JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH

Among the many recordings of Bach’s Christmas Oratorio, Karl Richter’s 1965 interpretation occupies a special position. Richter was praised not only for his ensembles, the Munich Bach Choir and the Munich Bach Orchestra, but also for his fabulous vocal and instrumental soloists. This recording also became one of the last musical testimonies of the tenor Fritz Wunderlich, who tragically died only a few months later and whose 90th birthday would have been celebrated this September. This was Richter’s second recording of the work, which is clearly different from his first. Richter’s Munich ensembles present a youthful force with a homogeneity and clarity that cannot be found in his earlier depiction. Most remarkable, however, is his outstanding quartet of soloists: besides Fritz Wunderlich, Gundula Janowitz, Christa Ludwig and Franz Crass shine.