Customer Reviews

Ottorino Respighi: Ancient Dances & Airs

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Another listener, reviewing the Neville Marriner version of these three suites by Ottorino Respighi, called it "the most beautiful music one is likely to hear" or the like. And it is. The Penguin Guide to Classical CDs awarded this famous and magnificent recording a Rosette (its "Academy Award", so to speak). It is, simply put, almost achingly beautiful music: sometimes austere, sometimes brusque, often haunting and enchanting, or full-heartedly joyous; delectably scored (Respighi was a student of Rimsky-Korsakov), stunningly played, and favored with so rich a recording quality that it hardly seems possible the recordings were made in the 1950s! This is music that soothes the spirit, engages the mind and feeds the soul--- a must for anyone who can truly appreciate-- and it SHOULD be capitalized!-- Beauty. All the recorded versions of this music are delectable and this particular version is the benchmark by which the others are judged! A true desert island recording!

For those already having SACD playback capabilities, or contemplating purchase of a SACD deck, this Dorati/Philharmonia Hungarica recording of Ottorino Respighi's "Ancient Dances and Airs for the Lute" has been newly released in hybrid SACD form. Below are my comments on the SACD release, covering both the SACD layer and the "redbook" CD layer. Those with (or contemplating) SACD capabilites will want to check this new release (ASIN B0001BPPN0) out; the sound quality is nothing short of mind-boggling.

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Antal Dorati, Ottorino Respighi's music and I go back a long way, all the way to Dorati's mid-50s Mercury Living Presence monophonic LP of Respighi's first two parts of his Roman Trilogy ("The Fountains of Rome" and "The Pines of Rome") with the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra. Over time, I managed to collect all of Dorati's Respighi (adding up to a total of 4 albums), first on mono LP and then on stereo LP, up to and including this Philharmonia Hungarica performance of the full suite of "Ancient Dances and Airs for Lute" (by this time, in stereo only).

For reasons that escape me (probably a temporary change in musical tastes in the interim), I hadn't yet duplicated any of these on CD when they were released on this medium. For this particular work on CD, I had been in sort of a "limp along" mode for some years, with a recording by Seiji Ozawa and the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Dorati and the Philharmonia Hungarica - particularly in this remastering that includes 2- and 3-channel SACD as well as the conventional CD signal that had itself been superbly remastered by Wilma Cozart Fine not all that long ago - makes it easy for me to retire that Ozawa recording.

Where Ozawa is downright flaccid interpretation-wise (despite the excellent BSO forces), Dorati's reading is rhythmically incisive where need be, warmly glowing elsewhere (in the slower sections), and beautifully luminous throughout. (Interestingly, a comparison of timings suggests otherwise: Ozawa's reading is nearly 3 minutes shorter than Dorati's, but limp nonetheless. The "tale of the tape" is often not the full picture.)

As is probably well-known, the Philharmonia Hungarica was comprised of Hungarian emigrés who escaped (most without their instruments) following the 1956 Soviet invasion. Dorati was their spiritual godfather from the outset, polishing the group into a virtuoso ensemble. (This pairing was to later record the complete symphonies of Haydn on the Decca label, a traversal that is still a milestone in classical music recording history.) This group plays as fine as any in these relatively small-scaled works (based on Italian and French lute music from the 17th and early 18th centuries), and of course is led by one of the greatest Respighi interpreters of all time.

The sound, dating from 1958 recording sessions, is fully up to the very high standards that Mercury established with its Living Presence series, perhaps the most uniformly excellent set of analog master tapes ever put together by a single label. In fact, the CD layer sound is significantly better than that on the Ozawa/BSO recording, despite the latter being some 2 decades newer. And, while the "ordinary" CD layer, with its fresh mastering by Mrs. Fine, is remarkable for its clarity, I have now had an opportunity to assess the DSD transfer from the analog master tapes to the SACD medium. In a word, it is stunning! One would never know that these sessions were from nearly a half-century ago! While the original source tapes were of course analog, they were of the highest possible analog, and the DSD reproduction of them is like "being there." Or at least like being in the studio with the engineers as they listened to the original sessions.

The playing time, at 54:32, is on the short side. Perhaps there would have been sufficient space to include either "The Birds" or "Brazilian Impressions" (other Respighi works that Dorati championed); perhaps not. Regardless, this hybrid SACD is very highly recommended.

Bob Zeidler

A great job from the Philharmonia of Hungary under the supreme leadership of Antal Dorati. Control, balance and careful handling of the musical nuances, this is essentially what Dorati got from his musicians during that session. The product, apart from being a truly great recording, has awe-inspiring, unmatched playing all around. If you're a fan of Respighi, or simply a collector of good instrumental music, the Ancient Dances and Airs belong to your collection.

This music should be in everyone's collection. To me, it is that basic. Respighi went to ancient sources, collected various melodies (such as the French love songs in SUITE NO. 3), then he arranged this is three suites or airs and dances. The Dorati version is exquisitely well played and very well recorded. The resulting product, a ravishing, hauntingly beautiful record... delicately beautiful. The tempos are natural and gay... sad when they have to be, but always natural. The playing is never rushed, always andante cantabile. This version should be in everyone's collection. (Compare with the equally beautiful Ozawa version on DGG).

--Ottorino Respighi--
Respighi (1879-1936) was one of the great orchestra composers of Italy (a nation whose composers are more often associated with opera). Born into a family of professional musicians, Respighi was educated with greats such as Rimsky-Korsakov and Max Bruch. Deriving inspiration from the likes of Richard Strauss as well as ancient and medieval musical styles, Respighi showed great talent as a composer as well as an arranger and synthesiser of new presentations for old music. Such is the case with the pieces in this recording, Ancient Airs and Dances.

--Ancient Airs and Dances--
This has become one of the more popular pieces of Respighi in the late twentieth century; many know Respighi only through these works, and others have heard this music without knowing the origin or Respighi's role in their presentation. Largely deriving from Italian and French music for the lute, the original melody lines and pieces come from seventeenth and eighteenth century. The piece consists of three suites of four pieces each, the first two for orchestra and the third for strings. (All three suites were made into a ballet shortly after Respighi's death by his wife and student, Elsa, in 1937.)

There is great simplicity in the music here. Yet there is also grand texture. The music follows a logical progression and throws in few surprises, but is a delight in the journey through the tunes as would be a stroll through a familiar, favourite park. The tempo varies between pieces, sometimes lively and sometimes sombre. For this particular recording the tempo is a bit slower overall than I am used to, but it has a pleasant effect overall.

--Antal Dorati--
Dorati made so many recordings he lost track of them. Working with a wide range of composers' works, from Tchiakovsky to Bartok to Copland, he used his early European training to great effect as the head of symphonies in Dallas, Detriot, and Minneapolis, in addition to heading the National Symphony in Washington, DC in the 1970s. Many classical music enthusiasts grew up with Dorati recordings of classic as well as modern/new compositions.

--Philharmonia Hungarica--
The Philharmonia Hungarica grew out of refugee musicians from Hungary after the 1956 uprising forced hundreds to flee the country. Dorati's Hungarian background as well as reputation and contacts in the West made him a natural leader for this fledgling group, who made this Respighi recording less than two years after leaving Hungary. Like Dorati, the Philharmonia Hungarica had so many recordings it was difficult to keep track of them all. Possessing talented people with training from the East and West, they play with skill and grace that is a true joy to hear.

--This Recording--
This is a CD rendering of a previously recorded vinyl record. It was recorded in 1958 utilising three microphones on separate channels; the original tapes were preserved by Mercury recording and remixed for the CD without filtering, equalisation, limiting or compression. I had an audio cassette of this same recording a decade ago; the CD is obviously much better, but the musical integrity is strong on both recording media.

Ottorino Respighi was a 20th century Italian composer whose music was a throwback to older forms of music and he was one of many composers who turned to neoclassical or neobaroque music in order to stand out from all the jazz and modern symphonic works being composed in the first half of the 20th century (1900-1960). Respighi's Ancient Airs and Dances evoke Renaissance music. This album from the Mercury Living Presence, which champions Antal Dorati's records, is glorious and a dream for lovers of ancient music. Dorati knows this music like the palm of his hand, for he always understood the composer's score and inent. He knows that this music is meant to sound beautiful and Elizabethan or a mix of French and Italian music of Baroque influence. It is courtly music as well as rustic music. There is a combination of noble sounds of flutes, lute, harp, strings, in music that is stately as well as lively. The Amazon.com Editorial Reviews claim that this particular music is more than appropriate for wedding ceremonies. Indeed it is. Upon listening to the opening track, the Balleto Detto, I could clearly envision a wedding procession. The music is not quite Baroque, but it does have a grandeur and march-like quality. It is beautiful and the same goes for the "party" type music in the dances of Gagliardsa, Masquerades, Bergomasks and Passacaglias. Particularly resplendent and moving is track 5: Laura Souave. It is heaven to listen to. Just hear it! This album is a fine collection piece for lovers of older music and fans of Antal Dorati. His Hungarian ensemble, a group he worked with since the 50's when they fled Soviet-invaded Hungary, is trained so well that the performance is almost straight out of the past itself. Don't hesitate to buy this album and play it at weddings or Renaissance fairs!

Ottorino Respighi, as I have stated in other reviews and Listmania lists, is the most understated, unrecognized, and unappreciated Italian composer and orchestrator ever. This disc is a primary example of Respighi's ability to arrange previous compositions.
Respighi's grasp of the baroque period is beautifully displayed on the three suites you will hear on this disc. Respighi was a gifted composer and his respect and appreciation for the musical styling of the past is why he was so qualified to take previously unavailable material and make it available once again to the public.
Although he was born in the late 19th century and died in the mid twentieth, he could very well have been alive and successfully composing 200-300 years earlier because his musical purism harkened back to a time that has been associated with the great composers, the Renaissance.
These particular arrangements, originally by at least 7 different composers with others credited only as anonymous, were from Italian and French tunes that were updated and compiled in to 3 suites that Respighi used to show his appreciation for Italian musical history.
All history and technicality aside, this is a wonderful piece, recorded in 1958 as played by the Philharmonica Hungarica, conducted by Antal Dorati, in Vienna. The treatment is spellbinding; you will hardly know you have been listening for an hour.
The original recording, obviously made on vinyl, has been remastered, void of any changes to the clarity, flow, range or acoustical embellishments of the auditorium in which it was recorded. The music sounds live because it is live; and it is live from the Wiener Konzerthaus.
Absolutely dazzling. My favorite Respighi recording in my library.
You just cannot go wrong with this CD. Buy it with confidence.

I heard this recording on a.m. radio one night in 1961 and was so enamored by it that I bought the record the next day at Tower Records in Berkeley. I still have the LP which, over the years, got a few scratches and is noisy. So, I was pleased to purchase this CD and find it just as exciting to listen to as my old LP was - and, hopefully, it will last a long time.

Respighi heres does an editorial and
a musicological work at the same time.
Works by composers such as Simone Molinaro
(1565-?) Vicenzo Galillei, and Jean Baptiste Besard
are here scored for orchestra, and string orchestra
Respighi does a wonderful job in the orchestration.
The music is here brought to life by the Philharmonia
Hungarica and Antal Dorati. This recording is in itself
a classic. Recording made in 1958, sounds as great
as if it was recorded in recent years. Indeed a five-star.

Early music fans will enjoy this great work. Hard to believe this was recorded in the mid fifties. The work is of early music performed by a modern orchestra,and should be in every music library.