Peter Erasmus Lange-Müller's musical reputation rests on his large number of songs, many of which have become popular favorites in his native Denmark. The two suites on offer here reveal a composer with a genuine gift for attractive melody, as might be expected of a fine song composer, as well as an idiomatic feeling for orchestration. "In the Alhambra's" quasi-exotic charms might seem a trifle pale today, but "charm" is what the music really has, and in no small measure. The concluding nocturnal "In the Garden of Lindaraja" achieves real distinction, particularly given its comparatively early date of composition (1876). Lange-Müller's suite of incidental music from the play Renaissance contains several attractively performed songs that offer plenty of evidence of the composer's skill in this particular area. It may be damning with faint praise to call this music merely "pretty", but that's what it is. Affectionate interpretations and fine sound put the icing on a sweet, nicely decorated little cake. [1/17/2001]

--David Hurwitz