Furtwangler's St Matthew Passion was recorded from live performances in Vienna in 1954, some seven months before he died. The set is likely, therefore, to occupy a place of special affection in the hearts of admirers of this great conductor; but, over and above any sentimental considerations, Furtwangler mustered a conspicuously fine group of soloists, notable among whom in the context of this work are Anton Dermota and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau. Their contributions perhaps provide the strongest reasons for wanting this St Matthew Passion. But there is another, too, and that is Furtwangler's profoundly expressive response to the piece and his feeling for the dark, grief-laden side to the drama. We have only to listen to the emotionally charged, but sensitive and beautifully sustained string playing of the recitative beginning with the Evangelist's words, ''Da kam Jesus mit ihnen zu einem Hofe'' (first disc, track 22) to see how deeply contemplative and personal was Furtwangler's contribution. Such an approach is completely alien to that of our own times and must therefore be understood in the interpretative language of the early- to mid- twentieth century. That language is no longer spoken, but many of its inflexions are attractive and it would be a pity if they ceased to be understood.
Of course, there are some features which appear more anachronistic than others. I have no problem with the use of portamento by the soloists; it is applied thoughtfully and sparingly and almost always in order to enliven textual meaning. However, the singing of the chorales sounds interminably slow, imprecisely executed and with closing ritardandos, the anticipation of which does little to ingratiate the listener to the performance as a whole. Then there are the cuts: harmful, severe and without doubt the most damaging feature of all. They are too many to mention in detail, but if I say that seven arias are missing in all, among them ''Ich will dir mein Herze'' (soprano), ''Konnen Tranen'' (contralto), ''Geduld, Geduld!'' (tenor), and ''Mache dich, mein Herze'' (bass), you will have a vivid picture of the extent of these disfiguring mutilations.
For these reasons, this Furtwangler version cannot be placed alongside others in the field. It will therefore appeal mainly to admirers of the conductor, and of one or more of his soloists. Even here there is a slight disadvantage in that none of them sings consistently well since, as I said, the recording was compiled from live performances. Yet the set is unquestionably of documentary value and should be attractive not only to readers with an interest in the evolutionary art of singing, but also to those interested in changing styles of instrumental playing. Willi Boskovsky's violin obbligato in ''Erbarme dich'' (second disc, track 9), provides a particularly striking example of what I mean.
The booklet could be much more informative than it is. No mention is made of the cuts in English, and a fascinating essay on Furtwangler's St Matthew Passion, together with a substantial note on the recording itself, is in German only. This is very far indeed from being Bach's grosse Passion and the prospective buyer is entitled to be clearly informed of that on the jewel-box cover. R1 '9510167'