Customer Reviews

Bach: Matthäus-Passion (St. Matthew Passion)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As my other reviews indicate, Bach's St. Matthew Passion is an accomplishment which cannot be overstated, and is an essential component of any CD collection. But having said that, this recording of the work conducted by Otto von Klemperer is not a good choice for first exposure to the St. Matthew Passion. Why? Well, the approach taken is definitely not one of drama. The emphasis here is on contemplation, and even worship in a way. The main reflections of this spirit are: 1. slow tempi and 2. subtlety of emotional inflection. This recording tips the scales at close to 4 hours - more than an hour longer than most recordings. The opening chorus is twich as long as on most other recordings, as are the chorales. The advantage of this approach, in my mind, is that it gives the music time to unfold, gives the listener a chance to keep pace. The disadvantage is that even to the experienced listener the music can seem to lack a sense of movement (which it doesn't, I assure you - it just firmly maintains its own unique sense of movement, one which has evidently gone out of style). As to the subtletly of inflection, I think that appraoch is essential to this music, which should be an introspective and devotional experience. Another interpretational decision is the use of modern instruments - I much prefer the richness of sound. I personally happen to think that the reasoning behind the "authentic" movement is fallacious... but that's only my opinion. Your choice of which recording to buy will undoubtedly depend on your opinion as it relates to the instrumental approach, so remember that this one does not use period instruments. The choir is large, which adds a sense of power to the music. The soloists are all of high quality. Highly recommended...

OK--this is more than just a performance of Bach's Matthäus-Passion. It is a religious experience, as it should be. Like Albert Schweitzer's Bach organ works(does anybody know THEM any more?), Klemperer's Bach is a personal record of one great man's probing, meditatiive thoughts on one of the greatest works of Western music. It is outside of such considerations as "authentic performance practice" and "authentic instruments." With a set of singers far beyond anything that could be assembled today--Heather Harper as Pilate's Wife; Geraint Evans as a priest, Walter Berry as Peter. . .
These are, of course, in addition to Pears, Schwarzkopf, Ludwig, and Fisher-Dieskau as the "big" soloists!
Listen to the final chorus. It is slow, searing, powerful. Compare it to the more "authentic" versions--which all sound like "OK--let's throw Jesus in the grave and get it over with."
Give Otto a try. Shut off the telephone. Turn off the lights. LISTEN! You will weep at the supreme tragedy of Western Man.

This recording of the St. Matthew Passion captures all the feeling and emotion present in the Biblical passages upon which it is based. It is an excellent recording to use for study due to its extremely slow tempo. The tempo, however, unfortunately makes it rather tedious if you do not love the piece before listening to this recording. The final chorus, "Wir setzen uns," is magnificently done, as is the opening chorus. The soloists are superb, and Klemperer certainly knows how to make one wait for a chord to resolve. All in all, it's simply amazing.

Klemperer may not please the "authentic baroque" purists, but he brings a power dimension to Bach lacking in many "authentic" performances. The two choruses "kommt ihr Tochter" and "Sind Blitze sind Donner" both work very well with Klemperer's power style. More importanti, it is an expression of faith throughout, like the recitative "O Schmerz" where he gets Jesus trembling in the Garden of Gethsemane, as well as the chorale "Wenn ich einmal soll scheiden" (possibly a reflection on Klemperer's brush with death 2 years before that). If you want an exercise in authentic baroque, this may not be for you, but if you want an expression of faith, you would be hard pressed to beat this.

I was really excited to get this performance; I love Bach, I like Klemperer, and I love the operatic voice. And this recording as an all-star cast of opera giants. But the total does nothing for me and the poor thing sits on my shelf ignored like a dead plant in a pot. The sound is very good and the orchestra has a lovely warm sound, the problem, for me, is Klemperer's pacing and his grand concept. He seems to wring importance from every detail, almost like he is slowing down to point at how magnificent each and every one of the notes are. I had, also, assumed that these opera singers would elevate Bach's music--but they don't sound right to me, perhaps due to the conducting.

By contrast, I love Richter's performance of St. John's Passion. It's clean and well paced, with beautifully woven lines of the music. The singers have a kind of "ring", that sounds clear, crisp, and perfectly in pitch; they sound perfect!

The real test of greatness, both in content and in performance is the effect of repeated hearing--especially repeated hearing without focused concentration. After a while, both the art and the artistry of a recording like this make themselves felt in an undeniable way. Most important of all, the effect of Bach's St. Matthew Passion is to immerse the listener in the feelings and philosophies of an event that forms the foundation of western culture. If you think that's an overstatement, put this in your car cd and leave it there for a week. It's amazing what treating classics of art like drive-time distraction can do for your perspective. I found it particularly helpful to alternate a few days of the St. Matthew with a few days of the B-Minor Mass. The contrast was striking and highlighted the intensely dramatic and at the same time personal aspect of the Passion. And this performance delivers over and over again. While the initial impression of the opening bars is somewhat ponderous compared to other performances (e.g. Harnoncourt), the intensity and passion of the playing and singing is amazingly consistent throughout. These people really believe in this music. One can only bow in admiration.

Although I have been a classical music lover, an audio enthusiast, and a record collector for almost 40 years, I somehow managed to reach age 55 without ever hearing Otto Klemperer's classic performance of the St. Matthew Passion. I have now listened to it ten or twelve times and can firmly assert that while it is most certainly wonderful music-making, it will be quite disconcerting to anyone familiar only with more recent performance style.

From the first note, one is struck by the slow tempos, which characterize this masterpiece entirely differently from the way Herreweghe, Gardiner, and Rilling envision it. (Rilling's on Hanssler is my choice for best overall; my Herreweghe is the older one, so I can't comment on his new version.) It is unlikely that anyone will get used to these tempos in the first or second hearing. However, upon repeated listening, once you are able to concentrate on Klemperer alone and not make constant comparisons to other versions, the music does take over. And glorious music is indeed made-heartfelt, compelling, beautifully played and sung, even if the "authentic" crowd would be running for the exits.

It's hard to rate a performance like this. The five stars are for the commitment and undeniable musical achievement. And in its own way, Klemperer's Passion is indeed indispensible. But it can't be the only version in your collection.

The sound is acceptable but a little below average even for its day.

I made the mistake of having this as my first recording of the St. Matheww's Passion. It is slow and powerful, which I often like, but for a piece of this length and emotional range, it is hard to hear it that way. But it grew on me slowly and now any other version I listen to seems trite in comparism. I keep coming back to this and like it more each time I hear it. I would recomend not getting this as your first recording so you can become familiar with the piece before becoming as emotionaly attached to it as I am now with this recording. There is real passion here. As for the recording, the sound is good, the chorases are well placed but there are too many people to make the counterpoint as effective as in some smaller ensamble versions I've heard. There is no perfect recording of the St. Matthew's Passion as anyone will tell you, but this one comes very close.

I will say it up front, I prefer HIP for Bach, with few exceptions. One exception, I enjoy his keyboard music on the piano, as well as the harpsichord. Another, his Passions and longer oratorios/cantatas work with multiple interpretations. I do have recordings of these that are HIP, but I also have others that certainly don't have an HIP orientation. This is one of them.

That said, what is it about this recording? First, the Passions are highly emotional story telling. This is an emotional piece of music. Second, some really great pieces of music are so rich that they have multiple aspects that can be emphasized and brought to the fore. I think that is why this is one of the great recordings of the St. Matthew around. It sucessfully emphasizes certain elements that are fundamental to the Passion music and story.

The performers are of course, first rate.....Fischer-Dieskau, Schwarzkopf, et al. are connsumate vocal artists. Klemperer was one of the best opera conductors of his era. Listen to his recordings of Fidelio, or Wagner's operas. Fantastic. The man knew how to handle vocal music. Now, put this together with a monumental piece of music and you have a recipe for greatness.

From time to time, some people wonder about or question the lack of Bach's operatic output. Was he too religious to compose opera? Well, he was working as a church musician in a time when religion was a dominant force in society, but he was hardly in a religious tradition that was as puritanical to the extremes that some others went to in his day. If he were, he wouldn't have composed any music at all, and certainly not his secular works, including lengthy secular cantatas.

You probably see where I am going witht this! Yes, I think that it is not totally unreasonable to view the St. Matthew as one of the closest things he did to being in an opera house. With that in mind, the fact that Klemperer's reading has great emotional impact is perhaps not so surprising, given Klemperer's background as an opera conductor.

Now, as I've emphasized the emotional side of the Passions, I will say that I've owned this version on LP and CD, from the days when it was new and I was a new collector. Whenever I listen to this recording, after the final dissonance, I must simply turn off my stereo equipment and sit in a quiet place for a good half-hour or more. It is that kind of an experience.

This is a great performance of the Matthew Passion in the grand eloquent manner of yore. Tempi are veyr slow, the mood extremely reverent. On its own terms Klemperer's reading remains a classic. But to modern ears it might be better to take it a bit at a time. I have never successfully sat through the whole thing at one go, as much as I love it.