Bach Mattheus Passion Mengelberg Philips 50s original

	£		201
	$		266

wimbo! Store

Dutch Philips A 00150-153 L, 4-LP box set with booklet, mono only, of course. Original paper inner sleeves, "microgroove" labels. Legendary 1939 performance of Bach´s Mattheus Passion, performed by the Concertgebouw Orchestra with the Amsterdam Toonkunst Choir and the Zanglust Boys Choir, conducted by Willem Mengelberg. Solists are Karl Erb, Willem Ravelli, Jo Vincent, Ilona Durigo, Louis van Tulder and Herman Schey. This set has been recorded in 1939, but was issued in 1951 for the first time, and reissued in the late 60s/early 70s (see my other auctions); this the now 58 years old first issue. The box has some light wear on the corners, but otherwise pretty fabulous condition, VG++, as is the booklet. The inner sleeves have light wrinkling on corners and openings, no splits/tears, VG++. The records look VG++, hardly any hairlines or scuffs, but they play with some background nois/hiss, hardly noticeable in some places, worse in others. I have had this item a few times before, mostly in worse condition, but once almost unplayed, and there was surface noise on the records even then, so it´s hard to discern between noises coming from the vintage vinyl itself, or from damage resulting from playing and handling. I grade the vinyl VG, to be absolutely safe.

The repress to my ears has better sound reproduction, but it omits the first 5 seconds, with the audience noise and, most important, Mengelbergs 2 opening ticks on his music stand....... And besides, this issue after all stands as something of a landmark in recording history.

Grading:

Mint: Doesn't exist. Every record has some flaw, if only very light, even when it's fresh from the stamper, unplayed, not sleeved, whatever. And then you find different flaws on different record players. In short: I don't grade Mint.

Mint-: Looking (almost) perfect, and sounding (almost) perfect, a very slight paper scuff or 2 is accepted, with no influence on the recorde sounds, as is the lightest spindle mark. If you play your records, this the highest grade you can obtain. If you don't, then go for a sealed copy.

Very Good++: Showing some light signs of having been played, eg. very few hairlines, a light scuff, doing hardly anything to the sound. Scattered light background sounds, not intrusive, the odd light crackle. No marks.

Very Good+: A bit more of the above. A VG+ record shouldn't need an upgrade, unless you stumble onto that legendary archive copy at hardly any cost at all.

Very Good: This one obviously has been played, and if a lot, then properly cared for. There are background noises, a few crackles and pops, maybe a light hiss. The musical contents should be unharmed, no distorted highs or dug-out grooves. Perfectly enjoyable, even at high volume. I grade VG occasionally when a record is perfect except for 1 or 2 apparent problems, specified in the item description.

I try to grade the best of my ability, using a 100 W lamp, playing suspect spots, do some cleaning, etc; if, however, you are not satisfied with an item, please let me know, and we will work something out.

Shipping:

Watch out! The REAL shipping costs are specified below, and those are my actual cost for sending your items! IGNORE the crap Ebay wants me to fill in under their prefab shipping header below, as it will be perfectly clear to any person in their right mind that I cannot ship a 1.6 kilo unit abroad for GBP 4!!!!

Netherlands:         

0-10 KG: € 6,75

10-30 KG: € 12,95

Europe:

0-500 grams: € 6,-

500-2000 grams: € 10,-

2-5 KG: € 20 to €25, depends to which country

5-10 KG:€ 26 to € 31,50, depends to which country

10-20 KG: € 35 to € 41, depends to which country

20-30 KG: € 42 to € 48, depends to which country

Rest of the world:

0-500 grams € 7,40

500-2000 grams € 17,76

2-5 KG: € 25 to € 35, depends to which country

5-10 KG: € 32 to € 58, depends to which country

10-20 KG: € 42 to € 105 (!), depends to which country

OR THE EQUIVALENT IN GBP OR USD.

If you are not sure about the shipping cost, please inquire BEFORE bidding!!!!!

Payment: I accept Paypal, but within the EU, I prefer a bank transfer. I do accept other payment methods, please consult me after you have received the invoice.