Customer Reviews

Stokowski - Orff: Carmina Burana/ Loeffler: A Pagan Poem

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

For many years I've had a ratty old copy of Carmina Burana on tape that has accompanied me everywhere. Then I decided to upgrade one of my favorite works to a CD and got the surprise of my life! The clarity of this remastered performance from 1958 is nothing short of breathtaking! Clearly, Stokowski had a special understanding of the unique dynamics of this piece and the orchestra and singers felt every note from their synapses inward to their bones. I have listened to nothing else for days; this new (old) performance has opened my ears to what I thought I already knew about Orff's best known work and deserves to be in every serious classical music listener's collection.

And two extra perks: 1.)Loeffer's "Pagan Dance" alone is worth the price of the CD because 2.)the CD is released at a price that's just so darned economical!!!!

As for details on the reasons why this 1958 recording of Carmina Burana, despite its stupendous (and, indeed, full-dimensional) sound, cannot be considered a top-drawer version, see my lenghty review under the recording's previous release in the same EMI-Full dimensional sound series, then paired with Stravinsky's Firebird-Suite (Carl Orff: Carmina Burana/Igor Stravinsky:The Firebird Suite). In capsule: the impossibly American accent of the Houston Chorale and of tenor Clyde Hager, the numerous and indefensible cuts practiced by Stokowski and the OK but far from great soloists. Ultimately then this is a version for the Stokowskite more than the aficionado of Orff's famous warhorse.

Stokowski's recording of Loeffler's Pagan Poem was also previously reissued by EMI in its short-lived MAtrix series, paired then with Glière's Third Symphony (again an abridged version). See my review thereunder: Gliere: Symphony No. 3 "Ilya Murometz"; Loeffler: A Pagan Poem.

To be honest, Stoky's Carmina Burana isn't anything special. The interpretation is fine, but no better than many others. The Houston orchestra is no great shakes, either. Any number of other performances will do you better -- such as Robert Shaw/Atlanta Symphony on Telarc or the classic Antal Dorati/Royal Philharmonic on London/Decca. But the real treat here is Loeffler's Pagan Poem, a highly effective tone poem that has been commercially recorded only three times -- and not since the late 1950s. The Stokowski recording is the latest, and the only one in stereo. It holds up well after almost 50 years, and the interpretation is extremely good. The orchestra and the pianist are in masterful form, too. We're overdue for a new recording of this composition -- perhaps JoAnn Falletta and her Buffalo Philharmonic players will take it up for Naxos. Until then, this is the interpretation to have.

I think I'm sort of with some of the other reviewers in enjoying the Loeffler composition better than Carl Orff's selection. Though, in fairness, the Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi is really the dramatic segment of Carmina Burana. And there's nothing to complain about there, really. I've just heard some better renderings of some of the central melodies. They actually can sound more melodious than this. If you're not already familiar with this piece, envision the theme music from Excalibur : Widescreen Edition where Merlin sends Uther Pendragon riding across the breath of the dragon to seduce the wife of his rival, and conceive the infant Arthur.

I wanted to include some background about the conductor Stokowski, as his reputation influenced this purchase, and it's an over-all enjoyable performance.

[From Wiki:]

Leopold Anthony Stokowski (April 18, 1882 - September 13, 1977) was a British-born, naturalised American orchestral conductor...the son of an English-born cabinet-maker with Polish heritage, Kopernik Joseph Boleslau Stokowski, and his Irish-born wife Annie-Marion Stokowski, née Moore. Stokowski was born Leopold Anthony Stokowski, though on occasion in later life he altered his middle name to Antoni.

Stokowski studied at the Royal College of Music, which he first enrolled in 1896 at the age of thirteen, making him one of the youngest students to do so. In his later life in America, Stokowski would perform six of the nine symphonies composed by his fellow organ student Ralph Vaughan Williams. Stokowski sang in the choir of the St. Marylebone Church, and later he became the Assistant Organist to Sir Walford Davies at The Temple Church. At the age of 16, Stokowski was elected to a membership in the Royal College of Organists. In 1900, Stokowski formed the choir of St. Mary's Church, Charing Cross Road, where he trained the choirboys and played the organ. In 1902, Stokowski was appointed the organist and choir director of St. James's Church, Piccadilly. He also attended The Queen's College, Oxford, where he earned a Bachelor of Music degree in 1903.

Happy with rendition of this music, absolutely magnificent.
Carmina Burana/ Loeffler: A Pagan Poem by Guy Gardner wow.