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STRAUSS "Rosenkavalier Waltzes; Burleske; Capriccio Sextet" Thibaudet, Blomstedt, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra (Decca B0004645-02) Grade: C
This looks like a promising potpourri of some of Richard Strauss' most irresistible music. And, sure enough, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Herbert Blomstedt and the Leipzig orchestra turn in a "Burleske" that perfectly balances glitter and Bavarian heartiness.
But the aching sexiness of the Sextet from "Capriccio" is sterilized into something that wouldn't arouse a libidinous teenager. In the opera, it's the composer Flamand's love-offering to the Countess, but here it comes off as rationalist essay. And the rather literalist readings of the two waltz sequences from "Der Rosekavalier" suggest that neither Blomstedt nor his Leipzigers have ever actually danced a waltz.
Although the performances were recorded as far apart as 1996 and 2004, sonics are consistently full and spacious, if a bit boomy in the "Burleske." But for a medium that handles 75-plus minutes of music, a mere 51 minutes is short change.
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VARIOUS COMPOSERS "Franck: Symphony in D minor; Lalo: Symphony in G minor; Faure: Pavane" Beecham, Orchestre National de la Radiodiffusion Francaise (EMI Classics 5692492) Grades: A/C
Present-day conductors who seem to equate "rhythm" with a metronome's mechanical beat could learn much from Sir Thomas Beecham's gorgeous 1959 recording of the Cesar Franck Symphony.
The British conductor was then 80 and at the end of his long career, but there's no hint of waning powers. In every phrase one senses, physically, the pull of melody, the stretches and strains of harmony; and there's always room for breath. You'll not find a more eloquent demonstration of rubato anywhere.
The French orchestra isn't the highest-tech outfit. But music-making of this depth and emotional connection is rare in any age, making this a most welcome addition to EMI's "Great Artists of the Century" reissues.
Alas, not even Sir Thomas' artistry can make a silk purse of Eduardo Lalo's sow's ear of a symphony, and the lovely Faure Pavane feels a bit hurried.
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TALLIS "Spem in alium; Mass Salve intemerata; motets" Summerly, Oxford Camerata (Naxos 8.557779) Grade: A
This is sacred music as distant as imaginable from today's blow-dried televangelists and their megachurches and "praise" bands. But Thomas Tallis' arching vocal lines, intricate counterpoints and rich washes of choral sound were products of a turbulent, if culturally rich, period of English religious history.
Living from ca. 1505 to 1585, he spanned the monarchies of Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary and Elizabeth I. An ecumenist three centuries before the word even existed, he composed for both the Roman Catholic and Anglican churches.
His astonishing motet "Spem in alium," whose 40 independent voice parts require a score almost as big as a newspaper, is one of the greatest pieces of sacred music. The protracted motet "Salve intemerata," and the mass based on it, are less spectacular, but also sublime examples of renaissance polyphony.
Jeremy Summerly's superb chamber choir sings eloquently, in aptly resounding acoustics.
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(c) 2005, The Dallas Morning News. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service.
