More Ravel favorites assembled with creativity and good taste by Geoffrey Simon and his musicians. This one departs even further than the first Ravel disc from the usual orchestral hits, by including not only the five Greek songs featuring a mezzo but also the complete G Major Piano Concerto running 21 minutes. Another unexpected touch is to find a movement from Ravel’s Poe-etic Gaspard de la nuit piano suite smack in the middle of this collection. Le gibet (The gallows) casts its macabre spell in this transcription by another conductor, Eugene Goossens. At the end he adds something which even the composer’s clever tone-painting at the piano couldn’t accomplish – the sound of a real bell tolling. The first movement of the Piano Concerto includes some jazzy passages which remind one of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue.
The title tune of the set comes from Ravel’s five-movement piano suite Miroirs, and was orchestrated by Percy Grainger. Ravel himself had transcribed two of the movements, but not this one. Again, we have a concentration on bells, including even bell effects from striking the piano strings directly with mallets. The Mother Goose Suite is the composer’s most delightful set of music for children. Although enchanting in its original two-piano version, the many colorful effects are made to order for expansion into the full orchestral fabric. Ravel did this orchestration himself. Simon and his forces approach all the works with gusto and the surround reproduction is again without reproach. Plus one gets one’s money’s worth time wise, unlike many SACDs.
– John Sunier
