It is good to be reminded how much more sympathetic on record the sound is in the Jesus Christus Kirche in Berlin compared with the Philharmonie, which presents obvious difficulties to engineers.
This Decca recording of the rival Berlin orchestra to the Philharmonic has all the spectacular qualities needed in this extrovert work, with voices specifically and firmly placed within an acoustic which allows for bloom on them and instruments alike. The sound is so specific that when the half-chorus is plaed a little farther away than usual, one wants to beckon the singers in. Even so, my primary comparisons have been with the CD version from RCA of Mata and the LSO, (RCD14550, 5/84—recorded in Kingsway Hall) and whatever the slight disappointment of RCA's 1981 LP transfer, the London sound in the new medium is even fuller than the new Decca LP, with more body to it and even more bloom.
I prefer Mata's reading too. Chailly favours fast Allegros relatively unpointed. In that he is close to Muti (HMV), but the choral singing, excellent in its ensemble, lacks something in expressive detail, as one registers in the very opening (and closing) chorus, ''O Fortuna''. That relative detachment might be counted an advantage, but by contrast the slow speeds too tend to be extreme in the other direction, and there Chailly is anything but detached. In the lovely solos in the final section, ''The Court of Love'', Sylvia Greenberg's light, bright soprano has a girlish, even innocent quality. The text of ''In trutina'' specifically sets lascivious love and modesty against each other, and here obviously modesty is dominant. Hendricks for Mata is ideal in producing pure sounds that are also sensuous and very feminine. James Bowman sings sensitively and characterfully on the new issue, but having an alto instead of a very high tenor (singing falsetto as and when needed) is arguably against Orff's intentions, for there is far less vocal strain, one of the elements which makes the roasted swan solo so comic in its pathos. The real disappointment however is Stephen Roberts's contribution in the baritone role, for though his singing is unfailingly intelligent and strongly characterized in the ''Ego sum abbas'' solo, it is too thin and gritty of tone, small-scale, seemingly unable to expand even on the challenging cries of ''Wafna!'' There is much here to enjoy, but Mata provides the more consistent experience and so in older but still impressive recordings do such conductors as Muti, Previn (HMV ASD3117, 10/75) and Fruhbeck (HMV ESD7177, 6/66), those last two more seductively pointed in their rhythyms.
The Eurodisc issue dates from 1973, but this latest pressing is a new digital re-mastering, which provides a very substantial improvement on the sound of the same recording as dubbed by RCA for a Gold Seal issue. Ivan March then dismissed the issue for the crumbly choral sound. Though hardly of the finest modern quality it is much more acceptable now. The choral singing is excellent, and so is that of the three characterful soloists, but the direction of Kurt Eichhorn is often prosaic. At full price it is hardly competitive.'