Eugen Jochum Complete Recordings On Deutsche Grammophon, Vol. 2

Volume Two of Eugen Jochum on Deutsche Grammophon is not the “must buy” for me that Volume One was:Jochum - Complete Recordings on DG, Vol. 1 Orchestral Works [42 CD] (see photo)Volume One had a healthy percentage of recordings new to CD.The new box, “Sacred & Choral Music on DG” has just one recording new to CD, and that is hardly an essential purchase:The 1952 mono DG recording of Wagner’s Lohengrin is the conductor’s only commercial recording of the opera, but the provincial Bavarian Opera cast (Fehenberger, Kupper, Braun, Frantz) is completely outclassed by the greater lung power of Eugen Jochum’s 1954 Bayreuth performance (Windgassen, Nilsson, Varnay, Uhde).Available on several independent labels.*(Nilsson’s only recording of Elsa)38 CDs in cardboard jackets in modified “original jacket” format(original artwork on the front, but no program notes on the back, just track listings).According to DG’s publicity department, only one recording, the 1952 Lohengrin, has been newly remastered for this box.The other recordings sound fine to me, but they always have.If you are new to Jochum, this box is a fantastic buy,But I already own all but one of these recordings, so I am not planning to order it anytime soon.I am, however, looking forward to a possible Volume Three “Complete Orchestral Recordings on Philips” (quite a few recordings not yet on CD).Eugen Jochum (born 1902) was the only conductor of the pre-War generation to record all four of Bach's large-scale works for chorus and orchestra in stereo.In the 1960s, these recordings were sniffed at as hopelessly old-fashioned by the cognoscenti.Karl Münchinger and Karl Richter were all the all the rage with their chamber orchestra Bach,though those two worthies would soon be made redundant by Nikolaus Harnoncourt and his historically informed followers, who completely dominate today's early music scene.Eugen Jochum was basically above all the musicological controversy, and carried on conducting Bach as he had learned it in the '20s and '30s.His St. Matthew Passion is not as extreme as Furtwängler or Mengelberg's recordings, but it is recognizably from the same tradition.There will never be another St. Matthew Passion like this.That alone is good reason to acquire this box.PART 1 OF 2: CHORAL MUSICMore than half the choral music in Volume Two was actually recorded by Philips.The same company now owns Philips and Deutsche Grammophon.(stereo unless otherwise indicated)-- BACH St.John Passion: 1967 Amsterdam Concertgebouw PHILIPS-- BACH St.Matthew Passion: 1965 Amsterdam Concertgebouw PHILIPS-- BACH Christmas Oratorio: 1972 Bavarian Radio Orch. PHILIPS-- BACH Mass in B minor: 1957 Bavarian Radio Orch. PHILIPS-- BEETHOVEN Missa Solemnis: 1970 Amsterdam Concertgebouw PHILIPS-- BRUCKNER Mass No. 1 in D Minor: 1972 Bavarian Radio Orch.-- BRUCKNER Mass No. 2 in E minor: 1971 Bavarian Radio Orch.-- BRUCKNER Mass No. 3 in F minor: 1962 Bavarian Radio Orch.-- BRUCKNER Psalm 150: 1965 Berlin Philharmonic-- BRUCKNER Te Deum: 1950 Bavarian Radio MONO + 1965 Berlin Philharmonic-- BRUCKNER Ten Unaccompanied Motets: 1966 Bavarian Radio Chorus(Ave Maria 1861 / Christus factus est / Ecce sacerdos magnus / Locus iste / Offertorium Afferentur regi / Os justi meditabitur sapientiam / Pange lingua / Tota pulchra es - antiphon / Vexilla regis / Virga Jesse floruit)-- HAYDN The Creation: 1966 Bavarian Radio Orch. PHILIPS-- HAYDN Mass HobXXII,No.5 Cäcilienmesse: 1959 Bavarian Radio Orch.-- MOZART Requiem: 1955 Vienna Symphony MONO(recorded “live” at St. Stephen’s Cathedral in honor of the Bicentennial of Mozart’s birth. Portions of the liturgy are included - this explains the nine extra tracks)-- ORFF Trionfi (trilogy of cantatas)----- No.1 Carmina Burana: 1952 Bavarian Radio Orch. MONO + 1967 Berlin Opera----- No.2 Catulli Carmina: 1955 Bavarian Radio Orch. MONO + 1970 Berlin Opera----- No.3 Trionfo di Afrodite: 1955 Bavarian Radio Orch. MONO------------------------------------------PART 2 OF 2: OPERAS(stereo unless otherwise indicated)MOZART Così fan tutte: 1962 Berlin Philharmonic---- Fiordiligi: Irmgard Seefried---- Dorabella: Nan Merriman---- Ferrando: Ernst Haefliger---- Guglielmo: Hermann Prey---- Despina: Erika Köth---- Alfonso: Dietrich Fischer-DieskauMOZART Die Entführung aus dem Serail: 1965 Bavarian State Opera---- Konstanze: Erika Köth---- Blonde: Lotte Schadle---- Belmonte: Fritz Wunderlich---- Pedrillo: Friedrich Lenz---- Osmin: Kurt BöhmeWAGNER Lohengrin: 1952 Bavarian Radio Orch. MONO---- Lohengrin: Lorenz Fehenberger (actually an underrated tenor, ignored by the record companies)---- Elsa: Annelies Kupper---- Ortrud: Helena Braun---- Telramund: Ferdinand Frantz---- King Heinrich: Otto von Rohr---- Herald: Hans BraunWAGNER Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg: 1976 Berlin State Opera---- Hans Sachs: Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau---- Walther: Placido Domingo---- Eva: Catarina Ligendza---- Magdalena: Christa Ludwig---- David: Horst Laubenthal---- Pogner: Peter Lagger---- Beckmesser: Roland HermannWEBER Der Freischütz: 1959 Bavarian State Opera---- Max: Richard Holm---- Agathe: Irmgard Seefried---- Ännchen: Rita Streich---- Caspar: Kurt Böhme-----------------------------------------------* Cast of the 1954 Bayreuth Lohengrin (not in this box):---- Lohengrin: Wolfgang Windgassen---- Elsa: Birgit Nilsson---- Ortrud: Astrid Varnay---- Telramund: Hermann Uhde---- King Heinrich: Theo Adam---- Herald: Dietrich Fischer-Dieskauavailable on Opera d'Oro: LohengrinIn addition to the choral repertoire recorded by DG and Philips, Eugen Jochum also recorded the following for EMI (Warner):-- BACH Mass in B Minor (second recording): 1980 Bavarian Radio Orch.-- MOZART Mass K317 + Vesperae solennis K339: 1976 Bavarian Radio Orch.Eugen Jochum: Icon- The Complete EMI RecordingsTwo major choral works Jochum conducted, but did not record commercially:-- BRAHMS German Requiem: 1951 Bavarian Radio MONO Eugen Jochum Centenary': Brahms German Requiem (W.Clara Ebers Karl Scmitt-Walter And Chor-- VERDI Requiem: 1950 Bavarian Radio MONO: Requiem/Te Deum (Jochum, Bavarian Radio) By G. Verdi (2005-01-16) - or - Messa Da Requiem