With a dozen versions of the St Matthew Passion in the current catalogue, it is an eye-opener to go back half a century, when this recording—the very first in German—was made, and discover how this great work was then viewed. The move towards 'authenticity' had only recently, and tentatively, got under way: here a harpsichord is employed for the continuo (albeit a Neupert, complete with massive 16-foot tone), but the gamba had to be omitted; big rallentandos are made at the end of every number; the string playing is nearly always legato, with little articulation, and the violin solo in ''Erbarme dich'' is, to our ears, smearily sentimental.
Yet, otherwise, objectivity seems to have been the guiding principle. There are no appoggiaturas, recitatives are strictly metrical (though relaxed slightly in Part 2), chorales are sung nonexpressively, speeds are reverentially slow, and the work's dramatic aspect is played down—the competent but over-sober chorus, sluggish in such numbers as ''Es ist des Todes schuldig'', doesn't catch fire until near the end of Part 1, with the cries of ''Lasst ihn! Bindet nicht!''. The whole moves at so deliberate a pace (the Matthew chorale ''O Haupt voll Blut'' has probably never been sung more slowly) that the 1941 producer, already doubtful about issuing so long a work on 78rpm discs, decided to present it in abbreviated form: recitatives were reduced, da capos cut down or eliminated, and seven arias were omitted (including the soprano's No. 19 with the two oboi d'amore and the alto's No. 70 with the two oboi da caccia). Even so, the issue ran to 31 sides, and the producer, having to bear in mind the four-and-a-half minute limitations of a side, was forced to juggle with the order so as not to split long arias over more than one disc.
This has been straightened out for CD (which retains only slight vestiges of the original surface scratch, but of course cannot reproduce Bach's antiphonal effects of his double choir and orchestra) and which, despite all reservations arising from what is said above and this performance's distance from present-day ideals, succeeds in conveying a spirit of devoted commitment to the music. To a great extent this is due to the soloists, all of whom (except for Schulze, an ex-member of the St Thomas Choir and then a student of medicine) were established artists of considerable experience and reputation: they are given forward microphone placing. Karl Erb had retired from the operatic stage a decade earlier but continued to be recognized as a leading Evangelist: although in his mid-sixties in 1941, his voice shows little sign of ageing, his high register is free and true, and his enunciation is exemplary: it is not his fault but Ramin's that ''Ich will bei meinem Jesu wachen'' plods. Even more distinguished is Gerhard Husch, whose beauty and nobility of tone, musicianly phrasing and, again, clarity of enunciation make his contribution outstanding. Friedel Beckmann is a fine, tonally steady alto with a good sense of style (though she shouldn't have been allowed to take breath between the words ''meiner'' and Zahren'' each time in ''Erbarme dich''), and able to cope successfully with Ramin's slow tempo in ''Buss' und Reu'''. The soprano Tiana Lemnitz, touchingly angelic-voiced as she is, seems to belong to the lyrical operatic sphere rather than the oratorio, and her words are less distinct than those of her colleagues. All in all, a performance of undoubted historical interest and with many rewarding points, even if not ideal by present criteria.'