Masur Brings The Passion

The "Saint Matthew Passion" by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750) is a dramatic oratorio, requiring a double orchestra and chorus, and containing a dozen solo vocal roles (usually handled by five singers). Today's early music specialists, aspiring to an "authentic" approach close to Bach's own time and resources, usually use intimate, underpopulated chamber ensembles and choirs. As a result, most brand-new recordings of the "Saint Matthew Passion" — by one count at least 21 have been released since 2001 — sound curiously alike, with thin, pallid period-instrumental ensembles and weak, wimpy voices.

It will therefore be a relief to hear the New York Philharmonic perform the "Saint Matthew Passion" from March 19 to 22, at Avery Fisher Hall, conducted by Kurt Masur. A preview of Mr. Masur's style of Bach with modern instruments can be heard on "Kurt Masur at the New York Philharmonic," a CD box set including a 1993 live performance of the "Saint Matthew Passion" by the Westminster Symphonic Choir and American Boychoir, who will also appear at the Avery Fisher Hall performance this month. The Philharmonic's ranks are reduced, but still highly resonant.

A decade ago, Mr. Masur further revised his view of the "Saint Matthew Passion" in a series of performances at Avery Fisher Hall. In these 1998 renditions, he lightened the orchestral texture, as if in response to current musical fashion. Since then, an increasing wave of new CD and DVD reissues forms an exemplary basis for unabashedly larger-scale performances of Bach. The Cleveland Orchestra recently released "The Robert Shaw Legacy (1956–1997)," a box set of performances by the legendary American conductor and choir director. It includes a 1960 performance of the "Saint Matthew Passion" in English with rapturous orchestral sound (the Cleveland Orchestra's concertmasters were the superb Josef Gingold and Arnold Steinhardt) and a thrillingly massive choir of almost 200 voices.

Deutsche Grammophon has likewise recently released a DVD of a hearty 1971 modern-instrument performance of the "Saint Matthew Passion" conducted by German maestro Karl Richter, with full-voiced singers. Other large-scale "Saint Matthew Passions" by the major conductors Otto Klemperer (EMI); Georg Solti (Decca Records), Claudio Abbado (Musicom); Seiji Ozawa (Philips); Karl Münchinger (Decca); Wilhelm Furtwängler (EMI), and Karl Böhm (Myto) are kept in print on reissued CDs. Further tantalizing historical recordings of the "Saint Matthew Passion" by great conductors such as Pablo Casals, Charles Munch, and Colin Davis remain unreleased so far.

Other Bach choral works are also being rediscovered in historical performances. EMI France has just released "Le baroque avant le baroque," a CD set including a never-before-available 1937 rendition of a Bach cantata led by Nadia Boulanger; this Parisian recording has an uncanny intensity, due to the brilliant performance by Swiss tenor Hugues Cuénod. Mr. Cuénod was one of the great Evangelists in the "Saint Matthew Passion" and, like Karl Erb and Peter Pears, other mighty Evangelists, he had a quirky, if emotionally resonant and heartfelt, voice.

By contrast, today's Evangelists can all too often sound homogenous and bland. Happily, Mr. Masur's Evangelist this month, American James Taylor, has a lilting, dramatically communicative approach to Bach, many of whose works he has recorded for Hänssler Classics. All of Mr. Taylor's artistry will be required for the Evangelist's cataclysmic narration after Jesus' death: "Und siehe da, der Vorhang im Tempel zerriß in zwei Stück," meaning, "And behold, the veil of the temple ripped in two, from top to bottom." The excitement of a full-strength choir, accompanied by instruments capable of projecting in a large, modern-day concert hall, can make for unforgettable performances, however much some musicologists may disapprove.

Listeners obsessed with respect for Bach's intentions might note that Mr. Masur's performance, according to the Philharmonic's Web site, will last a generous "3 hours and 15 minutes." Past distinguished maestros such as Bruno Walter and Leonard Bernstein presented much shorter, heavily cut English-language versions of the "Saint Matthew Passion" to the New York public. The Philharmonic Web site also adds an admonition for ritually late audience members: "Please note: There will be no late seating break during these performances." The wails of excluded concertgoers will no doubt chime in with the Westminster Symphonic Choir to create a truly heroic-scale sound in Mr. Masur's "Saint Matthew Passion." Bach would doubtless approve.