Matthew's Passion again

Matthew's Passion by Stuttgart Bach Ensemble conducted by Helmut Rilling has been most important music for me. The CD set is recorded in 1978. Maybe, I have got it in early '80s when I moved here and had an audio set. 

Early in '70s, as I reiterated in this blog, the concert of the same ensemble with Rilling at NHK hall in Tokyo was my very first experience to listen to this piece in live. It has left me an overwhelming impression. That is the main reason why I have kept this source of the music like a treasure. A few years ago, however, I noticed the forte portion of the music like in the 1st piece had a slight but noticeable distortion. It made me disappointed so much that I put it away deep in the shelf not played any longer. I thought it could be deterioration over time as I experienced with some of the other old CDs. 

But the distortion like sound is clearly different from jittering sizzle noise particular for the noise over time. Recently, I have tried listening to it again. I found there had been no other portions with the same distortion even though the 1st piece still sounded the same as before. 

I have been listening to it repeatedly now. It sure brings me back to the concert of live performance first ever for me in Tokyo. I don't know why but it generally sounds heart warming and comforting my mind. 

Now whenever listening to any music I love, I am trying to concentrate on it as if it was the last chance to listen to it. Actually, at my age, it could be the last occasion for me. The situation is quite different, but I could not help being conscious that it is the same as the posthumous works of fragments Mozart has left. They have eternally lost into the darkness even though most of them had been materialized in Mozart's mind. Without experiencing such good music, they will be lost forever for me. From now on, encounter with any good music could be the only experience in my life. Once in my life. When I listen to them in that attitude, they sound even more overwhelmingly poignant to me.

In this CD set, the soprano part was sung by Arleen Auger. She was ths soloist at the concert in Tokyo I listened to as well. And, later in late '70s, when I listened to the same music by a Japanese ensemble, she took the part again, who left me a touching impression and I remebered her name then. This is a recording of an aria by her in Matthew's Passion with Amsterdam Concertgebouw conducted by Harnoncourt recorded in 1987.