Here's a work that I never knew existed, probably because there remains great doubt to whether it was actually composed by George Frederick Handel. The Passion According to St John led by Bernhard Henking with the Bach Choir of Zurich and Winterthur Symphony. This release is on the Concert Hall Society's "Handel Society" sub label. I'd like to point out that this two record set features one disc of red vinyl branded "Concert Hall Society" and one disc of black vinyl reading " Handel Society. Funky and cool I think.
Back to the authenticity of the work. Scholars believe that it was written in or about 1704 while Handel was in Hamburg. Certainly upon listening to the work, there are a number of places where the style is definitely Handel however, sections exist that bear a closer relationship to Handel's predecessors, namely Reinhold Keiser. Could it be that this work is part Handel and part someone(s) else. A pastiche of sorts? Whatever the true providence, this is a nice work, hardly approaching the depth of emotion of Bach but rather, like Telemann, capturing an event honestly, succinctly and in an approachable way.
This performance is actually quite good. The orchestra and choir are smaller than one would expect from this time period and the conductor paces the performance well. Of the singers, you will well recognize a young Ernst Haeflinger and possibly soprano Kathryn Harvey. I'm surprised that this early 50's recording sounds as well as it does, pretty immediate and not too harsh as was many a Concert Hall offering. I managed to squeeze everything down to just under 80 minutes in order to accommodate the transfer to one cd.
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