Two Words, One Answer.
Leo Skinner
 Jancek: Idyll; Mld; Suite for String Orchestra $6.98 This disc is nice, especially for the price, as the performances are totally passable in both performance and recording quality. However, there is a distinct lack of any feeling for the bohemian nature of Janacek's music as would be found by Mackerras, Ancerl, and others. It is possible for orchestras outside of eastern europe to grasp the fundamental excitement and color (even at cost of exacting performance, at times)- Mackerras has done it over and over in this repertiore, and the Kertesz / LSO cycle of Dvorak symphonies remains unsurpassed in that respect. Here, the LFO is reading and playing the music admirably, but perhaps not with the degree of insight or understanding that would make this a stellar disc. In short, this disc is mainly good for its low price and repertoire not found many other places, and for that reason is recommended mainly to Janacek completists.  ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BUFFALO HUNTERS AND SKINNERS VOLUME 2 E-K Only 4 pages shorter than volume 1, this book continues the series of (eventually) 5 books on the history of Buffalo hunting. The biggest diference in the two books is that this one refers back to volume 1 occasionally, and- I think- some of the entries are much longer. My only real complaint is that the editing of this edition could have been better, several times you're directed to see a person on page _ to _ only to find the count is a little off, that and two or three entries making reference to a group photo as if it is on that page ( the photo has it's own page, nowhere near them ). Good reference book, worth having. I wish Amazon stocked the series.  Bernstein & Copland from King's $10.98 If you are looking for something well off the beaten track of choral music from England's finest, this disc is the best you could hope for. Bernstein's "Chichester Psalms" are as close to "West Side Story" as sacred music gets, and is performed with appropriate sensitivity and energy. As for the other works: Schuman's "Carols of Death" certainly live up to their morbid title, although the third stands out as more digestible than the others; Ives gruelling "Psalm 90" and Larsen's "How it thrills us" are similarly well sung and capture as a whole the rich diversity of American choral music. The only real failure on this disc is the Copland setting "In the Beginning"- did Stephen Cleobury really have to employ a mezzo-soprano with such heavy vibrato? It sounds absolutely out of tune whenever she is singing- that kind of voice belongs in the opera house and nowhere else, in my blunt opinion. Nevertheless, a worthwhile hour of material. |
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