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Schmitt: Orchestral works SACD

David Hurwitz

Artistic Quality:

Sound Quality:

It’s remarkable how no recent recording of this music comes within hailing distance of Jean Martinon’s classic EMI recording. This one isn’t bad, but Yan Pascal Tortelier and his orchestra don’t generate anything like the tension at the climaxes, despite sonorous (if somewhat cavernous) engineering and plenty of heft from the orchestra. La Tragédie de Salomé comes off better than the choral work; it just loses energy toward the end and sags in some of the quieter movements. But in Psalm 47 the ineffective and non-present organ, the overbearing suspended cymbals, and the somewhat blurry choral sound conspire to dampen some of the music’s rhythmic snap and sheer noisy splendor. It’s nice to have Le Palais hanté included (Martinon offers Debussy’s Khamma), and the performance is atmospheric and effective; but in the game of comparisons that is the classical music recording business today, Martinon remains supreme.


Recording Details:

Reference Recording: Martinon (EMI)

FLORENT SCHMITT - La Tragédie de Salomé; Le Palais hanté; Psaume 47

  • Record Label: Chandos - 5090
  • Medium: SACD

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