Tetragon is tenor saxophone virtuoso Joe Henderson's second album on the Milestone label, where he continued to develop his sound in the post-bop realm before venturing further into the spiritual jazz realm later in his career, joined by a world-class ensemble featuring Ron Carter, Jack DeJohnette, Kenny Barron, Louis Hayes, and Don Friedman. This Jazz Dispensary Top Shelf reissue of Tetragon was cut from the original analog tapes (AAA) by Kevin Gray, pressed on 180-gram vinyl at Fidelity Record Pressing, and comes packaged in a gatefold tip-on jacket.

Consonance: Live at the Jazz Showcase is the first ever release of saxophone titan Joe Henderson and his quartet featuring pianist Joanne Brackeen, bassist Steve Rodby and drummer Danny Spencer captured live at Joe Segal's Jazz Showcase in Chicago, IL in February of 1978. The 2-CD set was mastered from the original tapes by George Klabin and John Koenig.

CLASSIC 1960S ALBUMS

* The "must-have" 1959 stereo recording of the studio cast.
* Features unseen photos & in-depth liner notes.
* Bonus tracks (listed below)

"For all the extraordinary textures that are in it, it plays more like a musical comedy than any of the other successful Rodgers and Hammerstein shows." - Ted Chapin, The Rodgers and Hammerstein Organization

When Oscar Hammerstein visited his friend Joseph Fields during the filming of South Pacific for 20th Century-Fox, Fields mentioned he was in the process of acquiring the rights to The Flower Drum Song, a novel by C. Y. Lee. Set in San Francisco’s Chinatown, it told the story of a young Chinese-American man torn between his own leanings and his desire to comply with his father’s rigorous, traditional teachings. Intrigued, Hammerstein read the book and immediately saw in it the gem for a new musical. Richard Rodgers also warmed to the idea and the two soon joined Fields as co-librettist and began work on it. The music Rodgers wrote reflected some of the traditions of old China, mixed with the brasher aspects of American culture; his approach found an echo in Hammerstein’s lyrics, which were modeled after Asian poetry on the one hand and contemporary American lingo on the other. As a result, Flower Drum Song emerged as perhaps the team's best-integrated work.

Flower Drum Song
Music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, directed by Gene Kelly, orchestration by Robert Russell Bennett.

The noted cast includes:

Miyoshi Umeki as Mei Li the Mail-Order Bride
Pat Suzuki, already famous for her popular song releases, as Linda Low, a nightclub singer
Arabella Hong as Helen Chao, a seamstress and best friend of Linda Low
Jack Soo, who later appeared in the ABC sitcom Barney Miller, portrayed Frankie Wing, Nightclub Emcee
Ed Kennedy as Wang Ta, the young man torn between love and tradition.
Juanita Hall, who earlier sang the role of Bloody Mary in the film South Pacific, portrayed Madam Liang
Larry Storch, who later appeared on TV’s F Troop, portrayed Sammy Fong
Keye Luke, a veteran Hollywood film actor famous as Charlie Chan's rambunctious "Number One Son" portrayed conservative Mr. Wang, the family patriarch.

This entire 1959 production was directed by Gene Kelly with choreography by Carol Haney.

Bonus tracks (listed below) feature arrangements of songs from Flower Drum Song sung by Florence Henderson, Pat Suzuki and Sandra Church recorded just after the premiere in 1958 and 1959.

I Gotta Right to Sing the Blues

The sensation of this recording is the extremely clear, direct, warm and spacious sound. Thanks to the transistor-free tube technology which documents a musical delicacy we can rediscover this much-worn piece. Violinist Gaede and his Polish colleagues play not only with utmost precision and finely discerning dynamics, but also with bite and expression. (Audio) 4009850016342 TCET163SACD 19547770 .00 26.99 .22 TACET RECORDS SUPER-AUDIO CD CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 04/20/2008 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/c/500/7/4/3/7/1997347.jpg 1 1 N THURSTON / BERLIN / RODGERS / US AIR FORCE BAND HOME OF THE BRAVE Home of the Brave was recorded in honor of the deployed Airmen of the United States Air Force as a token of appreciation from a grateful nation. Several of the ensembles of the United States Air Force Band participated on this album, making it a well-rounded salute to the brave. The Ceremonial Brass, Max Impact, Singing Sergeants and Symphony Orchestra all collaborated on several of the pieces on this inspiring collection. Every song seeks to pay tribute to American heroes, evoking a feeling of patriotism and respect in each listener. The spirit and courage of those who inspired this album are what truly makes America the Home of the Brave. 754422703925 ALTS392.2 16472617 .00 18.99 .21 ALTISSIMO RECORDS COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 04/24/2012 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/2/6/8/3/1973862.jpg 7 1 N WAGNER / SLOVAK PHILHARMONIC ORCH / HALASZ MUSICAL JOURNEY: GERMANY & ITALY The Places � Ludwig II of Bavaria followed family precedent in undertaking an extravagant building program during his relatively short reign from 1864 to 1886. The castles constructed on his orders included the romantic Neuschwanstein and the magnificent Schloss Linderhof, with it's elaborate formal gardens, grottoes and fountains. The tour ends with a brief glimpse of the mountainous Southern Tyrol in winter snow. The Music � Richard Wagner's innovative and immensely influential musicdramas were largely based on older German legend, notably on the Nibelungenlied, the basis of his tetralogy the Ring. Ludwig II was fascinated by Wagner and by his operas, on subjects that had long been dear to him. These include the opera Lohengrin, which Ludwig first saw in 1861, the beginning of his preoccupation with Wagner, and the earlier opera Tannh�user. The music chosen also includes an overture by Heinrich Marschner to an opera based on the old Bohemian legend of Hans Heiling, son of an Earth Spirit. 747313528851 NXS2110288DVD 16473089 .00 13.99 .18 NAXOS DIGITAL VIDEO DISC CLASSICAL ORCHESTRAL & SYMPHONIC 04/24/2012 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/c/500/8/7/8/3/1973878.jpg 3 1 N BACH / VOGEL EARLY ORGAN WORKS 760623174365 MDGE9141743SACD 16601451 .00 24.99 .23 MDG SUPER-AUDIO CD CLASSICAL EARLY MUSIC / CHANT 05/22/2012 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/1/8/8/4/1974881.jpg 7 1 N RACHMANNOV / RUBINOVA SONATA NO. 2 & MOMENT MUSICAUX OP. 16 4260085532490 CAVM8553249.2 16568907 .00 19.99 .16 CAVI-MUSIC COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 05/08/2012 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/c/500/8/8/6/8/1978688.jpg 10 1 N PAPA BUE PAPA BUE & HIS AMERICAN FRIENDS 717101427321 SYE1014273.2 16491311 .00 17.99 .14 STORYVILLE RECORDS COMPACT DISCS POP JAZZ 05/08/2012 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/3/3/8/8/1978833.jpg 3 1 N DVORAK / CZECH PHILHARMONIC ORCH / NEUMANN SYMPHONIC WORKS 099925409029 SPP4090.2 16550476 .00 75.99 .53 SUPRAPHON COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL ORCHESTRAL & SYMPHONIC 04/24/2012 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/b/500/4/3/7/7/1977734.jpg 23 8 Y BRUCKNER / SINFONIEORCHESTER AQACHEN / BOSCH SYMPHONY NO. 1 4039956311157 COVC31115SACD 16322448 .00 21.99 .18 COVIELLO CLASSICS SUPER-AUDIO CD CLASSICAL ORCHESTRAL & SYMPHONIC 01/31/2012 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/2/8/7/7/1977782.jpg 7 1 N ZACARA DA TERAMO / CURRENTES / MULDERS / ALMENNING SPINATO INTORNO AL COR 7090020180274 LAWO1026.2 16569294 .00 18.99 .24 LAWO CLASSICS COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL ORCHESTRAL & SYMPHONIC 05/08/2012 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/c/500/8/2/7/8/1978728.jpg 2 1 N BRAHMS / LANDAAS / HORTON SONATAS FOR VIOLA & PIANO 7090020180281 LAWO1027.2 16569300 .00 18.99 .22 LAWO CLASSICS COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 05/08/2012 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/c/500/9/2/7/8/1978729.jpg 8 1 N VAN DER VELDEN / WILSON / D'ANGLEBERT / MARAIS HOMMAGES 4250128511056 RMEE1105.2 16569492 .00 20.99 .21 RAMEE COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 05/08/2012 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/b/500/5/4/7/8/1978745.jpg 3 1 N WIDOR / SOAMES SAMEK,VICTORIA SOLO DE CONCOURS 2: MUSIC FROM THE PREMIER PRIX 5023581005023 CLSL10050.2 20968694 .00 13.99 .24 CLASSICS LABELS COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 03/01/2005 https://mediacdn.aent-m.com/prod-img/500/61/1749761-2569011.jpg 0 2 N WILLIAMS / GILCHRIST,JAMES SONGS OF THE COROMONDEL COAST / MALABAR 5023581500122 OBSR15001.2 21111099 .00 13.99 .21 OMNIBUS CLASSICS COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CLASSICAL VOCALS 12/01/2008 https://mediacdn.aent-m.com/prod-img/500/41/1749841-2552282.jpg 3 1 N HISTORICAL RECORDINGS 1 / VARIOUS HISTORICAL RECORDINGS 1 / VARIOUS 5023581000523 CLSL10005.2 20936532 .00 13.99 .26 CLASSICS LABELS COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS V/A COMPILATIONS 01/01/2000 https://mediacdn.aent-m.com/prod-img/500/44/1749944-2568895.jpg 9 1 N DUPPE,JENS ANIMA 608917116328 DMOO71163.2 29204885 .00 13.99 .25 DOUBLE MOON COMPACT DISCS POP JAZZ 01/08/2016 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/c/500/7/0/1/9/3059107.jpg 13 1 N MATTHESON / BENECKE DIE WOHLKLINGENDE FINGERSPRACHE On her first CD for Oehms Classics, Andrea Benecke occupies herself with a composer who was justifiably called a universal genius during his own time: Johann Mattheson. Mattheson composed no few than six operas, 33 oratorios, orchestral works and chamber music. For this recording, Andrea Benecke consciously chose a modern concert grand piano, for this instrument brings out the singing quality of Mattheson's style. 4260330918376 OEHM1837.2 29246014 .00 19.99 .25 OEHMS COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 01/08/2016 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/b/500/4/5/1/7/3067154.jpg 11 1 N BACH,J.S. / BIRET SOLO EDITION 9 Idil Biret was born in Ankara. She started to play the piano at the age of three and later studied at the Paris Conservatoire under the guidance of Nadia Boulanger, graduating at the age of fifteen with three first prizes. She was pupil of Alfred Cortot and a lifelong disciple of Wilhelm Kempff. The Idil Biret Archive label is now issuing her old and new recordings which are being distributed worldwide by Naxos on CD and digitally. More than fifty CDs have been released so far. Her new recording of all the five piano concertos of Hindemith with the Yale Symphony Orchestra was released worldwide by Naxos in October 2013. 747313131075 IBRA8571310.2 29243099 .00 14.99 .25 IDIL BIRET ARCHIVE COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 01/08/2016 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/2/6/7/7/3067762.jpg 13 1 N SABANAYEV / POWELL PIANO MUSIC For most of the past century the Russian composer Leonid Sabanayev (1881-1968) was known principally as a writer, not least for his publications on his close friend Alexander Skryabin (he was also a scientist and mathematician). It is only now that his own music is being rediscovered. This first recording of his monumental Piano Sonata, 'In Memory of Skryabin', cast in a single movement half an hour in length, is prefaced by a number of characteristic miniatures. 5060113443083 TCCT308.2 29246366 .00 20.99 .25 TOCCATA COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 01/08/2016 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/c/500/9/0/3/7/3067309.jpg 31 1 N WEINBERG / SIBERIAN SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA / VASILYEV ORCHESTRAL MUSIC 2 In the twenty years since his death the star of the Polish-born Moscow-based Mieczyslaw Weinberg (1919-96) has risen rapidly: his music - a highly individual amalgam of the Jewish idioms of his youth and the style of his mentor and friend Dmitry Shostakovich - is now seen as one of the most distinctive contributions to twentieth-century music. This further installment in the Toccata Classics examination of his output couples a mature dance-based score - not performed before this recording - with his last symphony, orchestrated after his death by the composer Kirill Umansky. 5060113443137 TCCT313.2 29246380 .00 20.99 .25 TOCCATA COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL ORCHESTRAL & SYMPHONIC 01/08/2016 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/1/1/3/7/3067311.jpg 2 1 N WAGNER,R. / SALZBURG MARIONETTE THEATRE RING ADAPTED FOR CHILDREN Salzburg Marionette Theatre's condensed two-hour version of The Ring of the Nibelung was premiered in cooperation with the Salzburg State Theatre in March of 2012. Performing to the legendary recordings by Georg Solti and the Vienna Philharmonic, the unrivaled puppetry of the Salzburg Marionettes guides spectators through Wagner's epic masterpiece. This simplified version, which showcases the best known scenes, is perfect for Wagner beginners and younger audiences. 4280000101389 BDER10138DVD 29241507 .00 32.99 .33 BELVEDERE DIGITAL VIDEO DISC CLASSICAL ORCHESTRAL & SYMPHONIC 01/08/2016 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/b/500/6/7/5/6/3066576.jpg 1 1 N KLUCEVSEK / ANZELLOTTI ACCORDION TIME VOYAGE On this musical voyage, the point of departure is a series of short pieces written and played by Guy Klucevsek for Annie Proulx's novel Accordion Crimes. The adventure continues with Teodoro Anzellotti playing selections from Johann Sebastian Bach's Goldberg Variations, and beyond! 025091023028 WNTR230.2 29252275 .00 20.99 .25 WINTER & WINTER COMPACT DISCS POP JAZZ CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 02/05/2016 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/c/500/7/1/5/9/3069517.jpg 9 1 N PESKIN / SOMMERHALDER / WIECZOREK COMPLETE WORKS FOR TRUMPET 760623191867 MDGE9031918SACD 29239177 .00 24.99 .22 MDG SUPER-AUDIO CD CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 01/22/2016 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/b/500/4/0/7/4/3054704.jpg 2 1 N CAGE,J. / LIEBNER,SABINE AMIABLE CONVERSATION These piano works by Cowell and Cage cover the period from 1912-1948 and document not only the emergence of experimental American music, but also their teacher-student relationship. Before John Cage began his brief and informal studies with Arnold Schoenberg, he studied composition with Cowell. Amiable Conversation allows us to compare Cowell's piano pieces with Cage's to reveal common features that are as clear as the differences. 4010228732627 WER7326.2 29241712 .00 20.99 .24 WERGO GERMANY COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL ORCHESTRAL & SYMPHONIC 01/08/2016 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/1/4/5/6/3066541.jpg 18 1 N BERG / BENTLEY / HUANG JUGENLIEDER This comprises 46 songs by Berg, the majority written prior to his study with Arnold Schoenberg. This is music that clearly reflects the time of it's composition, between 1901 and 1908. These songs are far too seldom heard. 044747345925 CAV3459.2 29242535 .00 18.99 .25 CENTAUR COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 01/08/2016 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/a/500/2/9/2/7/3067292.jpg 9 1 N TCHAIKOVSKY / KRASTEVA / DELIYSKA NONE BUT THE LONELY HEART In the era of Romanticism, there is hardly any other Russian composer who is more associated with western European aesthetics than Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky, a composer known for his symphonic and instrumental works, ballets, and operas. Although several of his more than a hundred songs are quite famous, they are rarely performed in vocal recitals. Bulgarian musicians Nadia Krasteva, mezzo soprano, and Dora Deliyska, piano exemplify Tchaikovsky's creativity and personal life with selected songs featured on their new album None but the Lonely Heart. Not least due to their own Slavic descent, the artists succeed brilliantly in portraying such powerful emotions of melancholy, aspiration and sorrow, but also reconciliation and joy. 9003643990432 GRMA99043.2 29242993 .00 20.99 .25 GRAMOLA COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 01/08/2016 https://media.aent-m.com/graphics/items/sdimages/b/500/5/8/2/7/3067285.jpg 23 1 N DALEY / AMADEUS CHOIR / SCHOTZKO VOICES OF EARTH Voices of Earth is a celebration of four Canadian choral composers at their splendid best and of their importance in our choral life. This CD also celebrates the 28-year relationship between the Amadeus Choir and the Bach Children's Chorus with outstanding Canadian music for combined children's and adult choirs. Founded in 1975, the Amadeus Choir performs a regular series of concerts at carefully selected downtown Toronto venues, presenting well-known artists in works by Canadian and international composers, including major works with instrumental ensembles or full orchestra, as well as challenging a cappella performances. Voices of Earth is the Amadeus Choir's eighth CD release. In 2002, their CD, Spirit Song, received the biennial award for Outstanding Choral Recording" 2001-02 by the Association of Canadian Choral Conductors. The Amadeus and Bach Children's Chorus have been privileged to work closely with composers Eleanor Daley and Ruth Watson Henderson through many years and are thrilled that both Eleanor and Ruth play their own works on this CD, creating a wonderful legacy for the Amadeus Choir, the Bach Children's Chorus, and the many listeners who appreciate the works of these two amazing composers. It has been a great honor to commission, premiere and perform together on many occasions both Ruth Watson Henderson's Voices of Earth and Eleanor Daley's Salutation of the Dawn. Additionally on this CD, is the much-loved I Will Sing Unto the Lord of Imant Raminsh and Eleanor Daley's Prayer for Peace. The Amadeus Choir presents Of Heart and Tide, privately commissioned especially for the choir composed by Sid Robinovitch.

This Blu-ray Disc is only playable on Blu-ray Disc players and not compatible with standard DVD players.

Also available on standard DVD

Benjamin Britten
DEATH IN VENICE

Gustav von Aschenbach - John Graham Hall
Traveller / Elderly Fop / Gondolier / Barber / Hotel Manger / Player / Dionysus - Andrew Shore
Apollo - Tim Mead
Tadzio - Sam Zaldivar
The Polish Mother - Laura Caldow
Two Daughters - Mia Angelina Mather / Xhuliana Shehu
The Governess - Joyce Henderson
Jaschiu - Marcio Teixeira

English National Opera Chorus and Orchestra
Edward Gardner, conductor
Deborah Warner, stage director

Recorded live at the London Coliseum, June 2013

Picture format:1080i High Definition
Sound format: LPCM 2.0 / DTS 5.1
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Subtitles: English, French, German, Korean
Running time: 153 mins
No. of Discs: 1 (Blu-ray)

A priceless document.

“Vaughan Williams may not have been a great technical conductor, but he knew how his music should sound”. The words are those of RVW’s friend and biographer, the distinguished critic, Michael Kennedy. I suggest that anyone hearing this revelatory CD would be bound to agree with that verdict.

Because Vaughan Williams was not thought to be a great conductor he was rarely invited to record his own music. This is in stark contrast to, say, Elgar, Walton or Britten, all of whom recorded their own music extensively. Yet the evidence of that boiling, incandescent recording of his Fourth Symphony that RVW set down with the BBC Symphony Orchestra on 11 October 1937 shows that he was a vivid communicator of his own works (Dutton CDAX 8011). That’s long been a prized part of my own collection, as has the recording of Dona Nobis Pacem, in an earlier transfer, but I never thought we’d uncover a recording of him conducting what is perhaps his finest symphony.

This performance of the Fifth comes from the 1952 Henry Wood Promenade concerts at which all six of the symphonies that RVW had written to date were played in honour of his forthcoming eightieth birthday. It’s worth remembering that the symphony had been premièred at the Proms just nine years earlier, also under the composer’s baton. According to Alan Sanders’ very interesting note the broadcast was recorded off-air onto a long-playing acetate disc by an engineer named Eric Spain. The results are quite remarkable. To be sure, there is some surface noise but it is never intrusive and a remarkable amount of detail and perspective has been captured. There seems to have been no attempt made to edit out the audience noise between movements and this adds to the sense that we are eavesdropping on an event. However, no applause is retained at the end and while I usually like to hear some applause at the end of a live recording – a minority view, I suspect – on this occasion I don’t mind.

As to the performance, well it’s a very fine one. There are a few orchestral fluffs but nothing too serious. Vaughan Williams gives a reading that is direct and unfussy but one that also conveys admirably the wonderful poetry of this radiant symphony. The first movement proceeds serenely yet it has a quiet inner strength. When the music quickens (at 5:11) RVW obtains lightness from the strings but the melody in the wind and brass has a hint of darkness. When the climax of the movement arrives (8:10) it has an unforced majesty.

Much of the music of the second movement is characterised by what I’d term a rugged, rustic lightness. In places it suggests to me the ‘Rude Mechanicals’ of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. There are some occasional frailties in the playing but generally speaking the BBCSO responds well, giving a delightful account of the piece. At the very end the music dissolves up into the ether.

How moving it is to hear Vaughan Williams direct the glorious slow movement, containing as it does so much music from Pilgrim’s Progress, the visionary work that had occupied him for so many years. He achieves a real hushed intensity at the very start and there’s a lovely cor anglais solo. This ravishing movement shows Vaughan Williams’s lyrical gifts at their peak. Everything about this reading seems so right and he builds up to a glowing climax before allowing the music to die away in peaceful tranquillity.

The finale is a joyful movement and it comes across as such in its creator’s hands. There’s a real sense of hope in this music, despite its genesis in the dark days of war and RVW puts that across effortlessly. The gentle benediction of the coda is handled sensitively and with satisfying simplicity. The composer said of his Fourth symphony that it was what he “meant” and I think that’s true also of this deeply satisfying performance of the Fifth.

It used to be thought by some commentators, mistakenly but understandably, that the Fourth symphony was a depiction of the gathering political storms in Europe in the 1930s. In fact the cantata Dona Nobis Pacem is, surely, a much more direct artistic response to those menacing times and it’s amazing to find that Vaughan Williams, having produced such a searing work in the run-up to the Second World War, then penned a pacific work like the Fifth symphony while the conflict was at its height.

The performance of Dona Nobis Pacem presented here was given just a month after the work received its first performance from the Huddersfield Choral Society under Albert Coates. When Vaughan Williams came to broadcast it for the BBC he had the services of the same two soloists who had taken part in the première. This performance has appeared on CD before (Pearl GEMM CD9342) but this present release is claimed as its first authorised release. Presumably the source for this Somm issue is the BBC itself for Alan Sanders comments that this “is one of the Corporation’s few pre-war music recordings to have survived”. The Pearl booklet states that the source for their issue is “a private acetate transcription”.

I can state unequivocally that an A/B comparison shows that this Somm transfer completely supersedes the Pearl effort. The Somm disc is brighter, clearer and has an almost visceral impact compared with the Pearl. Not only that, the new transfer reports much more detail in both the loud and soft passages. Indeed, following with a vocal score I was amazed at how much inner detail is revealed – for example in the third section where the choir divides into eight parts, singing quietly and unaccompanied (cue 14 in the vocal score). It is simply staggering how vividly this recording speaks to us more than seventy years after it was made.

And the performance is vivid too. In the first movement Renée Flynn’s voice is caught with real presence – as is the case throughout the performance – and she sings marvellously. When the orchestra and chorus enter Vaughan Williams obtains some impassioned results. The second movement is a setting of RVW’s beloved Walt Whitman, as are the third and fourth movements. “Beat! beat! drums!” the choir sings. It’s a frenzied movement and Vaughan Williams whips up a real storm. The brass and percussion sound really vivid. The chorus parts are not easy, as I know from personal experience, but the BBC Chorus acquits itself valiantly. They’re rhythmically accurate – no mean feat in itself, especially in unfamiliar music - and the composer inspires them to singing of genuine fervour.

The third movement, ‘Reconciliation’, is at the centre of the work in more ways than one. Roy Henderson is a most dignified and moving soloist. Here there’s further evidence of Vaughan Williams’s conducting skill, for examples of subtle rubato abounds in his account of this movement and this could not have been achieved by someone who didn’t know what they were doing on the podium. It’s a most beautiful movement and the performers rise to great eloquence, none more so than Henderson, especially as he sings of the soldier finding his enemy’s corpse in its coffin. Whitman is, for my taste, somewhat mawkish here but Vaughan Williams in his music and Henderson in his singing transcend that.

The third and final Whitman setting is the celebrated ‘Dirge for Two Veterans’. There’s great cumulative power in the march that forms the basis of much of this movement. Vaughan Williams builds the tension purposefully and with skill and patience. The huge climax at “I hear the great drums pounding” is powerfully achieved as is the potent passage for orchestra alone a few pages later (5:09). The text is portentous at times, as Whitman so often is, but Vaughan Williams’s music has strength and conviction and this enables him to avoid sentimentality.

The fifth movement opens with a masterstroke. Over the sparest of accompaniments the baritone soloist sings lines from the celebrated speech made in the House of Commons by the radical MP, John Bright (1811-1889), in opposition to the Crimean War on 23 February 1855: “The Angel of Death has been abroad throughout the land.” Here Henderson’s hushed singing is hypnotically powerful. He’s quite chilling without any theatricality and he generates a tremendous atmosphere before the choral outburst, “Dona nobis pacem”. The movement ends on a more hopeful note with a chorus that, to me, anticipates the concluding pages of the Christmas work, Hodie (1954). Despite all the trials and tribulations of the 1930s Vaughan Williams could retain a sense of hope, if not optimism.

Dona Nobis Pacem is in many ways a work of its time but, in the sentiments that it expresses, it’s surely a work for our times also. It’s sincere and impassioned and a very fine piece. I’m surprised and disappointed that it’s not heard more often. It’s both moving and exciting to hear it under the composer’s own direction at a time when it was so new and also at a time when it was so relevant to the events that had moved him to write it. In this excellent new transfer the performance comes vividly to life. As I listened I found myself wondering how many of the performers may subsequently have become victims of the war that was not then far off.

In this year (2008) that marks the fiftieth anniversary of Vaughan Williams’s death I hope there will be many fine performances, broadcasts and recordings to celebrate his life and music. The year has started auspiciously with Tony Palmer’s wonderful new film biography, O Thou Transcendent. However, this superb release from Somm may turn out to be the most invaluable of all the anniversary tributes. It’s a mandatory purchase for all lovers of Vaughan Williams’s music and, frankly, a priceless document.

-- John Quinn, MusicWeb International

BRITTEN Death in Venice • Edward Gardner, cond; John Graham-Hall (Aschenbach); Andrew Shore (Traveler, Elderly Fop, Old Gondolier, Hotel Manager, Hotel Barber, Leader of Players, Voice of Dionysus); Tim Mead (Voice of Apollo); English Natl Op O & Ch • OPUS ARTE 1130 (DVD: 153:00) Live: London 6/18, 21, 24/2013

Benjamin Britten’s last opera, Death in Venice, has never really caught on, except perhaps in England itself. It has appeared twice at the New York Met, but the last appearance was some 20 years ago. I don’t believe it ever sold out the house. Based on a rather pretentious novella by Thomas Mann, the story seemingly does not adapt well to the operatic stage. The main conflict is an internal one for the aged main character, Gustav von Aschenbach, between powerful homoerotic lust for a young boy and the desperate desire to maintain his dignity and moral rectitude. Scene changes are so numerous the opera requires 17 short tableaus, a stage director’s nightmare. Britten’s score is also rather quirky and austere as befits the story, and lacks much melody. There are really only three singing roles, although the chorus is quite busy in several of the tableaus. Most of the heavy lifting (or singing) is done by the old man and a deus ex machina who appears in several roles and seems to be propelling Aschenbach relentlessly to his fate (the title perhaps might reveal a clue as to that). Still in all, it is quite an engrossing drama to see once, and this English National Opera (ENO) production provides quite a good representation of it.

Accolades should go to stage director Deborah Warner, set designer Tom Pye, and costume designer Chloe Obolensky for the rapid, efficient scene changes and the eye-catching look of the staging. Most of the action occurs in and around Venice: on the beach, in the hotel, and in the city itself. The evocative perception of these settings is conveyed cleverly yet opulently with only the judicious use of a few props and curtains. Aschenbach’s erotic interest, the young boy Tadzio, and his chums on the beach are portrayed by dancers, so that Britten has ample opportunity to employ the orchestra without bothering the singers. Aschenbach surreptitiously follows the boy’s Polish family around: the mother with her parasol, two daughters, the boy, and a governess, all mute roles. They reminded me of a family of ducks parading constantly back and forth across the stage. If one’s attention sometimes flags, it is due more to the story itself than ENO’s creative staging.

None of the singers is vocally challenged by Britten’s score, though perhaps taxed for stamina, so consummate actors are the order of the day. The difficult role of Aschenbach, with all his internal struggles, is rendered powerfully here by John Graham-Hall. If Graham-Hall is not always completely successful in communicating the heat of his obsessive passion for the boy (they never talk) or his internal agonizing, it is at least partly due to what he is given to sing. Although Britten always claimed his declamation was based on natural inflections of speech, much of it doesn’t sound very natural, at least to these non-Brit ears. The multiple roles of the rather enigmatic propeller of Aschenbach’s fate are a bit reminiscent of the multiple, but singularly sung, villains in Tales of Hoffman. The role(s) is taken here by baritone Andrew Shore. Shore sings well and seems just creepy enough to give the story the proper feel of existential angst and ambiguity it requires. The third major singing role is that of the Voice of Apollo, the personification of Aschenbach’s rational and moral side, opposed to Shore’s Dionysus of licentious appetite. Sung here quite well by countertenor Tim Mead in one of the opera’s few arioso passages, the rather trite and overused convention of arguing inner voices at least retains some interest. As with many modern operas, Britten gives the orchestra a major role, and the ENO forces under Edward Gardner respond admirably (as do the choristers). Special mention also needs to be made of young dancer Sam Zaldivar, who portrays the boy Tadzio seductively, but with an athletic grace of movement. I watched with English subtitles, but they certainly weren’t necessary, diction is very clear and Britten never overpowers the singing with dense orchestration. Subtitles are also available in French, German, and Korean.

For a rather obscure opera, Death in Venice seems to have been served well on video. First came a 1981 Tony Palmer film that was supposed to give Britten’s life companion, tenor Peter Pears, his chance to record the role. In the event, Pears was invalided by a stroke and was replaced, apparently most admirably, by Robert Gard. Baritone John Shirley-Quirk is also mentioned as being very fine in the role of the Traveler, et al. There is also a 1990 Glyndebourne production, and a 2008 production from La Fenice in Venice itself, both of which received good reviews and both still available. I must confess I have seen none of these competitors. The La Fenice set is available in high definition Blu-ray, just as this Opus Arte disc. I may only have the inclination or opportunity to see Death in Venice once, and this handsome and well-performed ENO production certainly proves a fine way to do so. Recommended.

FANFARE: Bill White   

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