Live recording in the 78 era was a chancey yet cost-effective way of adding large-scale orchestral and choral works to the catalog. Notable examples include the first recordings of Mahler’s Ninth Symphony and Das Lied von der Erde with the Vienna Philharmonic under Bruno Walter, and Leopold Stokowski’s pioneering Schoenberg Guerre-Lieder, among others. Likewise, the world-premiere recording of Bach’s St. Matthew Passion was taken down during a concert in Boston’s Symphony Hall, appropriately held on Good Friday, March 26, 1937. Sonically speaking, the performance was well recorded for its time. Time, alas, has not been entirely kind to Serge Koussevitsky’s brand of Romanticized Bach (you might call it “Bach-maninov”). Similarly, the expansive, declamatory vocalism of the principal soloists seems more appropriate to the upholstered sentimentality of Hubert Parry’s Job. The choral singing, while admirably energetic, is pockmarked with emphatic accents that weigh down Bach’s glorious antiphonal lines. This along with Koussevitsky’s frequent drawn-out cadences and airless legato phrasings are precisely what make the performance “feel” slower than it actually is, for the conductor’s tempos are often brisker than one might expect (the opening chorus, for instance).
The transfers and side joins, however, are well effected. It was wise for the producers to include the full texts to the English translation heard here, since you can only understand half of the words! In fairness, much of the concertante instrumental work is spun out to beautiful effect, reminding us just what a terrific orchestra Koussevitsky built. In contrast with Mengelberg and Furtwängler’s nips and tucks, Koussy presents the complete text, give or take a few da capo repeats. Admirers of the conductor will buy this specially priced three-disc set as a matter of course. But general collectors seeking out a non-historically informed, “traditional” recording of this indestructible masterpiece in the original German (and in stereo) should first go to Klemperer (EMI), Karajan (DG), or the two Karl Richters (DG Archiv). Tully Potter’s excellent booklet notes are informative and fair. Kudos to Pharrel Wenner and Jennifer Lee for reissuing this performance for the first time in a long-playing format. Having it on CD certainly beats carting around three heavy shellac album sets, then having to change sides every four minutes!
