Recorded June 9, 1950 at the International Bach Festival in Vienna, Herbert von Karajan's live St. Matthew Passion receives its 14th CD incarnation here. Or is it the 18th? Or the ninth? Maybe the millionth? In any event, it sounds less tape-hissy and less bright on top this time around. Karajan's patented legato, avoid-the-barlines-at-all-costs style has little in common with what we'd consider perceptive Bach interpretation today, even if it avoids the ornate, elephantine sonorities rolling out of Mengelberg's much-touted 1939 Concertgebouw broadcast. In No. 35 ("O Mensch, bewein dein Sünde groß"), for instance, the contrapuntal orchestral lines that accompany the vocal chorale shapelessly ooze in and out of each other as if in a trance. In general, the chorales are rounded off and homogenized to the point where you can't discern the linear progression within each vocal part. Full orchestral and choral tuttis sound muddy and vague at anything louder than mezzo-piano, and balances are skewed (try the recitatives at the beginning of Part 2 for size, where the organ's roller-rink stops blur the focus).

Kathleen Ferrier's ample, buttermilk-coated contralto is heard to superior, more finely tuned advantage in her commercial Decca recording conducted (more or less) by Reginald Jacques. You only have to compare her long sustained pitches in "Erbarme Dich, mein Gott" to hear for yourself. By contrast, Irmgard Seefried's elegant phrasing, pure tone, and musical intelligence grace the soprano solos. As Jesus, Paul Schöffler starts shakily and under pitch but warms up as the performance progresses. Walther Ludwig's earnest, Mighty-Mouse-like tenor wears out its welcome in the arias and in the Evangelist's recitatives, although his head voice high notes are lovely. It's best that the solo violinist is not identified. All told, those who want this fascinating but uneven set probably own it already; but I'd only recommend it to specialist collectors.

--Jed Distler