Any Beecham
recording remastered in EMI’s “Great Recordings of the Century” series should
be self-recommending. This disc is no exception, notwithstanding a few items
among the collection being in mono. Beecham was fond of calling short pieces of
light music “lollipops,” and this program brims over with them.
Things begin with a
suite from Bizet’s Carmen, culled
from the orchestral pieces in Beecham’s celebrated 1958 opera recording. The
suite bursts with life, zest, vitality, and charm. I don’t believe anybody has
ever done the music better, and it sounds as clear and lively in its
full-ranging stereo sound as anything done today.
Following that, we find
Chabrier’s Gwendoline overture, one
of several performances taken from French radio broadcasts and done up in
decent but not spectacular monaural.
Next is an
unexpected treat, an orchestral arrangement of Faure’s Dolly, highlighting excellent 1959 stereo sonics and featuring some
totally enchanting and enlivening music; you’ll find a few little gems in here.
Then there is Saint-Saens’ Le Ruet d’Omphale;
Chabrier’s Joyeuse Marche and Espana, the latter one of Beecham’s
biggest-selling earlier records, in mono from 1939; and finally Bizet’s
overture from Patrie and “Carnaval”
from Roma, both also in mono.
Beecham was a master
of this kind of thing. He never failed to delight his listeners when he was
alive, and he never fails to do so nowadays, thanks to the marvels of modern
technology. Delicious ear candy.
JJP
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