The roiling strings and keening winds of the opening of Bach’s St John Passion drop the listener straight into the drama and pathos of Christ’s last days. While Passions (and Messiah’s) abound at this time of year, the smaller scale St John often gives way to the later written and more popular St Matthew passion – but it is no less powerful a piece of music.

Bolstered by choristers from Santa Sabina College and Shore, and accompanied by BachBand@StJames’ on period instruments, the Choir of St James’ provided a compelling argument for hearing this work more often in their City Recital Hall debut.

Director Warran Trevelyan-Jones led the work with an eye for detail, shaping the crescendos that propel the drama of the opening Herr, unser Herrscher to great effect, the choir singing with clarity and verve, exploiting the incredibly rich texture created by the combination of singers and period instruments. It was only when the choral texture dropped to single parts that there were any issues with balance.

^{The Choir of St James’ and BachBand@StJames’. Photo © Nick Gilbert}

The hardest working singer was, of course,...