On Palm Sunday 1937, the Symfony Hall in Boston was the setting for a historic St Matthew Passion. For the first time, an integral performance of the work was recorded on a sound carrier. Remarkable is the fresh approach of conductor Serge Koussevitzky at the time, which clearly contrasts with the contemporary recording of Mengelberg from 1939. If Mengelberg were not interested in a reconstructive
… approach that would miss 'every living beauty emotion', Koussevitzky's view shows a burgeoning interest in historical performance practice. The tempo of the opening chorus, for example, is significantly higher than that of Mengelberg and old instruments such as viola da gamba and oboe d'amore have been given a place in the orchestra. Nevertheless, this performance is still miles away from later historical performance practice. Strings and singers (especially soprano Jeannette Freeland) use portamenti (sliding from one note to another) abundantly and baroque decorations are almost absent. In addition, the text is sung entirely in English. The bass arias, sung with a heavy German accent, are of Frederick Lechner, who had fled Nazi Germany a year earlier and made his American debut here. (JWvR)more