Herrmann Symphony; The Fantasticks
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: Bernard Herrmann
Label: Souvenir Records
Magazine Review Date: 1/1994
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 65
Mastering:
ADD
Catalogue Number: UKCD2063
Tracks:
| Composition | Artist Credit |
|---|---|
| Symphony No. 1 |
Bernard Herrmann, Composer
Bernard Herrmann, Composer Bernard Herrmann, Conductor National Philharmonic Orchestra |
| (The) Fantasticks |
Bernard Herrmann, Composer
Bernard Herrmann, Composer Bernard Herrmann, Conductor Gillian Humphreys, Soprano John Amis, Tenor Meriel Dickinson, Mezzo soprano Michael Rippon, Bass National Philharmonic Orchestra Thames Chamber Choir |
Author: Andrew Achenbach
Unicorn-Kanchana's Herrmann reissue programme continues with a welcome new lease of life for the composer's 1974 recording of his enjoyable Symphony (1941)—a work I praised highly in my ''Gramophone Collection'' last May. Differences between this account and James Sedares's excellent Phoenix SO version on Koch International are relatively few: Herrmann and the National PO bring a greater epic feel to bear, whereas under Sedares the effect is rather less cinematographic but just as taut (and the orchestral playing has none of the hint of scramble that sometimes mars the earlier recording).
As a coupling Sedares offers a reliable, if not really distinctive rendering of William Schuman's New England Triptych; Herrmann gives us more Herrmann: the song-cycle, The Fantasticks. Based on texts by the Elizabethan poet Nicolas Breton, these are five most evocative, consistently imaginative settings, given here with disarming commitment if not always complete technical assurance. Decently remastered sound on the whole, though in the Symphony Bob Auger's characteristically meaty timpani balance occasionally exposes some slight wear and tear on the mastertape.'
As a coupling Sedares offers a reliable, if not really distinctive rendering of William Schuman's New England Triptych; Herrmann gives us more Herrmann: the song-cycle, The Fantasticks. Based on texts by the Elizabethan poet Nicolas Breton, these are five most evocative, consistently imaginative settings, given here with disarming commitment if not always complete technical assurance. Decently remastered sound on the whole, though in the Symphony Bob Auger's characteristically meaty timpani balance occasionally exposes some slight wear and tear on the mastertape.'
Herrmann Symphony; The Fantasticks
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