Ancient Airs/Dances

--Ancient Airs and Dances--
This has become one of the more popular pieces of Respighi in the late twentieth century; many know Respighi only through these works, and others have heard this music without knowing the origin or Respighi's role in their presentation. Largely deriving from Italian and French music for the lute, the original melody lines and pieces come from seventeenth and eighteenth century. The piece consists of three suites of four pieces each, the first two for orchestra and the third for strings. (All three suites were made into a ballet shortly after Respighi's death by his wife and student, Elsa, in 1937.)

There is great simplicity in the music here. Yet there is also grand texture. The music follows a logical progression and throws in few surprises, but is a delight in the journey through the tunes as would be a stroll through a familiar, favourite park. The tempo varies between pieces, sometimes lively and sometimes sombre. For this particular recording the tempo is a bit slower overall than I am used to, but it has a pleasant effect overall.

--Antal Dorati--
Dorati made so many recordings he lost track of them. Working with a wide range of composers' works, from Tchiakovsky to Bartok to Copland, he used his early European training to great effect as the head of symphonies in Dallas, Detriot, and Minneapolis, in addition to heading the National Symphony in Washington, DC in the 1970s. Many classical music enthusiasts grew up with Dorati recordings of classic as well as modern/new compositions.

--Philharmonia Hungarica--
The Philharmonia Hungarica grew out of refugee musicians from Hungary after the 1956 uprising forced hundreds to flee the country. Dorati's Hungarian background as well as reputation and contacts in the West made him a natural leader for this fledgling group, who made this Respighi recording less than two years after leaving Hungary. Like Dorati, the Philharmonia Hungarica had so many recordings it was difficult to keep track of them all. Possessing talented people with training from the East and West, they play with skill and grace that is a true joy to hear.

--This Recording--
This is a CD rendering of a previously recorded vinyl record. It was recorded in 1958 utilising three microphones on separate channels; the original tapes were preserved by Mercury recording and remixed for the CD without filtering, equalisation, limiting or compression. I had an audio cassette of this same recording a decade ago; the CD is obviously much better, but the musical integrity is strong on both recording media.

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