Telemann wrote a new (or virtually new) biblical Passion setting every year during his tenure as musical director at Hamburg‚ from 1722 to 1767: that is‚ 46 works in all‚ following the sequence Matthew­Mark­Luke­John in four­year cycles. Half of them are known to survive. (There are also a handful of additional Passions written to poetic texts as opposed to the traditional biblical ones with poetic insertions.) 1758 was a Matthew year. It would be a mistake to expect from this work something on the scale – I am thinking of depth as well as length – of Bach’s setting‚ for Telemann belongs (and already did by the 1720s) to a different age. There are only eight arias here‚ and the role of the chorus is modest: there are the chorales‚ of course‚ but no big contemplative choruses at all‚ and quite brief turba choruses representing the crowd‚ sometimes with overlapping counterpoint to represent their eager clamour. The chorales are set much more plainly than Bach’s and are less elaborate harmonically – and accordingly much easier‚ as Telemann will have intended‚ for congregational singing. The narration is in the traditional manner‚ with a baritone Evangelist‚ generally quite direct in style. Telemann’s setting‚ then‚ is a Passion for the Age of Enlightenment‚ and if it lacks the sheer spiritual force and sense of wonder and mystery of Bach’s Passions it still comes across as a strong and shapely piece. It has a fine climax in the last of the arias‚ a ‘Cavate’ for the dying Jesus. There are several other inventive arias‚ among them two with obbligato flutes‚ the second of them a quite elaborately textured‚ chromatic minor­key piece‚ and one with oboe on Peter’s denial. Even when the music is reflective in character‚ as it often is‚ a distinctly galant flavour‚ typical of Telemann‚ comes through‚ although the tone is certainly more solemn and exalted than his often rather garrulous instrumental music. But there are certainly‚ especially in the closing scenes‚ moments of drama and intensity in the music. This performance was recorded in a church and the acoustic is pleasantly full and reasonably clear‚ although the words of the chorales do not come across too sharply. The Chamber Choir of the Biederitzer Kantorei‚ apparently some 16­strong‚ are lively and confident in the choruses but some of the chorales would have profited from more shaping. Of the soloists‚ I particularly liked the contributions of Friederike Holzhausen‚ who sings all the soprano arias and brings to them a full and bright voice and a keen sense of style and awareness of meaning. Frédéric Meylan sings the alto arias with unusual resonance and precise attack. The tenor music goes to Sebastian Reim‚ clear‚ a little thin‚ in tone. The admirable narrator is Roland Fenes‚ who sings coolly but allows himself enough time and tonal variety to give life to the narration. Ralf Grobe‚ who sings Jesus‚ does so with much warmth and dignity although he is tested by the rather rapid tempo of his first‚ quite impassioned aria. The Magdeburg Baroque Orchestra – Magdeburg was Telemann’s native town – use period instruments and produce a pleasantly translucent sound and generally good ensemble under Michael Scholl‚ who has a good feeling for the pacing of the work. The booklet contains an informative essay on the work‚ as well as a complete text‚ but is in German only.