He has two quartets of soloists which also provide Choirs 1 and 2, but adds eight more voices to the first choir so the double choruses are unbalanced, 12 singers pitted against four. It's astonishingly effective...In the crowd choruses, where two choirs echo each other, they are curiously more real for their contrasting timbres... Türk, a fine Evangelist, describ[es] the action vividly but objectively, and leav[es] the emotional outpourings to the arias.

Veldhoven heigtens the contrasts in Bach's score by adding eight extra singers to the four Choir I soloists, and keeping Choir II a foursome. It's an effective device...Really, though, it's one for lovers of religious art, as the sumptuous booklet is rich with commentary and illustration of passion-related paintings.

The performance itself, directed by Jos van Veldhoven, has just what you would expect from a scholarly Dutch ensemble – all the modern trappings of early music practice (nine soloists doubling as chorus, plus eight additional singers) married to the sombre mood of Lutheran tradition.

The over-riding sensibility is one stripped of vanity and yet of astute and purposeful coloration, often through startling projection, compelling dynamic control and even rappresentativo-style singing...Gerd Türk is a subtle and excitable communicator, in whom tensions between pure reportage and discipleship are creatively harnessed. Harvey becomes master of all he surveys and the string accompaniments are exquisitely judged

What makes this performance of the St Matthew Passion not just revolutionary but an absolute must-have for lovers of this music - regardless of whether they like it fat or thin - is the sheer quality of the performance...as a glorious, life-affirming and utterly irresistable piece of music-making, this is in a league of its own. If any recording warrants the 'Outstanding' tag, this does