A vital element for an enduring Daphnis, for me, is not the capacity of the climaxes to overwhelm with decibels (I must be getting old) or pianissimos that take the breath away, but the imagination which the various instrumental groups and solos show (the shaping of phrases, for example) in bringing the characters to life—in a way that suggests the mobility of a supremely expressive dancer. Tortelier and the recent Abbado (DG) and Haitink (Philips) all have plenty of the first two. But set all three beside Dutoit (Decca) and especially Monteux (mid-price Decca), in, say, Lyceion's coquettish clarinet figurations, the broken, faltering phrases of Chloe's dance of supplication or the intimate games of the ''Pantomime'' and Abbado is often unidiomatic, Haitink stiff, and Tortelier just a little dull.
I'm unhappy about aspects of the Chandos engineering, too. Full marks for imagination in moving the chorus closer before the ''Danse guerriere'' bursts upon us (though the main microphones are brought in rather suddenly and later than my score indicates), but the idea of distance for the second passing shepherd (track 12, clarinet at 2'33'') in the famous daybreak sequence of Part Three doesn't work and, more importantly, the cavorting woodwind in the final ''Danse generale'' tend to be lost in the general noisy melee.
On the credit side, with the Ulster strings stronger on limpidity than opulence of tone, the curtain rises on a suitably fresh ''clear springtime afternoon'', and the Belfast choirs make a very bloodcurdling bunch of pirates in the ''Danse guerriere''. And how marvellous to hear the changes of tempo here properly observed (Haitink takes the whole dance at one speed).
A generous 14 access points are provided on the CD for this work but little attempt is made to relate them to the synopsis. The Debussy follows Daphnis, and, clocking in at 9'15'', it must be among the most frisky fawns on record. A noisy one, too, until you realize the recording level is higher than for Daphnis. Even after suitable adjustment, the opening is still loud and plain. It continues, in fact, as rather plain cotton next to Karajan's (mid-price DG) spun silk.'