Etienne Charles Creole Orchestra

Raymond Leppard, CBE (born 11 August 1927, London, England - died 22 October 2019, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA) was an English-American conductor, harpsichordist, composer & editor. In the 1960s, he played a prime role in the rebirth of interest in Baroque music. he was appointed Music Director of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra in 1987 (a position which he held for fourteen years).

This must be one of the most important historical documents ever to appear from previously unavailable archives. Much as we admire and praise Davis’s Berlioz (whose latest Trojans we reviewed last month)‚ Beecham has to be at least his peer on this and much other evidence. His arresting‚ inspiriting and brilliantly crafted performance here is a thing to marvel at in its understanding of the true Berlioz spirit. He persuades his newly formed RPO and the BBC Theatre Chorus of the day into giving quite thrilling accounts of their music that not even indifferent sound can mar. Beecham was to have returned‚ at Covent Garden‚ to the grand masterpiece in 1960‚ but that was not to be: a severe stroke prevented what would surely have been his crowning service to Berlioz right at the end of his distinguished career.

Charles Mackerras’ marvelous recordings of Brahms’ four symphonies with these same forces for Telarc find a logical successor in this delightful release of the two early serenades. These are special works in Brahms’ output: carefree, breezy, and charming. The unusual freshness and clarity of their orchestration (the Second Serenade scored without violins) shows that the density of his symphonic sound clearly was a matter of intention rather than accident, or worse, lack of skill. Hearing these loosely constructed, generously tuneful pieces, we can only wonder at the effort Brahms must have made to curb his purely lyrical impulses and discipline his musical thought in such a way as to demonstrate his worthiness as symphonic heir to Beethoven.

Without doubt, this is one of the most important recordings of music by Janácek in recent years. Paul Wingfield’s restoration of the original performing version of the Glagolitic Mass is a fine piece of work and deserves to become the standard text. Those familiar with the Mass will notice changes right at the start, where the ‘Intrada’ (normally the conclusion) appears twice, at both the beginning and end. This introduces a number of fundamental alterations to rhythm and instrumentation which make for a markedly different whole: undoubtedly harder to perform, but infinitely sharper in outline.

The remarkable Hypermnestre by Charles-Hubert Gervais is the latest unremembered early 18th-century French opera to be recorded afresh for Glossa, and conducted by György Vashegyi.

Recorded in association with a live performance from Birmingham’s Symphony Hall in 2022, this account of Stanford’s Requiem from Martyn Brabbins and massed Birmingham forces thrillingly captures all the grandeur and intimacy of a neglected choral epic.