The Magnificat featured here has particular artistic significance as this was the first time Karajan had officially tackled Johann Sebastian Bach’s famous masterpiece. The cast shines out with the extraordinary voices of Elizabeth Schwarzkopf, already an international star at the time, and the young Nicolai Gedda.

The Symphonie Liturgique is the third of Honegger’s five symphonies and it soon became one of the most successful contemporary works. Karajan was soon to become a benchmark interpreter of this symphony. Although he had already performed it previously, this is the first official performance.