mckendry@exodus.DEC (NER Network Coordinator) (07/25/84)
<Does the first line sometimes disappear?> My advice, for what it's worth: The St. Luke's Passion is a secondary work. Both the Mass and the St. Matthew's Passion are works of transcendent genius and you will love either one. The Passion is maybe a little more "dramatic" because there are identifiable characters, but it doesn't really make a difference to the music. Both have lovely melodies and crystal-clear counterpoint all over the place. The real difference is that he Mass usually comes on three records and the Passion comes on four. If you're just getting into it, what I would recommend is that you buy the Mass first and use the money you've saved to buy either Purcell's "Come, Ye Sons of Art" or one of the Cantatas "Jauchzet Gott in Alle Landen" (great stuff - soprano and trumpet, etc.) or "Ein' Feste Burg". Make sure you get a period/authentic-instruments-type performance, not Bruno Walter and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. You pay that much money, you want to hear the music. On the other hand, don't buy a cheapo version; you'll play it a lot. -John ...!decwrl!dec-rhea!dec-exodus!mckendry mckendry%exodus.DEC@decwrl