well as much more – and in addition presents both versions of the libretto.”
KLASSIK HEUTE
Holger Sambale, March 17, 2024
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“The presentation and packaging are spotless. The three CDs sit in their own book-style cardboard jacket, and the text and production notes are contained in a high-quality 175 page hardcover book, which includes a slew of apropos images and photographs. All of which is encased in a large hard-cardboard sleeve, all of it presented in a vibrant color scheme. And best of all, the audio engineering is superb … close but with the acoustic feel of a large cathedral. (…) Seriously, if the age of the composer was unbeknownst to me, I would swear I’m listening to an oratorio written by a composer born in 1681 rather than 1981. Indulge your ears this Lenten season with this consummate modern day achievement.”
CLASSICAL MUSIC SENTINEL
Jean-Yves Duperron, March 2024
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“(…) Two things are certain in this respect: that it is magnificent (baroque) music and that the performance is at a very high level in all sections. (…) A separate compliment for not only the magnificent recording, but also for the exquisite book with, in addition to the many explanatory notes and the spoken and sung texts, the immediately appealing pictures of the musicians involved in this grand project, the whole thing put into a slipcase.”
OPUS KLASSIEK (NL)
Aart van der Waal, March 2024
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“Matthes’s ambitious opus is marked by respect, great personal dedication, and the lofty enthusiasm of the Spiritus Rector.”
ORPHEUS
Roland H. Dippel, May 1, 2024