The release of the first
and second batches of Harmonia Mundi’s new mid-price
Gold series – see Rob Barnett’s
overview of
the first batch – serves to remind me that there are
even greater bargains to be found in their back catalogue.
Many of them are in the super-budget Classical Express
series, from which I have singled out these two CDs and
a recording of the music of Byrd (Music for a Hidden
Chapel, HCX395 5182 - see
review). And if you’re looking
for a bargain version of Handel’s
Water Music,
snap up the McGegan recording of this on Classical Express
(HMX395
7010) before it goes up to mid-price on HM Gold.
I’ll get my one grumble
out of the way first. Like all the recordings in the
Classical Express series, these two Corelli CDs come
with most unimaginative covers. When the new HM Gold
series offers such attractive artwork, do we have to
have our noses rubbed in the difference between mid-price
and budget-price?
They are, however, recommendable
on every other count – idiomatic direction, with sprightly
but not exaggeratedly fast tempi, splendid orchestral
playing and excellent recording. There is a case for
preferring the mid-price Archiv recording (474 907 2,
English Concert/Trevor Pinnock), but the advantage is
not so considerable as to outweigh the price difference.
McGegan is consistently
faster than Preston, especially in Nos.7 and 8: you might
just prefer Preston’s slightly gentler treatment of the
pastorale final
movement of No.8, the Christmas Eve concerto. McGegan’s
jaunty tempo for this section takes a little getting
used to, though it is marked
ad libitum; in the
final analysis, both versions are excellent within their
own terms. I can certainly live with what others might
regard as McGegan’s extreme interpretation of
ad libitum in
this movement.
You may still come across
the earlier single disc selection of six concertos from
this Preston set (431 706-2) if you find the thought
of all twelve concertos daunting. If you just want one
CD of the McGegan set, you’ll probably prefer the second,
containing the famous Christmas concerto and the four
concerti
da camera (No. 9-12) which contain dance movements.
Both Preston and McGegan
have an idiomatic understanding of the music; both are
well recorded, and both are preferable to the Naxos recordings
(8.550402 and 8.550403, Capella Istropolitana/Jaroslav
Krček) unless you are averse to original instruments.
Krček should, however, satisfy non-authenticists:
his versions are certainly far preferable to the elaborately
packaged but very heavy Supraphon recordings from which
I first became acquainted with this music. In some movements,
his timings come close to, or are even a shade faster
than those of McGegan.
Those looking for just
one CD will find a single-disc selection from the Krček
recordings on 8.571020 – very good value, with six concertos,
including the Christmas concerto, weighing in at 74:18. The
only trouble is that, having dipped your toe into the
water, you’ll almost certainly want the other concertos,
which will entail duplication.
Don’t even think about
Karajan’s DG recording of Italian Christmas concertos. If
you want a selection of these, including the Corelli,
Krček will oblige again (Naxos 8.550567) for those
not requiring period performances.
Harmonia Mundi have their
own strong competitor, Chiara Banchini with Ensemble
315 on a 2-for-1 set (HMX290 1406.07, around £12 in the
UK). I haven’t heard this version in full but her tempi
throughout No. 8, especially for the
pastorale ad
libitum are slower than McGegan’s and much closer
to Preston’s. Cantilena, available on the inexpensive
Chandos Collect label (CHAN6663), are at the other extreme,
with tempi consistently slower than any other version
that I know: I sampled the opening of No.8 and found
it sluggish. The Brandenburg Consort/Roy Goodman on
a 2-for-1 Hyperion Dyad (CDD22011) offer tempi very similar
to Preston’s at a slightly lower price.
All these Classical Express
recordings are available as downloads from eMusic in
very acceptable mp3 sound but, whereas a recording such
as Byrd’s
Music for a Hidden Chapel (Chanticleer
on HCX395 5182) is good value – five tracks for a total
of £1.20 on the 50-track-per month tariff – the Corelli
recordings, both the McGegan and the Banchini, are poor
value when they contain so many tracks, especially when
iTunes offer the Classical Express recordings for £4.74
each and the CDs can be obtained for around £5 each in
the UK. The second volume comes on 33 tracks, almost
as much as buying the two CDs together. The moral is
that, while it’s worthwhile to download the Byrd, you’d
be better to save yourself the trouble with the Corelli
and buy the CDs.
The Banchini set of Corelli
is also available to download from eMusic but the 46
tracks would use up a sizeable portion of one’s monthly
allocation: eMusic ought to look again at the issue of
CDs with very many short tracks, a comparatively expensive
way of obtaining the music. This recording is also available
from iTunes but not, apparently, in their ‘plus’ format
and it costs a rather uncompetitive £15.99. Their selection
of six concertos from this set, including the Christmas
concerto, is better value at £6.32, but you may find
that some dealers offer this on CD for about that price
(HMX297 1407). The iTunes version of the Hyperion Dyad
recording of Corelli is also more expensive, at £15.99,
than the price at which many dealers offer the CDs. I
really cannot see the point of downloading if it costs
more than CDs and comes without the booklet of notes.
You don’t get any notes
if you download any of these recordings, though Harmonia
Mundi offer the texts of the Byrd on their website and
Hyperion now offer their booklets online. Whichever
way you obtain them, these two CDs are well worth their
modest cost. Every lover of baroque music should have
the Corelli concertos – third in line after Bach’s
Brandenburgs and
Vivaldi’s
Seasons, in my opinion.
Those wanting to explore
Corelli further should try the Naxos CD of the violin
sonatas, Op.5/7-12, which I
recommended last
year (8.557799) and/or the earlier release, with different
artists, of Op.5/1-6 (8.557165 – see
review).
Brian Wilson
Philharmonia
Baroque Orchestra/Nicholas McGegan 
