The standby line at Alice Tully Hall on Easter Sunday snaked out onto 65th Street and many people were turned away, but Lincoln Center management definitely had made the correct decision to stage the performance of Johann Sebastian Bach’s “St. John Passion” by the small period instrument group Collegium Vocale Gent there. The wee sound of a chorus of only 16 would have been lost in the void of the cavernous Avery Fisher Hall. This current effort featured the sublime tenor Christoph Pregardien in the omnipresent recitative role of the Evangelist. Mr. Pregardien must have some haunting nightmares about Alice Tully and could be forgiven if he took a certain schadenfreude in its imminent closing for an indeterminate time. Last year, while he was performing a very sensitive and satisfying program of Schubert lieder, the fire alarm rang. Mr. Pregardien retained his composure, but matters got worse. At the conclusion of “Auf dem Flusse” (“On the Stream”), the bell went off again. The performers left the stage.

On Sunday, Mr. Pregardien had his opportunity to dispel those bad memories, and he was, as expected, superb. His voice is sweet but supple, lovely and strong. For listeners, it was a bit unusual to look forward to the recitative in a work with such glorious music, but in the main, this Evangelist was much more satisfying than his soloist mates. The audience thus felt more centered in the narrative than in its dramatizations.

Alto Ingeborg Danz was fine but had some volume problems even in the small theater. Substitute soprano Johannette Zomer made a valiant attempt but was not strong in intonation or enunciation. Tenor Jan Kobow was all over the place, often out of tune and unimpressive. But Konrad Jarnot, as Jesus, was rich and powerful and handled his complex part with apparent ease.

The villain of the piece turned out to be the hero of the day, as bass Christian Immler was called upon at the last minute to replace the ailing Peter Kooij. His booming voice made Pilate come to life much more vividly than the others. Mr. Immler’s appearing without sufficient rehearsal actually may have made his performance stand out, as he was less bloodless than the other singers, who had been indoctrinated more thoroughly into the arcane methods of periodicity.

The small chorus had a mysterious, hollow sound, rather atavistic and visceral. This particular primitivism recalled how much the German Requiem of Johannes Brahms owes to this earlier work. Overall, the ensemble singing was remarkably precise and clear.

The orchestra under period specialist Philippe Herreweghe was excellent. Employing both cellos and violas da gamba, a lute, and woodwinds actually made of wood, the orchestra was, for me at least, the most interesting element of the performance. Somewhat oddly, Mr. Herreweghe eschewed the intermission, even though Bach had written the piece with two distinct parts (originally, a sermon would have been inserted in the interval). Strictly speaking, the “St. John Passion” is a Good Friday piece and not a perfect fit for Easter Sunday (the resurrection is mentioned only as a fervent hope in the final prayer). In an era when the churches of New York are often poorly attended, however, it was heartening to observe that long line of hopefuls trying to get into Alice Tully Hall to keep in touch with their religiosity.