cfOit morphosis" technique employed in the Fourth Pears' Serenade in its previous (less appropri- Yttet W.Q.c2e.zifikic Symphony (1949). There is lots of drama, col- ate) coupling with the Young Person's Guide A WONDERFUL 12" STEREO LP or, and fascinating musical fun and games here, to the Orchestra, then this Angel disc would be RECORD THAT INTRODUCES YOU but not the unrelenting purposefulness and a sensible choice. For Heather Harper is in TO . the largest recording project of savage energy of the Fourth Symphony, which glorious voice. Her French has a strikingly idi- its kind ever completed! I hope will be recorded one day. omatic tang to it, her musicianship is marvel- The all-star group of Danish players, includ- the musical hepitacle society ously subtle and observant, and she makesa ing the composer (and the Royal Danish Or- strong effect on several low notes where Pears . is pleased to announce that it has released on 49 records all 107 of Haydn's Sympho- chestra in the Symphonic Variations), come adopts the alternative higher octave. Neville nies. These 107 symphonies were recorded through with fine performances and are excel- Marriner leads a splendidly alert accompani- underthebaton of the famous Haydn lently recorded. I hope that Turnabout's Dan- ment, and Angel's recording is even more at- specialist, ERNST MAERZENDORFER, per- ish series will pave the way for a more compre- manent conductor of the VIENNA STATE mospheric and detailed than London's. OPERA ORCHESTRA.Performance was hensive representation in this country, not only But any choice between Miss Harper's per- bythe world renowned Vienna Chamber of Niels Viggo Bentzon's work, but also that formance and Pears' is a narrow one. And in Orchestrawhich recently toured the S of his symphonist-colleague Vagn Holmboe. the Serenade-the better work of the two, and MAY WE SEND YOU THIS AUDITION RECORD? D.H. probably still Britten's finest achievement- neither Pears nor Barry Tuckwell, the horn- JOSEPH HAYDN (1732-1809) BOCCHERINI:Stabat Mater (G. 532/2).player on the London record, is really chal- SYMPHONY No. 50 (Side 1) Carmen Vilalta (soprano); Ritva Auvinen lenged by Angel's team of Robert Tear and SYMPHONY No. 51 (Side 2) (mezzo-soprano); Giorgio Marelli (tenor); Or- Alan Civil. Tear's is a good, sensitive perform- in STEREOonly ...OR H-221 chestra da Camera Genovese, Ivan Polidori ance. But his line is subject to ungainly swell- cond. MUSICAL HERITAGE SOCIETY MHS ings of tone (as at the word "cedars" in the GET THE SOCIETY'S CATALOG FREE! 1097 $2.99 (plus 650 handling charge from Musical Heritage Society has released over 900 Angel fine records. May we send you our catalog? the Musical Heritage Society, Inc., 1991 ORDER FORM Broadway, New York, N.Y.10023). The MusicalHeritage Society, Inc. Performance:Adequate is 1991 Broadway, NewYork, N. Y. 10023 Recordings: All right Gentlemen: .. 1 -1Enclosedis$1.00. Please send the intro - Judging from the catalogs, this may very well If ductory record to Haydn's Symphonies, OR H-221 with Symphonies 50 and 51. be the only available example of Boccherini's It isunderstood thereisno obligation E. vocal music on records. He did write some- whatsoever. sections of the mass, villancicos, a zarzuela, Please send your latest catalog of over 900 STEREO records. some dramatic music, arias, and the like-al- though the quantity is small in comparison Name with this composer's instrumental output. The Address present Stabat Mater exists in two versions, a City & State 1781 edition for solo soprano and strings and a J: Zip Code_ rewriting of that work for three voices and strings in 1800, to which Boccherini added an CIRCLE. .1110. Oil READER SERVICE CARD orchestral introduction adapted from the open- ing to the Symphony in F Major, Op. 35, No. 4 (1782). The work is cast in the typical galant idiom, rather less agonizing, say, than Pergo- WRITE FOR lesi's setting of the text, but no less tuneful for that. A good bit of the score, in fact, sounds operatic, but there are moments, such as the QUOTATION last two trios, when the music is most affecting- ly poignant. This performance, which is shorn HEATHERHARPER FACTORY SEALED CARTONS of the instrumental introductory movement, is Sings gloriously in Les Illuminations FRANCHISED DISTRIBUTOR quite competent, if not altogether ideal. The strings are not always precise in ensemble or first song), and he is less meticulous than Pears QUICK SHIPMENT intonation, nor are the singers, of whom the about note values (the bloodcurdling triplet at first soprano is the best, very distinguished. "to the bare bane" in the Dirge is thrown Yet the recording is of great interest because away, and "Thou that mak'st" in the Ben Jon - of its importance in Boccherini's output and is son Hymn loses its dotted rhythm). More im- certainly worth hearing. The sound quality is portant, he lacks Pears' capacity to evoke the WE GIVE intimate. No texts. I.K. music's feeling in all its intensity, particularly in the baleful menace of the Blake Elegy and, RECORDING OF SPECIAL MERIT again, the Dirge. In the latter case, the tempo he and Marriner have adopted is partly respon- DISCOUNTS BRITTEN:Serenade, Op. 3l, for Tenor, sible: it is closer to quarter-note=72 than to Horn, and Strings; Les Illuminations, Op. the indicated 60, which Pears and Britten ob- ON HI-FI 18, for Soprano and String Orchestra. Rob- serve scrupulously, and which suits the emo- ert Tear (tenor); Alan Civil (horn); Heather tional temperature of the movement much bet- COMPONENTS Harper (sorprano); Northern Sinfonia, Neville ter. And though Civil is a fine horn -player, he Marriner cond.ANGEL S 36788 $5.98. ends the Elegy with a bump instead of drawing Performance: Les Illuminations mar- out the diminuendo as Tuckwell does. velous My own preference, then, would go-if only Recording:Superb marginally-to Angel as far as Les Illumina- tions is concerned. (Britten, by the way, speci- SOUND This is one of those occasions when the consci- fied either soprano or tenor for this work, and entious record critic just has to infuriate the both voices have advantages, so that is not an REPRODUCTION, prospective record buyer. The latter, faced issue.) But if you want both works at their very with a choice between this release and the best, you will have to have both records. B.J. Pears -Britten performances of the same two INC. pieces recently brought together on one Lon- CAMPRA: 460 CENTRAL AVENUE Le Ballet des Ages; Le Bal Inter- don disc, naturally wants a straight recommen- rompu: Four Dances.LULLY:L'Air des East Orange, New Jersey 07018 dation, but no such simple decision is possible. (201) 673-0600 trompettes, timballes et hautbois fait par What can be said is that, if Les Illuminations is Monsieur Lulli pour le Caroussel de Mon- CIRCLE NO. 64 ON READER SERVICE CARD your main concern, or if you already possess (Continued on page 92) 90 STEREO REVIEW