Search - Maurice Ravel, Bernard Haitink, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra :: Ravel: Daphnis et Chloé Suites: Ma mere l'oye; Bolero [Hybrid SACD]

Splendid Ravel in Splendid Sound

J Scott Morrison | Middlebury VT, USA | 05/31/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"These performances were previously released in the 1970s on LP in the then-new multi-channel quadraphonic system. PentaTone has gotten the rights to re-release the performances in the modern hybrid SACD format here so that the disc will play either in SACD or plain stereo CD. The performances themselves are self-recommending. The thoroughbred Concertgebouw Orchestra play this music absolutely gorgeously. Haitink has always been a marvelous conductor of early 20th-century French music -- his recording of Debussy's 'Jeux' sweeps the field, in fact -- and these two Daphnis et Chloé Suites are no exception. I was particularly struck by the ecstatic beauty of the first section of the second suite,'Lever du jour' ('Daybreak'). This is a clear recommendation for those who want the Suites rather than the complete ballet score; the preeminent recommendations for the latter remain the 1959 Monteux or the Munch/Boston. I had not heard the Mother Goose Suite by Haitink before but it, too, is a winner. In fact, it may be the best I know; the amazing Concergebouw winds are on full display here, especially in 'Petit Poucet' ('Tom Thumb'). Others like the Dutoit/Montréal recording but I've always found it generally too fast. The sound in SACD is wonderful, but the plain CD layer is excellent, too.



Ravel's 'Boléro', the filler on this disc, is by a different conductor, Edo de Waart, and a different Dutch orchestra, the fine Rotterdam Philharmonic. This performance was also recorded in the quadraphonic format in the early 1970s. It's not an outstanding performance but it is certainly acceptable and the build-up to the exciting finish is very nicely done.



Scott Morrison



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