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Site review by Castor May 24, 2007
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Performance: Sonics (MC): |
The sound quality on this 5(4?).0 channel SACD is absolutely stunning. I doubt that Respighi’s exotic orchestral palette and massive dynamics have ever been captured on disc as vividly and unflinchingly as here.
The lively overture to the opera Belfagor is a kind of demonic scherzo with a more lyrical central section. It teems with inventive ideas and is brilliantly played making a perfect introduction to the rest of the programme.
The four-movement suite from Belkis, Queen of Sheba, is performed in the order found on the very fine HDCD Reference Recording by Eiji Oue and the Minnesota Orchestra (RBCD only). Geoffrey Simon and the Philharmonia Orchestra on his Chandos recording reversed the order of the two central movements producing a slow – fast – slow – fast sequence that perhaps provides better contrast. Ashkenazy, however, retains the published sequence of the suite and gives a more taut and exciting performance than Oue, while the fine players of the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra revel in their virtuosic solos. It makes one wonder what the full 80-minute ballet, successfully staged in 1932 at La Scala Milan, would sound like. It required an enormous orchestra including sitars, wind machines, a phalanx of off-stage brass, a chorus, several vocal soloists and a narrator!
Church Windows (Vetrate di Chiesa), with its use of Gregorian melodies, has been recorded a number of times in the past, notably on LP by Antal Dorati and the Minneapolis SO in a Mercury (mono) recording that sorely tested a pick-up’s tracking ability with the tam-tam crash at the end of the third movement! Here the DSD recording reproduces it cleanly with overwhelming impact and the sound is allowed to die away to silence for a full 20 seconds. Magnificent!
In the other three movements Ashkenazy and the orchestra relish Respighi’s ‘Technicolor’ orchestrations to the full. The swirling wind figurations and beautifully balanced solos by oboe, clarinet and horn in ‘The Flight into Egypt’, the hushed strings and distant chimes in ‘The Matins of St Clare’ and the almost overwhelming brass and organ climax to ‘St. Gregory the Great’ bear witness to the success achieved by the Exton sound engineers.
Rear channels in the MC mix are used purely to re-create the ambience of the Radio Philharmonic studio in Hilversum.
This disc further increases the number of Respighi’s works available on SACD and fully deserves top ratings for both performance and sound as well imaginative programming.
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Copyright © 2007 Graham Williams and SA-CD.net
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Review by Oakland August 10, 2007 (6 of 6 found this review helpful)
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Performance: Sonics (S/MC): / |
Because this disc serves as my introduction to each of these compositions I must talk in very general terms about the performances. For the uninitiated (yours truly) to these compositions, I found the performances to be extraordinarily compelling and with more to discover with each listen. My appreciation is undoubtedly handicapped by the fact that I don’t read Japanese and thus could not rely on the liner notes to provide some degree of insight. This can be (is for me) a real drawback with almost all Exton releases that I have. Nonetheless, immense enjoyment is readily accessible from all three compositions (“Belfagor” Overture, Orchestral Suite “Belkis, Queen of Sheba” and the main draw for many, Four Symphonic Impressions “Church Windows”.
One thing that is clear to me is that the DNA of the Roman Trilogy is all over these compositions (or the other way around?). If you like a well done trilogy you will most certainly like these compositions. But threadbare “sequels” these are not. And while I find all three of them to be artistically unique and essential compositions on the merits, “Church Windows” is forcibly striking and not just for its cataclysmic (or perhaps, triumphant) finale but for its inventiveness throughout. Respighi’s juxtaposition of silence to climax masterfully emphasizes contrasts, most notably in “Church Windows” at the conclusion of the 2nd and 3rd movements(perhaps helped along a bit by wide spacing of the tracks between movements).
It is also clear that only an orchestra of a very high level of musicianship need apply to take on these works. These are not easy works for the conductor or the orchestra. In fact, I would say they are rather difficult requiring notable virtuosity, discipline, and stamina. All sections of the orchestra are spot lit at some point during these performances and weaknesses would be shamelessly exposed. For sure, Ashkenazy and the Radio Filharmonisch Orkest Holland are an emphatic success.
And the recording(s) are exceptionally well done. The vivid contrasts noted above and dynamic range are extraordinary if not startling in places. The frequency bandwidth is extremely wide from top to bottom. The bass is extremely “taut”. That is, the bass was *very* tight as if purposely damped, if not slightly overdamped. And while very deep it seems that perhaps a quarter of an octave or so is sacrificed in favor of tightness. I like it, even if it took a bit of getting use to. The multi-channel, especially, sense of space and scale are among the best I have encountered. This is accomplished even though the center channel is underutilized.
I highly recommend this disc for both sound and performance (again with the caveat that these are the only performances with which I am familiar).
Robert C. Lang
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Review by DSD June 16, 2009 (5 of 9 found this review helpful)
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Performance: Sonics (S): |
Another superbly recorded DSD Exton SACD. I have a preference for recordings made in halls however this one was made in the Studio of the Holland Radio Philharmonic Orchestra and it is one of the most realistic recordings I’ve ever heard.
The SACD starts off with a Respighi work I’ve not heard before: The "Belfagor" Overture and a very exciting piece it is. Next up is one of my favorite Respighi pieces "Belkis, Queen of Sheba" and the 3rd movement "War Dance" offers maximum orgasmic goose bumps! Belkis is a thrill ride from beginning to end.
The Holy Grail of orchestral music, the mighty "Church Windows" has never had a better performance or better sound, surpassing even the highly regarded Keith Clark version on Reference Recordings 45-RPM LP. Wait until you hear the gong at the end of "St. Michael Archangel", it is huge and the decay is very long.
The energy level of this SACD is thunderous and it defines the term "power music". The bass is deep, full and warm. The organ is huge and powerful. The big bass drum packs a wallop you can feel in the pit of your stomach, a rare sensation outside of the concert hall. The midrange is melodically beautiful and the highs are airy with a wonderful touch of delicacy. This is Respighi on adrenaline, and this will now be the first SACD I pull out when someone asks me, what’s so special about SACD?
* Review is of the 2 channel stereo high resolution DSD layer.
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