Cantata No.198 "Trauer Ode", Cantata No.131 "Aus Der Tiefe", Robert Craft Conducting The Columbia Symphony And The American Concert Choir, Margaret Hillis Director

Released in 1960 by Columbia Masterworks, this recording captures Robert Craft’s interpretation of two significant Bach cantatas, BWV 198 and BWV 131. During this era, Columbia Records frequently tapped Craft, a protégé and close associate of Igor Stravinsky, to lead large-scale choral and orchestral projects. The collaboration with the Columbia Symphony Orchestra and the American Concert Choir, directed by Margaret Hillis, reflects the high-fidelity aesthetic of mid-century classical production, aiming to bring structural clarity to Bach's complex counterpoint.

The album serves as a document of the period's evolving approach to Baroque performance practice, which favored clean textures and professional ensemble precision before the full emergence of the period-instrument movement. Robert Craft's dedication to meticulous rehearsing was complemented by the expertise of Margaret Hillis, who was widely recognized as one of the finest choral directors in the United States. While contemporary critics often compared Craft's rigorous, intellectual style to his work with modernists like Stravinsky, this release remains a notable example of the serious classical repertoire distributed to domestic audiences during the height of the long-playing vinyl era.