Meaning & drama: Bach's St John Passion from Monteverdi Choir & English Baroque Soloists with Peter Whelan, Nick Pritchard, Konstantin Krimmel

Bach: St John Passion - Nick Pritchard, Peter Whelan, Konstantin Krimmel, Monteverdi Choir, English Baroque Soloists - St Martin in the Fields (Photo: Paul Marc Mitchell)

Bach: St John Passion; Nick Pritchard, Konstantin Krimmel, Julia Doyle, Rebecca Leggett, Monteverdi Choir, English Baroque Soloists, Peter Whelan; St Martin in the Fields
Reviewed 10 March 2026

Nick Pritchard's Evangelist on compelling form and complemented by a performance of satisfyingly dramatic urgency from Peter Whelan, choir and orchestra in an account of the St John Passion that filled the space

Peter Whelan, the Monteverdi Choir and English Baroque Soloists are in the middle of a short tour of Bach's St John Passion. Last week they were in Barcelona and early next month they are in Budapest, with a performance in London on 10 March 2026 at St Martin in the Fields [and yes, the day after Peter Whelan conducted his Irish Baroque Orchestra at Wigmore Hall, see my review].

Nick Pritchard was the Evangelist and sang the tenor arias, Konstantin Krimmel was Jesus and sang the bass arias, with Julia Doyle singing the soprano arias, and Rebecca Leggett (from the choir) singing the alto arias. The other solo roles were taken by choir members with Malachy Frame as Pilate, Cressida Sharp as the maid, Will Wright as the officer and servant and Tristan Hambleton as Peter.

Bach: St John Passion - Nick Pritchard, Peter Whelan, Monteverdi Choir, English Baroque Soloists - St Martin in the Fields (Photo: Paul Marc Mitchell)

Whelan conducted the standard version of Bach's St John Passion, with a choir of 23 (including a mix of male and female altos) and orchestra of 23. Whelan directed from the harpsichord (an instrument that in sound terms was a bit underpowered) with continuo also provided by organ and lute. In sonic terms it was a very powerful, up-front performance with the choral and orchestral sound enveloping the audience. Balance was good and in the big choral numbers you never felt that the focus was too much on the choir.

Now, I am the first to admit that I have a preference for one-to-a-part or very small scale performances of Bach's large-scale works with a vocal ensemble rather than choir. But the performance of the opening chorus from Whelan, the choir and orchestra was a strong argument for using these larger forces. This was real edge of the seat stuff, with Whelan drawing an urgent, compelling performance and the intense, restless string textures complementing a vividly exciting account of the choral writing. Throughout the performance, Whelan urged the drama on. In many places the turbae almost overlapped and interrupted Nick Pritchard's Evangelist and there were few of the pregnant pauses that can bedevil the work. Chorales were shaped dramatically too, giving the work a highly dramatic feel. At the end, the final chorus 'Ruht wohl' was quite considered, almost thoughtful and led to a moving yet low-key account of the concluding chorale.

Nick Pritchard sang the role of the Evangelist from memory and demonstrated why he is one of the prime interpreters of this role today. Direct, with words so clear that you could follow without printed prompt, he was profoundly expressive yet communicative. Whether being dramatic, intense or hushed and quiet, Pritchard was always talking to us, conveying the story. The moments when he let rip or sang with intimate tenderness really counted, and throughout you sense his use of colour and timbre in the service of communication. The relative smallness of the venue also enhanced the feeling of Pritchard singing directly to us.

The way his first aria, 'Ach, mein Sinn' leaped in right on the previous recitative really made sense as it came after Pritchard's tender recitation of Peter's weeping after his betrayal. In the aria, Pritchard was lyrical yet still pointed the words finely. In Part Two, the scene with Barabbas saw Pritchard and the chorus interacting with terrific vividness. Coming not long after this, Pritchard's second aria, 'Erwäge, wie sein blutgefärbter Rücken' with fine violin duetting, was lightly sung yet intense and urgent. His final arioso, 'Mein Herz' was sung with real passion and complemented by vivid orchestral playing.

Bach: St John Passion - Konstantin Krimmel, Peter Whelan, Monteverdi Choir, English Baroque Soloists - St Martin in the Fields (Photo: Paul Marc Mitchell)

As Jesus, Konstantin Krimmel was relatively undemonstrative, relying on voice and words to project a dignified yet somewhat trenchant Jesus., his words having a compelling sense of belief and definiteness to them. In the long scene with Malachy Frame's Pilate in Part Two, Krimmel was at times trenchant and made a couple of the statements almost into teachable moments. This Jesus had a very strong sense of his own belief and did not need to grandstand. There were finely thoughtful moments too, and Jesus's final words were beautifully intimate.

His arioso, 'Betrachte, meine Seel' was lyrical with great beauty of tone and sense of intimacy. The aria with chorus, 'Eilt, ihr angefochtnen Seelen' began with vivid orchestral drama and though Krimmel was serious, he projected a ferocious urgency too, balanced by the more reticent chorus. The final bass aria, with chorale, comes after Jesus's death. 'Mein teurer Heiland, laß dich fragen' was light and mobile, with Krimmel duetting finely with the solo cello, and Whelan keeping the tempo steady.

Bach: St John Passion - Julia Doyle, Peter Whelan, Monteverdi Choir, English Baroque Soloists - St Martin in the Fields (Photo: Paul Marc Mitchell)

As is the case with the solo soprano here, Julia Doyle was woefully underused, but she made both of her arias count. In Part One, 'Ich folge dir gleichfalls mit freudigen Schritten' was light with bright forward tone, complemented by bubbling flutes, the whole made into almost a dance, yet with a contrasting middle section. In Part Two, 'Zerfließe, mein Herze' was sung with ease and beauty of tone, moving along yet with a sense of being thoughtful. And Doyle's tone quality contrasted magnificently with the pawky sounds of the solo wind.

Mezzo-soprano Rebecca Leggett doubled alto solos and her role as a chorus alto with apparent ease. In Part One, 'Von den Stricken meiner Sünden', with its strong oboes, had a real sense of drama, the meaning of the text heightened by Leggett's very centred performance. It was interesting that in the Da Capo, she introduced a greater sense of fierceness. In Part Two, 'Es ist vollbracht!' was quiet, its seriousness and dignity making the performance all the more intense and moving, especially as the middle section was highly contrasting in its vivid vibrancy.

Bach: St John Passion - Rebecca Leggett, Nick Pritchard, Peter Whelan, Monteverdi Choir, English Baroque Soloists - St Martin in the Fields (Photo: Paul Marc Mitchell)

The smaller roles were all well taken. Cressida Sharp and Will Wright made strong contributions indeed, nothing under-characterised here despite the small amount to sing. Tristan Hambleton was a similarly strong Peter with the tender repentance only coming from Pritchard's Evangelist. Malachy Frame was highly dramatic as Pilate, yet he and Krimmel never played the scene as cod opera (though it must have seemed as such to the first audience in Leipzig). Frame moved from strong dignity to more trenchant, his vivid performance bringing out the drama in Pilate's interaction with the crowd when they bay for Jesus's blood.

With compelling solo performances and a sense of drama in orchestra and chorus, this was a finely satisfying account of the St John Passion. As the Evangelist, Nick Pritchard made a compellingly moving protagonist making the meaning of the text count whilst Whelan drew sense of dramatic urgency from his forces. 

Never miss out on future posts by following us

The blog is free, but I'd be delighted if you were to show your appreciation by buying me a coffee.

Elsewhere on this blog

• Storytelling, musicality & musicology: Hugh Cutting, Peter Whelan & Irish Baroque Orchestra in The Trials of Tenducci at Wigmore Hall - concert review
• From Sappho to Strozzi to Errollyn Wallen: Nardus Williams, Elizabeth Kenny & Mary Beard's Women and Power at Wigmore Hall - concert review 
• A rich feast of poetry, symbolism & mime: The Music Troupe in Edward Lambert's Lorca-inspired In Five Years’ Time - opera review 
• What a night! Ute Lemper's Berlin Cabaret at Cambridge Corn Exchange with Robert Ziegler, at Cambridge Music Festival - concert review
• Fun & fresh: flute/voice & guitar duo, Emily Andrews & Francisco Correa talk improvisation & collaboration on their disc of Stephen Goss's music - interview
• Continuing where Handel left off: Opera Settecento's completion of Handel's Titus L'Empereur at London Handel Festival was a terrific showcase for some of the composer's lesser-known arias - concert review  
• ‘Somewhere further North’: has an authentic voice from England’s ‘living centre of music’ survived in Andrew Downes?  - guest posting
• Double, Double Toil & Trouble: the recorder quartet Palisander explore 900 years of music inspired by the mystical and magical - record review  
• Home