In contrast to the St. Matthew Passion, Bach repeatedly changed and supplemented parts of the St. John Passion, but apparently never found a final version. The earlier parts in particular have their charm: less sublime in tone, but more spontaneous, angular and intimate. "In its more intimate tone, the second version of the St. John Passion of 1725 seemed to us to be ideal for a recording which, without a conductor, is controlled entirely from the inner life of the musical lines, from listening to one another, in the giving and taking of spontaneous ideas". So much for the Ensemble Wunderkammer, which certainly lives up to its name and even with Bach still finds something unheard-of.
