COMPOSERS: Argento
LABELS: Reference Recordings
ALBUM TITLE: Argento
WORKS: Casa Guidi, Capriccio for Clarinet and Orchestra, In Praise of Music
PERFORMER: Frederica Von Stade, Burt Hara Minnesota OrchestraEiji Oue
CATALOGUE NO: RR100CD
Domestic happiness shines through
Dominick Argento’s setting of
Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s letters
to her sister, about family life at Casa
Guidi in Florence. Casa Guidi was
written for Frederica von Stade in
1983, when her voice had rather more
bloom than it did when recorded in
2001. But she still inhabits the highly
singable solo part with great authority,
and the sheer likeability that has
always characterised her singing.
Argento’s 1986 Capriccio for
clarinet (the fluent Burt Hara) and
orchestra is subtitled ‘Rossini in
Paris’, not because it’s based on actual
Rossini pieces, but as it was inspired
by the composer’s long and relaxed
retirement. This is essentially light
music blown up to concerto length,
though the quiet ending is effective.
In Praise of Music, written for the
Minnesota Orchestra in 1977, takes
melodies from different parts of the
world and periods of history as the
basis for a sequence of ‘songs for
orchestra’ of Respighi-like brilliance.
The orchestra sounds magnificent
in a broad yet detailed sound-picture,
but with a dynamic range which is
uncomfortably wide for domestic
listening. Anthony Burton