Can you ever have too many Charles Munch Roussel recordings? Okay, it’s a niche, but a very exciting one. The great French conductor’s Bacchus et Ariadne, in particular, had a wonderful savagery and pulse-pounding energy, and his best-known recording (there are at least four, including two live ones), made in Boston for RCA, was mono only. Well, for reasons that are too complicated to go into here, French Accord is now a division of Universal, and the label has reissued a series of vintage discs containing important French repertoire, among them this one. Here we have Munch’s stunning Suite No. 2 from Roussel’s ballet, recorded in astoundingly fine stereo, played with tremendous gusto and with an especially pulverizing concluding Bacchanal.
The couplings are interesting and very worthwhile too. Barraud’s Third Symphony belongs squarely in the Honegger/Roussel tradition, with its propulsive rhythms and biting harmony. It comes from the same sessions as Bacchus and sounds every bit as exciting–a major addition to the discography of French symphonies. Claude Helffer plays a mean Roussel Piano Concerto, though the mono sound is a bit murky. At only 16 minutes, the piece never will be a repertoire staple, but with so little choice in this music the performance is a godsend for fans of the composer. A wonderful disc. [Editor’s Note: This series of recordings is only available in France.]
