Customer Reviews

Franck: Symphony in D minor, Op.48 / Messiaen: L'Ascension / Ravel / Chopin / Duparc

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To my ears the real (re)discovery here is the uniquely vital reading of Messiaen's L'Ascension. Messiaen's way with the original organ work was also singular, ending with a rapt, almost static rendering of the final prayer. Stokowski's performance of the orchestral work (which has a new third movement) is teeming with life, ending with a totally Stokie-fied, souped-up prayer, suggesting there's more than one way to get to heaven!

We have Cala to thank for resurrecting dozens of out-of-print Stokowski performances, working with the Leopold Stokowski Society in Britain. Only recently has the series ended, apparently with some regret; I believe the society became defunct. the heart of this CD is a recycled Phrase 4 recordings of the Franck D minor Sym. and messiaen's early symphonic suite, l'ascension (Stokowski favored its conservative idiom but didn't follow Messiaen any furhter, a shame since one can only dream of his way with Turanagalila). The sessions took place in 1970 in Holland -- Hilversum is the blanket title for an amalgam of Dutch radio orchestras, according to Wikipedia - when the conductor was 88.

Phase 4 was Decca's souped-up hi-fi line, and it didn't blush about offering garishly recorded releases, but here the engineering, though vivid, sounds normal. I don't feel the need to own more than one Franck D minor, but in any case this performance is more about Stokowski than the composer: he does more pulling and stretching than anyone I've ever heard since Mengelberg, who in fact offers the best comparison. Here is a very old-fashioned orchestral favorite, once ubiquitous, now pushed to the fringes of the repertoire, done in Golden Age fashion. It's as if by a sonic miracle a subscription concert from Philadelphia in the Thirties crossed through time. there is much lingering and caressing, so unless you enjoy being dipped in a candy vat, you should probably stay away. both the Franck and Messiaen are available in Decca's bargain tribute to the conductor, vol. 1.