Customer Reviews

Berlioz - Sacred Music (L'Enfance du Christ · Requiem) · Symphony Dramas (Roméo et Juliette · La damnation de Faust) · Orchestral Songs (Les nuits dété · Lélio · La mort de Cléopâtre) / Sir Colin Davis

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Of the three boxes of reissues form Colin Davis' pioneering Berlioz cycle, this is probably the one I would not want to be without more than the other two boxes. But I suppose that's because I dearly love more of the works in this set than the works in the orchestral works box or the opera box. The major works (La Damnation de Faust, Requiem, Romeo et Juliette, and L'Enfance du Christ) are in the eyes of many unmatched by any other recordings. And many would say that about the orchestral songs too. My only quibble is with some of the track editing in La Damnation de Faust, my favorite item in the box. The recording is analog in origin, much to its credit personally. Several track changes sound like old tape-joins though. Clean it up Philips! These classics deserve better treatment.
Documentation is minimal of course.

A complete review of this set will follow at a later date. What I wish to highlight here is that this set contains Davis's reading of Berlioz's Requiem, though it is not listed as part of the contents in Amazon's description. (I've submitted a suggestion that it be added.) Those genuinely interested in Berlioz's sacred music will probably know this recording, which is justly famous for its dramatic power, and for a depth that Davis, above anyone else, consistently achieves in Berlioz. The Davis recording has recently gone out of print as a single item and is now available only as part of this set, which is limited edition. Practically, that means most record stores will not be able to order it, and that the set may not be available for long. These considerations, as well as Davis's peerless interpretations of the other items in the set, make this collection valuable indeed. Berlioz fans would regret protracted indecision.