Credits:

Various

Description:

The latest reissue of the fantastic 1958 stereo recording of the "Mass in B minor," a masterpiece! On the 50th anniversary of Rudolf Mauersberger's death, this is a new reissue from the original ETERNA analog tapes in the country of origin. World's first SACD release! Mastered only in the analog domain and directly converted to DSD! The 13th SACD hybridization of the latest reissue project of ETERNA's original analog tapes in Japan, a fantastic masterpiece that was not released in the West in the LP era. 1958, a group of famous singers from East and West Germany gathered in Dresden, the Dresden Holy Cross Choir with a tradition that dates back to pre-Bach days, The best part of the recording is the chorus. The best listening is in the chorus, which prioritizes human warmth over transparent textural expression, with the large group of singers listening to each other's parts and joining their hearts together to create a wellspring of harmony. The way in which Bach's counterpoint writing is depicted in an extremely majestic manner is breathtaking. The stylistic unity and balance with the austere and subdued tone of the orchestra proves the excellent musicianship and solid technique of the conductor, and the singers include Adam from the Dresden Holy Cross Choir, three famous singers from the West, Stauder's shining and beautiful voice, Wagner's richly shaded voice, and Heflinger's soft and gentle voice. Heflinger's soft and gentle singing adds to the mix, making for a complete package.This is a masterpiece of its time, capturing the full scale and flavor of the performance even in its earliest stereo recordings. This album has never been released in Japan even after the CD era; it was recorded from October to November 1958, and the original monaural LP was released the following year only in the former East Germany. The original monaural LP was released the following year only in the former East Germany, followed by a monaural reissue in 1963, and the stereo reissue in 1968 with highlights, followed by the complete stereo version in 1969. The jacket design of this reissue is the same as the one used for the first monaural release in 1959 (the main visual of the stereo version is almost the same as the monaural version. The stereo version of the album is also unchanged, but a stereo indication is added to the lower right corner of the jacket). The master tapes were flown from the label to Vienna-based mastering engineer Christoph Stickel's studio for mastering in the analog domain, and then digitized separately in DSD for the SACD layer and PCM for the CD layer. The project was then digitized into a product. This project realized the ideal method of mastering as far as currently conceivable. The effect is remarkable: it is possible to reproduce the quality left on the master tapes with extreme fidelity, and the mastering in the analog domain only and direct DSD conversion have even greater sound quality benefits.The clarity and resolution of the performance is so much better than before that one can expect to appreciate the performance even more. The manual also includes a photograph of the outer box of the original analog master tape used in this project.