only for Stravinsky completists - Despite being a big Stravisky fan I can t get too enthusiastic about this disc. It contains a lot of rarities but the only work that I really like here is the Soldier s Tale Suite. Renard sounded like a less inspired version of Les Noces. All the other works on this disc I would rate as only mildly interesting.
Stravinsky Miniatures & Arrangements - The Stravinsky works collected on this excellent Naxos release are all either little-known or presented in less familiar arrangements - with the exception of Histoire du Soldat which is probably more often heard as a suite (as here) than in the complete version with narrator. It is actually kind of a strange catch-all CD with a mixed bag of miniature oddments and curios alongside better-known works. Robert Craft directs an excellent performance of Histoire . The popular and charming Pastorale which begins the disc, here in an arrangement for violin and wind quartet, will possibly be enough to have you reaching for this CD and putting it in your player with surprising regularity.The Three Pieces for Clarinet are a staple of the clarinettist s repertoire and are here appended by a very brief (29 seconds!) piece, Pour Picasso also for solo clarinet. The soloist is the respected Charles Neidich. His technique is flawless, but clarinet players may take issue with aspects of his interpretation. For the lay listener this will be no problem as Histoire , Pastorale and possibly Renard will probably be the focus of attention. Renard , based on a Russian folktale about a fox disguised as a clergyman that lures a chicken to confess only to attempt to eat it before being chased off by a cat and dog that eventually tear the fox to bits, features the outstanding John Aler. Unfortunately, the disc does not include the lyrics for Renard , though, as it is the English version, this is not so much a problem. The rest of the disc features two sets of songs ( Pribaoutki and Berceuses du Chat ) for mezzo-soprano and ensemble, two sets of songs ( Two Balmont Songs and Three Japanese Lyrics ) for soprano and ensemble, the Scherzo a la Russe (in its original jazz band arrangement) and Stravinsky s arrangement for wind band of the famous Song of the Volga Boatmen .A curious collection of pieces indeed! Like me, you will probably find yourself listening to some more than others. The disc is certainly worth its budget price (more, even) for Histoire alone.It s a mixed up bunch of performers featured on the disc, too. The Philharmonia Orchestra is in here somewhere as is the Orchestra of St. Luke s. Other pieces are performed by various musicians thrown together in a studio. This can be explained by the recording dates that range from 1991 to 2005. None of this matters at all though. The performances are uniformly very good to excellent. The sound quality is excellent too. And Robert Craft s skill and knowledge of Stravinsky certainly can t be questioned.Lyrics are only provided for the Balmont and Japanese songs. Otherwise the liner notes are useful and interesting enough.TT = 69 29A worthwhile addition to a Stravinsky-lover s collection.