Here's Punch But No Sign Of Judy

Stravinsky's one act ballet with song, Pulcinella, is not just a reworking of music by Pergolesi and , it has subsequently been unearthed , other 18th century Italian composers. He uses the originals as a springboard for experimentation, transforming the music into a 20th century work by means of quirky instrumentation ( such as the jazzy slides of the double bass solo ), ostinato melodies and other devices. This recording is by the Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Stravinsky's musical confidant Robert Craft with soloists Diane Montague mezzo, Robin Leggate tenor and Mark Beesley bass. The other item on the disk is The Fairy's Kiss, again conducted by Craft but this time with the London Symphony Orchestra. This ballet is at another extreme and is largely an original composition. Stravinsky greatly altered, developed and elaborated melodies from early piano pieces and songs by Tchaikovsky, expanding them into sizeable ballet numbers to form a continuous dance symphony. Some may find it curious that a major composer would wish to spend such time utilising source material from others but the idea of variations and adaptations is an old and honourable one.

It's A Mystery

Throughout the Catholic world, there are examples of old venerable celebrations and pageants depicting various of the feasts of the holy year. This example from La Capella Reial de Catalunya and Jordi Savall recreates the Mystery Play of Elche. As I occasionally do (hopefully not too often ), I am going to fall back on the start of Jordi Savall's comprehensive booklet notes to give the explanation. "A people's spiritual identity, expressed throughits love and veneration for the Virgin Mary, together with the mystery of the Virgin's deathand assumption, are the main inspiration for the wonderful Mystery Play of Elche. Like the ancient Song of the Sybl, so deeply rooted in Catalonia, Valencia and , in particular. Majorca, this sacred musical drama is a rareand extraordinary example of an outstandingly beautiful musical treasure kept alive over the centuries by the determination, tradition and fervour of an entire people" The official title of the disk is Homenatge al Misteri d' Elx La Vespra. The music contained ranges from acapella singing through to simple single plucked instrument accompaniment ( with a sephardic feel ) to a few instances with a larger ensemble and sound effects such as fireworks and bells. My is sung by Montserrat Figueras and the angel by her daughter Arianna Savall. The saints are sung by Lluis Vilamajo and Pascal Bertin and there is also a trio of apostles. As always with the Alia Vox label, the presentation is superb.

Inappropriate Choice Of Conductor ?

This is one of those multitudes of disks that DG put out recycling their back catalogue of Herbert von Karajan and the Berliner Philharmoniker. The hook here is a compilation of 19th century central European repertoire from Smetana, Dvorak and Liszt. The pieces are all symphonic tone poems; The Smetana pieces are extracts from Ma Vlast, including the popular Vltava, from Dvorak there is the Scherzo Capriccioso and from Liszt Les Preludes and Hungarian Rhapsody No 4. I'm sure more idiosyncratic versions can be found from Czech bands but the Berlin Phil are always reliable and it fills a hole in my collection. Knowing what I know now and didn't when I bought the disk a few years ago, it is a litle sickly to think of von Karajan playing such nationalistic pieces from Czech and Hungarian sources given his dubious wartime history. Such considerations don't effect the sound of the music though which I guess is the main thing. The only slight disappointment playing wise is a slightly laboured Hungarian Rhapsody.

Glory Of Baroque Worship

The main selling point of this disk of fine baroque sacred music was the premiere performance of the then ( 2001 ) very recently rediscovered Gloria for solo soprano, violins and bass by Handel. The solo soprano entrusted with the recording was Gillian Keith, who does a more than adequate job, and the performers on the entire disk are the Monteverdi Choir and English Baroque Soloists conducted by John Eliot Gardiner. The work has all the appeal of an aria from one of Handel's operas or oratorios and raises the interesting point that most people now listen to this music for intellectual stimulus and laid back enjoyment rather than for the purposes of worship for which it was originally written. There is another Handel work on the disk, a setting of Dixit Dominus, which is a setting for full choir and such solo duties as there are, are taken by members of the Monteverdi Choir. This is Handel at his most Italianate and this makes for a logical programme on the disk since the other work is another setting of the Gloria by Vivaldi. The Red Priest, despite the nickname, rarely composed sacred works since his reputation and operatic and concerto works precluded a position as official church composer. So the sacred works that he did write came from occasional commissions or when the official choirmaster was absent for whatever reason. This Gloria is typically exuberant and contains many recognisable touches from his secular works. The English Baroque Soloists play excellently throughout, giving fine support to the choir. Just occasionally, the choir members sound under powered when asked to solo.

Sicilian Culture With No Hint Of The "M" Word

This is a lavishly produced release of music by Berio in the usual austere ECM house style. There are two major Berio works, Voci and Naturale, and in between these works are fascinating recordings of Sicilian folk music from the Ethnomusicological Archives of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia Rome. Voci is subtitled Folk Songs II and is performed by the solo viola of Kim Kashkashian and the Radio Symphonieorchester Wien conducted by Dennis Russell Davies. Berio reflects and amplifies the songs through his orchestrations and Kashkashian plays very soulfully. The archive recordings show the archaic Sicilain folk styles to be very modal and harshly sung, with connections back to traditions of street vendors and a world away from the ballad tradition of northern Europe apart from the occasional use of pipes as accompaniment. Sicily has been subject to many different cultural influences over the centuries of course, because of its' crossroads location in the Mediterranean. Naturale ( Su melodie Siciliane ) again features Kaskashian on viola with taped extracts from further archive recordings and percussion played by Robyn Schulkowsky. The presence of the archive voices gives a much more obvious and direct link to the source material but Berio again is able to expand and embellish what was originally conceived as a theatrical performance. The diverse percussion and committment off Kim Kashkashian provide their own theatrical element and once the listener adapts to the sound world it makes a most accessible entry into Berio.

A Child Of His Time ?

A budget reissue, this is the only disk I have ( so far ? ) of music by Michael Tippett. Three pieces are featured, the Concerto For Double String Orchestra, the Fantasia Concertante on a Theme of Corelli and Ritual Dances from The Midsummer Marriage. The performers are the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus conducted by Sir Andrew Davis with violin soloists Michael Davis and Jacqueline Hartley and cell soloist Paul Watkins in the Corelli work. The Concerto for Double String Orchestra is a fine piece, the use of bluesy harmonic inflections no doubt being one reason why it appeals to me. There are also folk and jazz influences as well as nods towards Beethoven and Bartok. The Corelli Fantasia does what the title would imply, viewing the baroque through a distorted 20th century mirror but retaining he integrity of the original works. The Midsummer Marriage is an opera and Tippett was commissioned to produce a suite by Swiss conductor, mover and shaker Paul Sacher. Ritual Dances moves through hunting scenes and chases from the animal kingdom to altogether more carnal human relations in the finale, with the latter sections featuring wordless singing from the chorus. The BBCSO can be an awkward orchestra but Andrew Davis had a happier rapport with them than many and their playing on this selection can't be faulted. A listener friendly introduction to Tippett.

Fairy Tale Mayhem

The BBC Philharmonic conducted by Gianandrea Noseda perform music by Dvorak on this BBC Music mag covermount disk from 2002. It includes Symphony No 8, which I won't say much about since I have another commercial recording that can be considered when it has its' turn off the shelf. Suffice it to say that the performance by the BBC Phil is a classy one. The disk also contains he symphonic poem The Golden Spinning Wheel which at half an hour in length is as long as many symphonies. It is in a single movement span and is a bit like wordless word setting of the fairy story in verse by Czech poet Karel Jaromir Erben. It's a pretty gruesome tale of royalty and waifs, wicked stepmothers, murder and mutilation, magical restoration and happy ever after ( apart from murderesses fed to wolves ) You don't need to know the programmatic detail to appreciate the melodies and orchestrations and with the 8th symphony it makes another excellent freebie.