Bach is well versed: a recital full of guilt, self-reproach and repentant tears. Pastoral care seems appropriate. We are offered this not only in the form of Bach's beautiful music. It is also the sensitive voice of Icelandic tenor Benedikt Kristjánsson that is offered to us as ointment on the wounds. The Ensemble Continuum accompanies neatly, despite the sometimes unusual choice of instruments
… (including a marimba). And then the figure of Judas, what are we to make of that? He went down in history as the depraved querulant who betrayed his beloved Master for thirty pieces of silver. Christianity made him an almost demonic figure, making him a potential breeding ground for anti-Semitic sentiment. In more recent times, however, the Judas image sometimes flipped radically, as was the case with alleged prostitute Mary Magdalene. Perhaps Judas was the disciple who understood Jesus best, who knows? Similarly, Kristjánsson tries to tell an alternative story using Bach's music, from despair and self-loathing to reconciliation. (HJ)more
