Alfeyev: St. Matthew Passion

Richard Chartres is the narrator on the Moscow Synodal Choir and Russian National Orchestra’s magnificent new recording of Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev’s St. Matthew Passion (English Version) (Melodiya). A retired Anglican bishop, Chartres sounds a lot like the late Paul Scofield and is therefore ideal for declaiming the King James verses running throughout an oratorio that skillfully blends various Western traditions and is increasingly perceived as one of the 21st century’s finest large-scale sacred works.