Copland Dance Symphony. Symphony no. 1. Short Symphony
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra / Alsop
Naxos 8559359 £5.99 - Discount cardholders pay £5.39


Marin Alsop and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra continue their collaboration with a new recording for Naxos. It presents three of Copland’s symphonic works. Written over a period of around eight years, the Dance Symphony, First Symphony and Short Symphony were all composed fairly early on in Copland’s career. Revised from his earlier Symphony for Organ and Orchestra, Symphony no. 1 is the earliest work, though the style is already distinctively his own – just listen to the orchestration of the brass and percussion in the final movement. There are glimmers of his Clarinet Concerto during the opening movement of the Short Symphony, and in the second movement there is an anticipation of Quiet City (written seven years later). The eerie Dance Symphony consists of three movements, each with its own title: Dance of the Adolescent, Dance of the Girl Who Moves as if in a Dream and Dance of Mockery. The musical scoring of this symphony allows the listener's imagination to run wild, and the movements fully live up to their titles.

Reviewed by Ruth Squire


Handel Acis & Galatea
Dunedin Consort & Players / Butt
Linn CKD319 (2CD) £15.99 - Discount cardholders pay £13.59

New from the Dunedin Consort and Players this month is their second Handel recording, a more-than-worthy successor to their award-winning Messiah. This performance of Acis and Galatea, using the Original Cannons Performing Version from 1718, is scored for the somewhat unusual vocal complement of soprano, three tenors and bass. It combines wonderfully characterised solos and exquisitely balanced chorus singing. Susan Hamilton portrays the nymph Galatea in the purest tones; Matthew Brook's comically repulsive, lecherous giant Polyphemus could not be more of a contrast. His attempt at wooing Galatea (O ruddier than the cherry) puts Bryn Terfel's version firmly in the shade. The tenor roles are equally well taken, the more energetic arias receiving virtuoso performances. John Butt's notes give detailed insight into the historical preparation for this recording, and a full libretto is provided. This pastoral 'entertainment', recorded in Greyfriars Kirk earlier this year, is one of the freshest and most vibrant recordings I have heard.

Reviewed by Dawn Cooke

Tchaikovsky Manfred Symphony
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orch. / Petrenko
Naxos 8570568 £5.99 - Discount cardholders pay £4.99

Young Russian conductor Vasily Petrenko makes his Naxos debut with this disc. He’s been Principal Conductor of the RLPO since 2006, and has lost no time in transforming the orchestra into a first-rate band. Here, Manfred has the players behaving as if St Petersburg, not Liverpool, were their home town – the passionate string playing and pungent woodwind sound anything but British at times. This programmatic work, written between the fourth and fifth symphonies, was inspired by Byron’s poem. In the wrong hands the music can sound turgid and fragmented, but Petrenko keeps up the momentum, revelling in the many big tunes but always aware of the music’s darker side. The hymn-like section with organ which closes the work is particularly effective – thrilling, moving but not grandiose. I'm already looking forward to Petrenko's next Naxos disc, the start of a Shostakovich symphony project.

Reviewed by Anne McAlister