Neville Marriner’s Ancient Airs and Dances trilogy is an unwelcome reminder of his directorship of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, with lifeless playing and a dry-as-dust recording, hence this disc’s overall low rating. However, the 1976 account of The Birds is outstanding. Marriner’s watchful precision secures optimal characterizations in each of the five sections, elegantly topped and tailed by Pasquini’s shapely theme. The virtuosity of the ASMF’s violins is to the fore in “The Dove”, especially evident in their effortless handlng of difficult string crossings; later, impeccably played wind solos in “The Hen” and “The Nightingale” lend individual flair.
It’s good having this reissue for Marriner’s exquisite account of The Birds, though whether you care enough about that piece alone to buy the disc is a matter for individual choice. For Airs and Dances, try the version by the conductorless Orpheus Chamber Orchestra (DG), which not only features technically superb performances that lavish enormous care over countless details of shading and articulation, but also offers demonstration sound quality.
