[.ca] Falla: El Amor Brujo; Sombrero de tres picos; Noches en ...

From Amazon.com:
Spanish critics have long hailed Gonzalo Soriano's two recordings of Nights in the Gardens of Spain--this one from 1962 and an earlier effort with Ataulfo Argenta--as among the finest readings of the score ever committed to disc. It's easy to see why. Soriano brings to bear a conception that is firm, detailed, and energetic and plays the piece with real flair. His partner on the podium, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, only 28 years old when the recording was made, sparks a magnificent account from the Paris Conservatory Orchestra: masculine, evocative, and glowingly ardent despite occasional problems with intonation in the horns and low strings. For this most impressionistic of Falla's scores, it's an ideal sound. The companion pieces, Falla's El Amor Brujo and a suite from The Three-Cornered Hat (not the complete ballet), are masterfully rendered by Carlo Maria Giulini and the Philharmonia Orchestra. --Ted Libbey

Guilini = amazing; but de los Angeles ruined El Amor Brujo:
This particular review refers only to the El amor brujo part of the recording, so if you're not buying the CD for that particular piece, this review may not be relevant. I was considering buying this recording when I was lucky enough to hear the El amor brujo section of it played on the radio. The conducting was miraculous. The only place where I felt the conducting wasn't flawless was at the very end (which seemed a little unconvincing to me), but overall it was extremely beautiful. I do not plan on buying this cd, however, because the singing from Victoria de los Angeles was absolutely awful. I personally had never heard her sing before, but had always read good things about her. There was no warmth or ring of any kind in her voice. When the piece began on the radio, the singer wasn't announced, and I kept thinking, why would such a wonderful conductor get such an awful singer for this piece, and when I found out that it was her I was shocked (it was announced when the piece ended). I suppose I can say that rhythmically she did do some interesting things, and it did sound like she was involved in the music, but I really couldn't handle her singing. So, I would give the conducting 5 stars, but about one star for de los Angeles. I'm giving it four stars just so it won't bring the rating down too much, because I'm sure that the other pieces on the disc are likewise very well conducted (and, thankfully, exclude de los Angeles).

Fantastic Falla:
This CD of the music of the great Spanish composer Manuel de Falla is truly fantastic. This title, one of the few remaining from EMI's early 90s series "Studio Plus," presents Carlo Maria Giulini and the Philharmonia Orchestra's golden-age stereo performances of "El Amor Brujo" (1961 with soprano Victoria de los Angeles!) and a suite from "El Sombrero de Tres Picos" (1957 & 1964). Though the treat here is Gonzalo Soriano's 1962 recording of "Noches en los Jardines de Espana" with Rafael Fruhbeck de Burgos and the Orchestre de la Societe des Concerts du Conservatoire. These classic recordings have been or are available in other CD incarnations (the Giulini recordings were on a budget line two-disc EMI Seraphim set, now out-of-print, and the same "Brujo" is on a recent Great Recordings of the Century disc), but this mid-line title is the best way to get both the Giulini accounts and the memorable Soriano/de Burgos "Nights."

• The Three-Cornered Hat: Introduction y tarde
• The Three-Cornered Hat: Danza de la molinera
• The Three-Cornered Hat: Danza de los vecinos
• The Three-Cornered Hat: Danza del molinero
• The Three-Cornered Hat: Danza final
• Love The Magician: Introduction y Escena
• Love The Magician: En la cueva
• Love The Magician: Cancion del amor dolido
• Love The Magician: El aparecido
• Love The Magician: Danza del terror
• Love The Magician: El circulo magico
• Love The Magician: A medianoche
• Love The Magician: Danza rituel del fuego
• Love The Magician: Escena
• Love The Magician: Cancion del fuego fatuo
• Love The Magician: Pantomima
• Love The Magician: Danza del Juego del amor
• Love The Magician: Final: Les campana del amanecer
• Nights in the Gardens of Spain: I: En el Generalife
• II: Danza lejana
• Nights in the Gardens of Spain: III: En los jardinos de la Sierra de Cordoba