Krzysztof Penderecki's St. Luke Passion (Passio et mors Domini Nostri Jesu Christi secundum Lucam) is considered by many to be a landmark work in the history of twentieth century. One would not know that from the degree to which the work has been recorded; since its 1965 premiere, the St. Luke Passion has only been recorded in its entirety three times. This includes the original 1966 Polish recording under Henryk Czyz, a recording for Argo under the composer made in 1989, and finally a live performance led by
Marc Soustrot for MD&G in 1999. Thus, Naxos' Penderecki: St. Luke Passion, recorded in 2002, is only the fourth entry in the slim
Penderecki St. Luke Passion sweepstakes. Conductor
Antoni Wit takes the Warsaw National Philharmonic Choir & Orchestra by the hand and leads it through this difficult and treacherous score.
Wit is an old hand with anything
Penderecki, having already recorded all of
Penderecki's orchestral music on three Naxos volumes.
Wit manages to keep the orchestra together and in one voice, and the chorus is splendid, ululating, exploding, and wailing ecstatically just as
Penderecki requires it to. Vocal soloists Izabella Klosinska, Adam Kruszewski, and Jaroslaw Malanowicz are a bit of a drag on the proceedings. All three seem barely up to their parts and happy just to get through them without bursting their lungs. The recording is also a little distant and balanced toward extremes of volume -- soft passages are barely audible, whereas loud ones tear your head off.
Landmark work or not, one can easily see why
Penderecki's St. Luke Passion isn't recorded with more frequency. It is big, expensive, and difficult to perform and a real challenge for the listener. Conventional wisdom dictates that
Penderecki's own 1989 recording of the St. Luke Passion is the best on records, and the
Wit, while good, doesn't quite rise to the challenge. Nevertheless, in a pinch, especially as the
Penderecki performance no longer seems to be available, the Naxos is a viable option, and one can't beat the asking price.