dimensions of vision and passion that put it in RECORDING OF SPECIAL MERIT the top ranks of recorded performances. Once or twice, Karajan messes with the or- HANDEL:Concertos No. 1, in B -fiat Major, chestration of what is billed as the "original No. 2, in B -flat Major, and No. 3, in G Minor, Recorder edition"-a matter that will, no doubt, cause for Oboe and Strings; Concerto Grosso in G ' Virtuoso outcries among the faithful. More serious, Major, Op. 3, No. 3; SonataA5 in B -flat Major perhaps, is the surprising roughness here of for Violin and Strings.Heinz Holliger (oboe); the Berlin Philharmonic's playing. But these Kenneth Sillito (violin); English Chamber Or- shortcomingsdidnot really interfere with my chestra, Raymond Leppard cond. PHILIPS appreciation of the very big -scale strengths of 6500 240 $6.98. this performance. The recording meets Deut- Performance: Fabulous sche Grammophon's usual high standard, and Recording: Alive over an hour of music has been expertly packed onto a single disc. E. S. Here is a joyous festival of the exuberant, youthful Handel joyously and exuberantly FRESCOBALDI:Toccatas and Capriccios. played. The outstanding feature of the disc is Conductor Toccata Prima (Libro Secondo); Partite So- the exquisite work of Heinz Holliger. Disre- pra ('Aria della Romanesca; Toccata Nona garding the current taste for a highly articulat- (Libro Primo); Capriccio Cromatico con Li- ed line in Baroque music, Holliger offers a gature al Contrario; Canzona Seconda (Libro seamless legato of long sinuous lines exqui- Secondo); Toccata Prima (Libro Primo); Bal- sitely molded by subtle dynamic nuance. To letto Terzo; Toccata Duodecima (Libro Pri- this he adds tasteful and imaginative divisions mo); Capriccio Sopra !'Aria "Or Che Noi and ornamentation supported by a sure feel- Rimena," in Partite; Ancidetemi Pur d'Ar- ing for where and whennotto ornament. The chadelt Passagiato; Capriccio di Durezze; English Chamber Orchestra under the direc- Toccata Nona (Libro Secondo).Lionel Party tion of Raymond Leppard furnishes lively and (harpsichord). DESMAR DSM-1013 $7.98. perfectly balanced accompaniments, keeping the tempos bouncing without falling into dog- Performance: Fairly good trot or skittishness. Although these works ap- Recording: Excellent pear rather barren in score, when performed Scholar of Renaissance Music Recorded with the cooperation of the Depart- by these forces they take on a sparkle that will ment of Musical Instruments of New York disperse the thickest gloom. S.L. City's Metropolitan Museum of Art, this disc DAVID features two ancient Italian instruments: a HANDEL:Judas Maccabaeus.Ryland Davies harpsichord by Zenti (1666) and a spinettino (tenor), Judas Maccabaeus; Felicity. Palmer MUNROW (1540). The Zenti, a fine example of Italian (soprano), Israelitish Woman; Janet Baker Israelitish Man; John Shirley - (1943-1976) harpsichordbuilding,possessesacrisp, (contralto), bright, and clear sound that becomes more at- Quirk (bass), Simon; Wandsworth School tractive the more one hears it. The spinettino Choir; English Chamber Orchestra, Charles "In one miraculous person is difficult to judge because its frail condition Mackerras cond. DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON the finest qualities of scholar will not permit it to be tuned at pitch. It is ARCHIV 2710 021 three discs $26.94, © 3376 and musician" Stereo Review tuned so far below pitch here that its sound is 011 $26.94. * muffled and lacks any sustaining power. Fres- Performance: Correct cobaldi is a natural for these machines,- and Recording: Excellent His growing legacy on Angel the Zenti responds enthusiastically to all of & Seraphim Records - the music played on it. The spinettino, on the Ah, the English singer and the Handel ora- A Contemporary Elizabethan other hand, is only happy with theBallettotorio! This recording has all the most up-to- Concert S-37263 Terzoand makes a farce of the toccatas, espe- date trimmings: scholarly edition, Baroque Birthday Odes for Queen Mary cially theToccata Duodecima,which is writ- performance practices, top soloists of a new by Purcell S-37251 ten in a sustained organ idiom. generation, chamber orchestra, knowledge- Henry VIII & Six Wives -Film StylisticallyFrescobaldi'smusicposes able direction, gorgeous sound, and, best of Soundtrack SFO-36895 some of the most difficult problems in the en- all, the imprimatur of a Deutsche Grammo- Instruments of the Middle Ages/ tire keyboard repertoire. The rhapsodic sec- phon Archiv production. Has English oratorio Renaissance (2 LPs) SBZ-3810 tions of the toccatas and cadential passages of performance changed that much since the Music from the Court of the canzonas must be played freely, with grand old days(ca.1880) of the great choral Ferdinand & Isabella S-36926 broad arpeggiations, free rhythms, and added festivals? Not really. In fact, what we have Music of Praetorius 3-37091 ornamentation and divisions; the contrapuntal here is vintage Olde English Oratorio, the Pleasures of the Court S-36851 ' sections must be played strictly and clearly; kind that we read about in the music criticism Recorder Concertos by Handel, and the dances must bounce. Lionel Party has of G. B. Shaw and other observers of the late - Telemann & Sammartini S-37019 evolved a free style that is convincing in the Victorian scene. What could be more typical Renaissance Suite -"La Course en right places, but its blanket application to ev- of this species than stately Dame Janet Baker tete"-Film Soundtrack S-37449 ery piece and section strips the music of the producing the most glorious contralto tones Vespro Della Beata Vergine contrast that is its very essence. For example, this side of Anglican heaven? Or the stately by Monteverdi (2 LPs) SB-3837 in theToccata Nona (Libro Primo)the ricer - language she sings in, High Mashed Potato? car -like central section does not stand out Most of the work is sung in this curious enough from the outer improvisational sec- tongue, though unfortunately it is not one of Music of Guillaume Dufay S-60267 tions, and in the canzonas the effusive caden- the languages in the program booklet, which The Art of Courtly Love tial flourishes are not sufficiently free to func- gives only the French, German, and English (3 LPs) SIC -6092 tion as points of articulation between the translations of the text. strictlyimitativesections.The sparkling Judas Maccabaeusis one of the few Han- Albums as informative del oratorios to maintain its popularity over as they are entertaining. rhythms of the dances leave the feet unmov- ing. Nonetheless, there is enough fine playing the years. It was Handel's idea to retrieve his here to make the record worthwhile. And the flagging fortunes by symbolically celebrating real value of the disc lies in the splendid the martial achievements, actual or anticipat- sound of the Zenti, so accurately caught by ed, of the English against a rather serious re- engineer David Hancock, the beautifully re- bellion and invasion from the North. Works produced photograph of the instruments on of this sort, with their sentiments of piety, the album cover, and the visionary music of self-righteousness, militarism, and jingoism, Frescobaldi. S.L. (Continued on page 154) XDR Cassette STEREO REVIEW CIRCLE NO. 6 ON READER SERVICE CARD 146