Various Composers - Overtures / Intermezzi / Preludes [Gavazzeni-Orchestra Del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino]This is a nice little compilation of orchestral bits and pieces from various Operas, one of the things that makes it quite desirable to add to your collection, is the fact that it has some items that are off the beaten track, a good collection of lesser known works, however it would have been wonderful to have the Intermezzo from Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana on the disc, it is simply gorgeous, very uplifting and inspirational.
Gianandrea Gavazzeni is of course Italian [1909-1996], he made these recordings in the the late fifties, and i must admit they do show their age somewhat, there's not enough bass warmth in the recording, too brittle in the treble, but the stereo-ness of the recording is surprisingly good, but these aren't really detractions, and are really just the normal for a recording over fifty years old.
I bought this on Ebay, as i remember correctly, it was from some European seller [this disc is made by Decca for the Italian market], and otherwise not available in England, i like searching these foreign markets on Ebay for discs, there's some nice rare surprises out there, this one looked so good, a fantastic pic of Gavazzeni [by Leonardo Cendamo], a nice well lit face with a thoughtful expression, the hat really makes the difference, it's the lettering which is nicely laid out, with a list of the Composers on the disc, a lovely package.
I like these compilations, there's always something that really touches me, and on this listen i enjoyed tracks 3, 5 & 10, the Intermezzo from Suor Angelica [Puccini] is not very well known to me, so it was so good to acquaint myself with this, but the item that impressed me the most was track 10 'The Dance Of The Hours' from Ponchielli's 'La Gioconda' [the Happy Singer], it has a lovely mix of three main sections to it, the first is a sort of introduction, which sparkles into life with high violin 'trills' with triangle embellishments, and flute [0:34+], Ponchielli creates a chattering concoction of dainty almost blips and bleeps, including woodwind, i love this section, notice the quick chime triangle [1:23+] a nice touch, an excellent use of an underestimated instrument!, which features so highly in this piece, in section two the world famous main waltz comes in [2:01+], and right after a counter melody waltz [2:26+] which uses the sparkling elements of triangle / flute / trill violins, and the main waltz comes back [2:46+], but this time continuing with the flute / triangle combination to great effect, that damn triangle steals the show!, every phrase is ended with a triangle exclamation mark!, i also love this part of the section too, later the main waltz is played by the lower strings [5:40+] with the violins playing what i can only describe as 'weeping tears', quick and sad sobs, very effective, in the last and third part, the piece turns to a dazzling finale, something straight out of an exuberant Johann Strauss book, the waltz turns into a mad frenzy [7:16+], with the violins / piccolos creating screaming sheets of rain [7:31+], there's a lazy and loud waltz on the lower strings [8:15+], and all the elements come together to create a chaotic and rumbunctious finale [8:25+], the final bars are a sheer delight [8:32+], with the triangle now going berserk, what a very satisfying piece of music indeed, everything is punctuated by that ever present triangle!.
Here's Ponchielli's The Dance Of The Hours being played on YouTube.
