October Trial; Bach/Klemperer

Anyone not familiar with this recording and reading the debate might be forgiven for thinking that this is another traditional big choir exercise. Far from it Klemperer had abandoned  earlier Philharmonia Chorus sessions under Walter Legge precisely because he was not happy with the results -now issued by Testament- and instead employed a small professional choir of under 50 singers from the BBC Chorus. In his programme notes from contemporary Festival Hall performances he calls it "an experiment". Whether by chance or editorial brilliance, this sits happily with Richard Eyre's piece on 'new authenticity' and Glenn Gould's approach to Bach, and Susan Greenfield's thoughts on sequence and structure in great music in relation to human development and it's importance in religion; Klemperer was apparantly driven by a desire to bring clarity to this music-even the harpsichord continuo was dispensed with- and insisted on recording it as a whole in the right order. "Let us see whether we succeed.." he concluded in his note and of course the answer will be entirely subjective for us all, but this was not and is not a realisation rooted in the recent past -indeed others were to go further with one to a part versions and 'original' instruments- but it was I believe an important staging post in the never ending exploration and understanding of this music which as Klemperer's friend and admirer Pierre Boulez also observes this month should for ever be disturbed. For that reason and for reasons of sheer enjoyment this remains for me a favourite performance of a favourite piece.