Search - Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Fela Sowande, William Grant Still :: African Heritage Symphonic Series, Vol. 1

Brilliant remake of Freeman's old Columbia LP records

S.R.W. | San Jose, CA | 09/28/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I wondered for years why Columbia Records' "Black Composer Series" was not reissued on CD. In that outstanding contribution to the classical catalogue, a young Paul Freeman conducted a half-dozen superb LPs that for the most part contained rich, memorable music. I was thrilled to see that a mature Maestro Freeman is revisiting some of the same works for a new digital series, with an even better orchestra than the under-rehearsed ensembles used for some of the Columbias: the Chicago Sinfonietta, which probably shares many members with the CSO. The sound quality is spectacular, and the performances are full bodied yet nuanced. Coleridge-Taylor's delectable, tune-filled suite was played for decades in the British Isles and even conducted by Barbirolli. George Weldon's old HMV recording here meets its match (avoid the version on Naxos now that the new Freeman is available.) And the Cedille production has the finest sound of all. Freeman draws more expression and poignancy out of the music, which sounds very much like good-natured Grieg.The Sowande suite is a conventional work for strings, a bit derivative of European style but sporting African melodies given charming treatment.The Still symphony is now well known and represented in several other recordings, of which Jaervi's is most prominent on Chandos. I would prefer this, or Freeman's earlier Columbia Lp edition, for panache and cheeky spirit.This is a fabulous CD and a treat to lovers of classical music who insist on melody and color, but have tired of endless editions of the effete late nineteenth century second rate works of, say, Massenet, Goldmark, or Macdowell."