Notes and Editorial Reviews
Robert Craft's authority as a Stravinsky conductor is unquestionable, and it's good to see his Koch recordings reappearing with important individual items from his earlier Musicmasters series. All were very well engineered and are certainly worth hearing. Between the two series I don't know if he has done everything, but he's pretty close, and there are some duplications. For example, this recording of Symphony of Psalms comes from the Koch sessions. It is very beautifully played, though not quite ideally sung by a chorus that sounds a bit small for the work (as I noted on its original issue). Craft's previous recording was a bit quicker overall, particularly in the last movement, but this one is actually closer to the tempos in
Read more
Stravinsky's own stereo version.
And this, in a nutshell, is the point: when it comes to accuracy of execution instrumentally, Craft is unassailable. Vocally, it's more a question of taste and opportunity. For example, in the Cantata nobody beats tenor Jan Kobow's performance on Harmonia Mundi, a disc that also contains arguably the best-sung version of the Mass. Ancerl also offers superb interpretations of these two works, plus Symphony of Psalms, all on Supraphon. In the final analysis, it's nice to have such a wealth of choice, particularly in works once thought to be forbidding, such as the Cantata. The Three Russian Sacred Choruses are very minor pieces, as is Babel, Stravinsky's contribution to Nathaniel Shilkret's 1943 Genesis Suite (available on EMI). Craft is incorrect, by the way, in claiming in his notes that Babel was the suite's concluding section: it was The Covenant, by Ernest Toch. [11/3/2006]
--David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com Read less
Works on This Recording
1.
Pater noster by Igor Stravinsky
Conductor:
Robert Craft
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Gregg Smith Singers
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1926/1949; France
Date of Recording: 1992
Venue: SUNY, Purchase, New York
Length: 1 Minutes 23 Secs.
Language: Slavonic
2.
Blessed Virgin by Igor Stravinsky
Conductor:
Robert Craft
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Gregg Smith Singers
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1934; France
Date of Recording: 1992
Venue: SUNY, Purchase, New York
Length: 1 Minutes 4 Secs.
Language: Slavonic
3.
Credo by Igor Stravinsky
Conductor:
Robert Craft
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Gregg Smith Singers
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1949; USA
Date of Recording: 1992
Venue: SUNY, Purchase, New York
Length: 2 Minutes 17 Secs.
Language: Slavonic
Notes: Version: 1964
4.
Mass by Igor Stravinsky
Performer:
Katherine Ciesinski (Mezzo Soprano),
David Evitts (Baritone),
Jon Humphrey (Tenor)
Conductor:
Robert Craft
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Orchestra of St. Luke's,
Gregg Smith Singers
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1944-1948; USA
Date of Recording: 1995
Venue: SUNY, Purchase, New York
Length: 17 Minutes 9 Secs.
Language: Latin
5.
Cantata by Igor Stravinsky
Performer:
Thomas Bogdan (Tenor),
Fred Sherry (Cello),
Stephen Taylor (Oboe),
Mary Ann Hart (Mezzo Soprano),
Michael Parloff (Flute),
Stephen Taylor (English Horn),
Melanie Feld (Oboe),
Melanie Feld (English Horn),
Bart Feller (Flute)
Conductor:
Robert Craft
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Gregg Smith Singers
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1951-1952; USA
Date of Recording: 1995
Venue: SUNY, Purchase, New York
Length: 23 Minutes 46 Secs.
Language: English
6.
Genesis Suite: no 7, Babel by Igor Stravinsky
Performer:
David Wilson-Johnson (Spoken Vocals)
Conductor:
Robert Craft
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Orchestra of St. Luke's,
20th Century Classics Ensemble,
Philharmonia London
...
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1944; USA
Date of Recording: 03/27/2002
Venue: EMI Abbey Road Studio No. 1, London
Length: 4 Minutes 57 Secs.
Language: English
7.
Symphony of Psalms by Igor Stravinsky
Conductor:
Robert Craft
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Philharmonia Orchestra,
Simon Joly Chorus
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1930/1948; France
Venue: EMI Abbey Road Studio no 1, London, UK
Length: 22 Minutes 25 Secs.
Language: Latin
Notes: EMI Abbey Road Studio no 1, London, UK (01/05/2001 - 01/06/2001)
Sound Samples
Pater noster (Otche nash', Our Father): Otche nash (Pater noster)
Credo, "Simvol veri" (Symbol of faith): Credo
Cantata: A Lyke-Wake Dirge (Versus I; Prelude)
Cantata: Ricercar I: The Maidens Came
Cantata: A Lyke-Wake Dirge (Versus II; 1st Interlude)
Cantata: Ricercar II: Tomorrow Shall Be
Cantata: A Lyke-Wake Dirge (Versus III; 2nd Interlude)
Cantata: A Lyke-Wake Dirge (Versus IV; Postlude)
Symphony of Psalms: I. Psalm 38, verses 13 and 14
Symphony of Psalms: II. Psalm 39, verses 1 to 5
Symphony of Psalms: III. Psalm 150 (entire)
Customer Reviews
Be the first to review this title
Review This Title
