Bach: St. Matthew Passion

(...) Fortunately, this is not just an exciting performance from a conceptual standpoint, but it is also very well sung and played. (...) beautifully expressive throughout and captured in sound that is clear and truthful. (...) you have a listening experience that should please no matter how often you return to it. (...) Superb, and recommended unreservedly!
Audiophile Audition 5*

(...) a wonderful achievement in both musical and technical terms by all concerned. (...) Channel’s superb 5.0 DSD recording reproduces their sound with the richness and glow of a Rembrandt canvas, while at the same time capturing the lovely acoustic of the Grote Kerk, Naarden in the Netherlands. (...) Whatever other recordings you may have in your library, Veldhoven’s inspired reading, with its exceptional blend of committed musicianship and scholarship should definitely be auditioned by all who love this work. (...) This is without doubt a top recommendation and anyone receiving this set, as an Easter gift, will surely be delighted.
SA-CD.net *FIVE stars

(...) misschien nog wel het grootste pluspunt: het grootse orkest, de welluidende solisten en de donderende koren zijn hier door van Veldhoven integraal op zijn kop gezet (...)

Wij maken kennis met een rustig vertelde, overwegend milde maar doorleefde interpretatie van een dirigent die zich van nature meer bij beschouwelijkheid thuis voelt dan bij het dramatische.

(...) Van Veldhoven is niet uit op effectbejag. Hij laat de Nederlandse Bachvereniging op hoog niveua musicieren.

(...) Het solisten-panel, het koor, en het orkest zingen en spelen op de toppen van hun kunnen en van wat mogelijk is, menselijkerwijs gesproken. Van deze muziek kun je nooit genoeg krijgen. Aanraakbaar bijna. Zou Bach het zo bedoeld hebben?
HVT

(…) das Continuo ist perfekt organisiert. Gerd Türck ‘spricht’ den Evangelisten mit beneidenswerter Ruhe (…)

(...) What makes this performance not just revolutionary but an absolute must-have for lovers of this music is the sheer quality of the performance from The Netherlands Bach Society. (...) If any recording warrants the ‘Outstanding’ tag, this does. (...) as a glorious, life-affirming and utterly irresistible piece of music-making, this is a league of its own.(...)
International Record Review: ‘Outstanding’

Unequalled: voices vie under Jos van Veldhoven (...) Sensitive surround-sound recording retains admirabel balance between the eight parts, differentiated by timbre rather than numbers. (...) A new spatial and tonal experience from van Veldhoven.
BBC Music Magazine, Choral CD of the Month

Jos van Veldhoven, who's proven himself on so many other recordings of major Bach works, including the above-mentioned releases on Channel Classics, makes excellent decisions here. (...) this exceptionally well balanced, thoughtfully paced reading, vividly brought to life by the performers and recording team, deserves a place among the reference versions. (...) And again, the packaging is stunning and a treat in itself--in all, a collector's dream, a listener's treasure.
Classics Today 10/10

(…) Seine Tempi sinds angenehm, elegant und moderat, zuweilen aber auch durchaus spritzig und filigran, sehr gut kontrastierend. Die Choräle, immer ein Problem für sich, kommen sauber und in völlig richtigem Tempo. Die solistenpartien sind sehr gut besetzt, das Orchester spielt aufmerksam und mit technische Brillanz. Der Text ist großteils gut verständlich, der Evangelist Gerd Türk singt souverän. Und das Publikum verhält sich mucksmäuschenstill, kein Husten, kein Räuspern. (…)
Alte Musik Aktuell, CD des Monats

(...) Kudos to Channel Classics for their sumptuous production standards. Not only is the packaging beautiful, but the sound engineering is to a high standard and based on some very original thinking about the potential of high definition sound.
Music Web

Nun hat Jos van Veldhoven die Reihe seiner großen Bachaufnahmen mit der Matthäus-Passion komplett gemacht – wiederum mit erlesenen Vokalisten und farbenreicher instrumentaler Arbeit. (...) Der Klang zeigt eine sehr schöne Räumlichkeit (...)Vielleicht kann man es so zusammenfassen: Jos van Veldhoven und seine Mitstreiter präsentieren eine wundervoll ausmusizierte Matthäus-Passion – mit gestalterischer Geduld und expressiver Leidenschaft. (...) Eine diskographisch also deutlich konkurrenzfähige Matthäus-Passion.
Klassik.com

The St.Matthew Passion definitely belongs to the most demanding pieces of music, even for the finest musicians and singers,no conductor has fully mastered the task.At least not until now. (…) Jos van Veldhoven and his Netherlands Bach Society have previously presented the probably most virtuoso Mass in B-minor on CD. Rarely has such a major piece of art sounded so natural and obvious,from the first to the last bar. (…) Peter Harvey’s Christ in St.Matthew Passion is the most harmonious performance of the part I have ever heard. (…) Never has the amazing dissonance of the final choir sounded with such emotional quality. (…) With its excellent recording and artistically designed box,this record will be hard to surpass.
Opus Magazine, Sweden [highest points, six stars, for both artistic performance and sound quality.]