Matthäus Passion Johann Sebastian Bach

Matthaüs Passion Akadêmia

Program

  • Johann Sebastian Bach
    Matthäus Passion

The Saint Matthew Passion figures amongst Johann Sebastian Bach’s major compositions, and every musician and every member of the Bach family sees it as the “great” Passion. Composed at a time when the latter had reached the peak of his creative intensity, it shows an extraordinary mastery. Narratives from the Gospels alternate skilfully with chorales expressing the Lutheran faith, vast ensembles with a complex architecture and poetic commentaries. It is of a scale that goes far beyond anything sacred music had produced before.

Akadêmia :

26 to 33 singers, including soloists
orchestra (32 instrumentalists)

Françoise Lasserre, conductor

Press

  • Télérama Sortir (30 March-5 April 2011)

    • Télérama Sortir (30 March-5 April 2011)

    Philippe Maillard Productions, Eglise Saint-Roch, Paris

    “We certainly have here a beautiful interpretation of the “Saint Matthew Passion” by Johann Sebastian Bach, conducted by Françoise Lasserre, the director of her lovely ensemble Akadêmia.”

    Judith Chaine (Télérama Sortir, 30 March-5 April 2011)

  • Classica (June 2011)

    • Classica (June 2011)

    Festival de la Chaise-Dieu, Abbatiale Saint-Robert, La Chaise-Dieu

    “A stunning concert: a dense orchestra, with a good number of oboes and continuos, remarkable violins and flutes and an incisive viola da gamba, two distinct choirs, largely made up of solo singers. A small ensemble, but one that has calligraphic precision in the Mc Creesh tradition […] Here Françoise Lasserre imposes the sense of drama and the elegance that marked her Landis and Monteverdis”.

    Vincent Borel (Classica, June 2011)

  • Muse Baroque (May 2011)

    • Muse Baroque (May 2011)

    Philippe Maillard Productions, Eglise Saint-Roch, Paris

    « Françoise Lasserre presents the first, 1727, version and her colourful, amazingly natural reading, endowed with an admirably powerful choral hedonism, was able to aptly paint this painful episode of Christ’s arrest and crucifixion […] That this Passion comes across as a success — committed, mature and inspiringly executed — is largely due to the subtly fluid interweaving of accompanied recitatives, ariosos, chorales and choirs with their well organised and clear transitions that make the listener forget the structural complexity of the work, to immerse himself completely in a vast, humane narrative handled with great sensitivity […] While Françoise Lasserre is extremely comfortable with the contemplative or introspective passages, allowing the music to breathe, lovingly sculpting the curves and the articulations, the conductor also knows how to introduce instability and urgency, with a sense of drama that is never excessive […] »

    Viet-Linh Nguyen (May 2011, www.musebaroque.fr)

  • L’Union (24 June 2011)

    • L’Union (24 June 2011)

    Festival Les Flâneries musicales, Basilique Saint Remi, Reims

    « At the outset, Akadêmia’s interpretation captures our attention: the splendour of the timbres, the perfect tempos (very lively), the scrupulous establishment of the polyphony where the rhythm plays, imitations and accents are controlled with unfailing rigour, but nonetheless leave room for a certain flexibility […] We appreciate the deep thought and intense work Françoise Lasserre — and her disciples — bring to this work and have no hesitation situating this success among the most prestigious contemporary productions”

    Francis Albou (L’Union, 24 June 2011)

  • Le Progrès (26 August 2011)

    • Le Progrès (26 August 2011)

    Festival de la Chaise-Dieu, Abbatiale Saint-Robert, La Chaise-Dieu

    “The sonorous combinations of an orchestra that sparkles with the varying shades of the oboes, provide an almost immaterial setting for the choirs that emphasise the humanity and the fervour of the work […] Despite the lively tempi it [the interpretation] allows the music to breathe, to better highlight the dialogue and the fluidity of the articulations between the instruments and the voice.”

    Le Progrès (26 August 2011)

  • L’éveil de la Haute-Loire (28 August 2011)

    • L’éveil de la Haute-Loire (28 August 2011)

    “Françoise Lasserre’s hand is certainly one of those controlled by an exquisitely subtle mind. […] The audience at the abbey was clearly ready to appreciate the nuances and their seriousness gave way to an unstinting expression of warm, even noisy approbation”.

    Dominique Machabert (L’éveil de la Haute-Loire, 28 August 2011)