Roger Sessions once famously remarked that he never wrote a tune that he couldn’t sing. This begs the question of exactly what his singing voice must have sounded like, but I have to confess that of all the hard-core 12-tone composers, he still strikes me as one of the best. There’s a core of truth to his remark in that, once you get accustomed to his style, he really was able to write expressive tunes that have a recognizable and immediate impact. I’m thinking of the pithy Sixth Symphony’s pastoral Adagio e tranquillo, for example, or the Ninth’s exciting Impetuoso opening. Is this easy music? No. Is it fun? Well, in its own way, yes, it is. Sessions was a real symphonist, and given first rate performances (as here) his music does speak with its own special and ultimately appealing voice. Now I know that this disc will have a likely audience in the single digits, but those intrepid souls deserve gratification, and that’s exactly why Arkivmusic.com’s “on-demand” program is so wonderful. After all, if Argo made it, why shouldn’t it be available? So here it is–come and get it! Both of you.
