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Title: A butcher, not a barber! Okay, that an overstatement.
Review: This just won't do! These aren't that bad of performances - the notes are mostly in the right places, they move along at a steady pace, and the sound is adequate. It's just that they lack the joy and brio found in so many other recordings. Except for the extremely low price, far better accounts are available - especially those by Toscanini (even with less than ideal sonics), Giulini (wonderful cantabile), and the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra (full of energy). I don't know the versions by Reiner or Marriner, but I know they are considered to be among the best. So unless you're collecting the entire "Passion" series or get this CD in the complete set (like me), you can safely pass this one by.
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