JOHNSON Serenade No. 4, “La graciele”;1 Oboe Concerto.2 Symphony No. 1, “The Romantic.”3 JOHNSON/GREY Mofro’n’mo: Overture4 • Kirk Trevor, cond;1,2,4 Roger Briggs, cond;3 Richard Stoltzman (cl);1 Ed Staubach (cl);1 Malcolm Smith (ob);2 Warsaw National PO;1 Slovak RSO;2,4 Prague SO3 • MMC 2145 (58:48)

The title of this disc is “Xtreme Classical,” a label adopted by A. Paul Johnson for his work from the 1970s on to represent “the ultimate fusion of pop-jazz-folk-latin-blues-minimalist-theater music from the Americas with the classical traditions of European concert music.” I quote from the anonymous booklet notes. (I hope they didn’t leave anything out!) You may recoil in haste as I do from phrases like ultimate fusion and slogan words like xtreme but be not afeared: Johnson’s music is nowhere near as formidable as those terms imply. I would place it in the category of American light music, a respectable home considering the company: Leroy Anderson, Morton Gould, John Williams, and many other solid professional names.

This CD presents music that will appeal to People Who Hate Classical Music—that elusive crew who are forever being targeted by orchestral programmers—because it wears its popular influences on its colorful sleeve. That’s not to say the so-called European side of Johnson’s ultimate fusion is not strong: it is. In matters of orchestration and form, he is thoroughly sophisticated. It is only in his tuneful melodic material that he sometimes sells us, and himself, short by constructing themes that fall too readily into neat, repetitive four measure phrases. When he varies this template slightly, as in the final movement of the Oboe Concerto, where the repetitive phrases are in a 4 + 3 beat pattern, the music springs to life. (This jolly movement could have come from any number of British light music concertos.)

The Symphony is the most serious-minded work here, but not unrecognizably so. Its mood is Really Nice First Date Romantic, not Liebestod-Romantic. The piece opens in one of Copland’s prairies, but soon breaks into a pleasant canter, heading towards a rousing four-measure tune played by the horns. Its second movement, Valse triste, is a plaintive waltz in the minor key, rising to an emotional climax. Like much of Johnson’s music on this disc, the Symphony resembles the symphonic film scores of the 1950s.

The Concerto and Serenade are both brief and ingratiating. It did occur to me to wonder why you would require a second soloist if you had Richard Stoltzman on board, but when the two instruments warble away in thirds, the work easily earns its graceful subtitle.

J. J. Grey, to quote the notes again, “embraces the title of ‘redneck’” and writes “swamp funk songs,” which he performs with his band (MOFRO). His band “focuses on themes of environmental preservation.” (Hmm. Some redneck!) The Jacksonville SO commissioned Johnson to produce a two-hour work with Grey, using the latter’s folk-style melodies (Concerto for MOFRO and Orchestra) and we hear the Overture at the beginning of this CD. It’s a warm-hearted, cheerful piece. Grey’s tunes tend to hover around I/IV/V chords, but Johnson has gone out of his way to dress them up in dazzling orchestral garb. I presume the band and J. J. join the orchestra for the rest of the concerto, something I would be interested to hear. Towards the end of the overture, jazz licks are played by trombone and trumpet soloists (and very effectively, too). I would have thought the world they evoke is some way removed from swamp funk, but maybe I’m asking unnecessary questions of music which is simply meant to be fun.

The Overture gets the best and brightest performance. Kirk Trevor is a real find for MMC, as colleague Peter Rabinowitz pointed out a couple of issues back. The Prague SO is the weakest of the three orchestras, with watery French horns and thin sounding violins, but there’s not a whole lot in it. All three are well recorded, but I’d say the slicker Slovak RSO has the most sympathetic hall. I’d prefer oboist Malcolm Smith to be set further back in the sound picture. These minor provisos in no way inhibit enjoyment of the CD. Xtreme it ain’t, but it’s darned x-cessible.

FANFARE: Phillip Scott