Sommernachtstraum

Mendelssohn's highly potent brand of magic here in rhythmically robust live recordings of eight numbers from A Midsummer Night's Dream, and a formidable team of soloists for the spooky Walpurgisnacht.

Alfred Schnittke - Faust Cantata and other works - Malmö Symphony Orchestra (1989) {BIS Schnittke Edition, BIS-437} (Item #3)
XLD rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 265 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 180 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 55 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1989 Grammofon AB BIS | BIS-CD-437
Classical / Contemporary Classical / Choral / Orchestral

If you were ever faced with having to own one–and only one–Alfred Schnittke CD, this would be an excellent choice. A collection with Seid Nüchtern und Wachet (better known as the Faust Cantata) as its anchor, this set also features inspired performances of the large, pulsing Ritual as well as a pair of additional large orchestral works: (K)ein Sommernachtstaum and Passacaglia. These are sprawling things, each invoking styles by the seeming dozens in blasts of energy. Schnittke's is a music of embarrassing riches, a palette he intentionally overfills in a self-consciously postmodern pastiche that speaks to the twin 20th-century Russian traditions of (in music) rich orchestration and (in politics) political repression. So it is that the Faust Cantata can weave between c. 16th-century texts and a very familiar liturgical choral style and a gut-busting set of solos that drive the piece to a frenzy.