John Smyth wrote:

>It's very hard to find many reviews of the above in the pre-compact disc
>era.
>
>Any performances, (other than the well-covered "legendary" ones that
>have withstood the test of time?

For me, one of the most interesting...I know, "what do you mean by
'interesting?'" Well I am not quite sure how to label it, but it was the
first substantive recording of the Messiah...done in the acoustic era.
Much of it has been issued on CD, but not all of the sides...I just got
a CD from a collector who was able to locate all of the sides.  Not all
of the singers are good...some seem almost bad, but it is fascinating
to hear.

Also, as of late, I made a transfer, from a taped copy, of Koussevitzky's
recording of the St. Matthew Passion.  It is unlike anything I have
heard...and, being a true believer when it comes to Koussevitzky, I love
it...is it historically correct...beats me, as I don't really know how
Bach wanted it to be performed.

Karl