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Site review by Castor October 9, 2006
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Performance: Sonics (MC): |
Respighi’s ballet La Pentola Magica (The Magic Pot – mis-translated on the first page of the booklet as Plot!) and dating from 1920 is the only purely orchestral item here, but anyone expecting another Boutique Fantasque will be sadly disappointed.
The piece consists of twelve short movements that are arrangements by Respighi of works by minor Russian composers, including Rubinstein, Grechaninov and Arensky, as well as folktunes and is in some respects a tribute to Rimsky-Korsakov his teacher at the time. As one might expect, it is quite melodic and beautifully orchestrated, but regrettably can appear fairly unmemorable. It certainly needs a stronger advocacy than it receives here from Marzio Conti and the Orchestra Sinfonica del Teatro Massimo di Palermo who give a performance that sounds dutiful rather than enthusiastic (the RBCD on Chandos by Gianandrea Noseda and the BBC Philharmonic is in a different league altogether).
The ballet is framed by two of Respighi’s settings of poems by Shelley for mezzo-soprano and orchestra (Il Tramonto being the third).
Respighi’s setting of La Sensitiva (The Sensitive Plant) is quite ravishing and its melodic invention makes up for what was lacking in La Pentola Magica. In this piece Respighi’s inspiration never falters but it presents quite a challenge for the soloist who has to sustain an almost unbroken line of beautiful tone throughout its 31 minutes and at the same time bring the imagery of the poem to life. Damiana Pinti, while not matching Janet Baker’s incomparable performance on CD, achieves this with some success and both Conti and the orchestra too revel in the exquisite orchestral colours.
Aretusa tells the story of Arethusa, a water nymph, who ran from a suitor, Alpheus, a river god, and made her way to the isle of Ortygia in Syracuse, in Sicily. She called on Artemis, who helped her by changing her into a fountain. Undaunted, Alpheus diverted his river underground, mingling his waters with hers. It is most fitting that it is performed here by a Sicilian orchestra.
In this shorter (12m) piece, Respighi sets the words of the poem to imaginative and dramatic music, this time suggesting water and the swell of the ocean. Once again Damiana Pinti rises to the challenge, only occasionally pushing her youthful sounding voice a little too hard.
The recording, though clear and with a wide dynamic range, is far too close. This produces, at times, overbearing brass and is not kind to the strings, which can sound shrill. A pity.
Surround channels are limited to ambience, which certainly helps reduce the claustrophobic image.
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Copyright © 2006 Graham Williams and SA-CD.net
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Site review by mwagner1962 October 3, 2006
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Performance: Sonics (S): |
I bought this SACD as it features three pieces of Respighi that I was totally unfamiliar with. Most have heard Respighi's more famous pieces like Pines of Rome and Roman Festivals, so these selections were somewhat tantalizing.
All three are classified as tone poems, with the two outer selections being compositions for mezzo soprano and orchestra and the middle selection (the title of the album) is purely orchestral.
The first selection, La Sensitiva (The Sensitive Plant) really has not specific themes, other than what I perceive to be pure melancholy. This to me is a very nice piece and I cannot understand why it has languished in obscurity for so long.
La Pentola Magica was actually scored for a ballet at the request of Diaghilev. The plot (explained in the booklet) is mildly entertaining, dealing with a spoiled little girl, daughter of a Czar. The plot is not important, the music however, IS important. Of all three compositions, this one alone gives the best taste of Respighi.
Aretusa is the final selection, and is based on Greek myths recorded in the Metamorphoses of Ovid. Once again, the music is very nice and very typical of Respighi.
While the music is excellent (though not as thrilling as the later "Roman Trilogy", it is still nice to have these selections recorded!!!
I have come to really like the sound of CPO recordings. However, this recording is simply not quite up to the normal standards I have come to expect, especially compared to the Weignartner symphonies with Letonja. The sound is at times somewhat murky, especially on the loud orchestral tuttis. When the music get soft, I can get a nice sense of space, but that feeling of space quickly disappears when the brass enter....then the sounds gets really close. Sometimes the recording has a nice warm feel, then other times it is z tad cool. Oh well, this does not wreck the recording...it just lowers the ratings a bit
Not the best sounding CPO, but still a worthy addition to the library of those who love Respighi!!
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Copyright © 2006 Mark Wagner and SA-CD.net
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