{"product_id":"hubad-mussorgsky-sorochyntsi-fair-1955-paco053","title":"HUBAD Mussorgsky: Sorochyntsi Fair (1955) - PACO053","description":"overviewfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f\u003cspan data_liveedit_tagid=\"000000000D770D90\"\u003e\u003cspan data_liveedit_tagid=\"000000000D770EC0\"\u003e\u003cspan data_liveedit_tagid=\"000000000D770FF0\"\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 18px;\"\u003eMUSSORGSKY\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 18px;\"\u003e Sorochyntsi Fair\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 18px;\"\u003eMUSSORGSKY\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 18px;\"\u003e Night on the Bare Mountain \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 18px;\"\u003eBORODIN\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 18px;\"\u003e Polovtsian Dances\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan data_liveedit_tagid=\"000000000D770D90\"\u003e\u003cspan data_liveedit_tagid=\"000000000D770EC0\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan data_liveedit_tagid=\"000000000D772E90\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: #000000\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"bodysmallarial\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12px;\"\u003eStudio recordings, 1955 \u0026amp; 1958\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12px;\"\u003eTotal duration: 2hr 6:09\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan data_liveedit_tagid=\"000000000D775470\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003eSlovenian National Opera, Ljubljana\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan data_liveedit_tagid=\"000000000D775470\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003econductor\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan data_liveedit_tagid=\"000000000D775470\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003e Samo Hubad\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan data_liveedit_tagid=\"000000000D775470\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003eVienna Symphony Orchestra\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan data_liveedit_tagid=\"000000000D775470\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003eDer Singverein der Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde, Vienna\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan data_liveedit_tagid=\"000000000D775470\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003econducted by\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan data_liveedit_tagid=\"000000000D775470\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003e Willem van Otterloo\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9review_titlefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fFanfare Review578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9review_quotefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fRose ought to be awarded a gold medal, not only for his restoration work here but for restoring this undeservedly obscure recording to the active catalog578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9review_bodyfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f\u003cp class=\"B\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"TIMES\"\u003eWhereas Mussorgsky completed \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"TIMESi\"\u003eBoris Godunov\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"TIMES\"\u003e and left a virtually complete piano score of \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"TIMESi\"\u003eKhovanshchina\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"TIMES\"\u003e, his short comic opera \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"TIMESi\"\u003eSorochyntsi Fair\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"TIMES\"\u003e (or \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"TIMESi\"\u003eFair at Sorochintsk\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"TIMES\"\u003e,\nas it is sometimes translated instead) remained in fragmentary\ncondition at his death, with a few passages orchestrated, several others\ncompleted in piano score, and the remainder existing only as sketches\nor text. (The most fully completed bits are portions of the first act\nand the first part of the second.) For whatever reasons, Rimsky-Korsakov\ndeclined to occupy himself with a realization of the score; it was then\nentrusted to Anatoly Liadov, who produced orchestrations of only five\nnumbers before dropping the project. With spoken dialogue bridging\nbetween these, the work received a private performance in 1911 in St.\nPetersburg, followed by a public staging in 1913. César Cui then\nproduced the first truly complete version, including interpolations\ncomposed by himself, which was produced in Petrograd (the renamed St.\nPetersburg) in 1917. Nikolai Tcherepnin then created the first complete\nedition based solely on Mussorgsky’s own sketches, which received its\npremiere under his baton in Monte Carlo in 1923. The conductor Nikolai\nGolovanov next followed with his own version, first given at the Bolshoi\nin Moscow in 1925. Finally, Vissarion Shebalin, following a thorough\nstudy of Mussorgsky’s manuscripts, fashioned what has become the\nuniversally accepted version of the score, which received its premiere\nin 1931 in Leningrad under Samuil Samosud. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"B\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"TIMES\"\u003eAs I could not locate any copy of a\nlibretto, and none of the three complete sets I accessed provide one,\nhere is a detailed summary of the plot, which is drawn from a short\nstory by Nikolai Gogol. (Note that while I have preserved the variant\ntransliteration of the opera’s title in the headnote for online search\npurposes, I have conformed its spelling elsewhere in this review, and\nthat of all the characters’ names, to versions now in general use.) In\nact I, the Ukrainian village of Sorochintsk is holding its annual fair.\nAmong those in attendance are the peasant Cherevik and his daughter\nParasya. In order to buy some of the attractive ribbons and necklaces\nthat Parasya desires, Cherevik must sell some wheat and a mare. A gypsy\npredicts that the “blood-red jacket,” a legendary article of clothing\nsupposedly housed in a nearby barn, could disrupt the proceedings with\nits diabolical curse; the superstitious villagers take alarm at his\nwords. The young peasant Grits’ko, who has been courting Parasya, asks\nCherevik for her hand in marriage. When Cherevik learns that Grits’ko is\nthe godson of his old friend Kum he gives his consent, and the three\nmen adjourn to the local tavern to celebrate. Later that afternoon,\nCherevik and Kum emerge, quite tipsy, and encounter Khivria, Cherevik’s\ndomineering wife. When she learns of the engagement, she vetoes it: She\nclaims that as she drove her wagon across the bridge to enter town,\nGrits’ko had insultingly flung a handful of cow dung at her face.\nGrits’ko overhears this and becomes despondent. The gypsy approaches him\nand promises to assist the young man with his marriage plans in\nexchange for purchasing the latter’s oxen at a bargain price, a proposal\nto which Grits’ko delightedly agrees. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"B\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"TIMES\"\u003eIn act II, Cherevik is sleeping off his\ndrunken stupor. Khivria, who is conducting a clandestine affair with\nAfanasy Ivanovich, the son of the local village priest, awakens her\nhusband, picks a quarrel with him, and chases him out of the house,\nordering him to sleep under a wagon and keep watch over the wheat and\nmare that are to be sold. Not even Cherevik’s protests of fear about the\ncurse of the “blood-red jacket” can sway her. Afanasy, an inept\nbumbler, duly stumbles in, and gorges himself on food while enjoying his\namorous tryst. Suddenly Cherevik and Kum return with some friends, and\nAfanasy must hurriedly hide in a hammock. Cherevik is still fearful of\nthe “blood-red jacket,” although Kum and Khivria try to put him at ease.\nFinally, Kum relates the story of the jacket. A demon, exiled from Hell\nfor committing an offense against Satan, wandered the earth in boredom\nand took to drink. Having spent his last kopek, the demon finally pawned\nhis red jacket to an innkeeper, promising to redeem it in a year and\nwarning that it should be well guarded in the interim. Tired of waiting\nfor his mysterious guest to return, the innkeeper sold the jacket. A\nyear later, a stranger returned to demand the jacket; the innkeeper\nfeigned ignorance of any such article, and the stranger disappeared.\nHowever, when the innkeeper went to bed that night, pig snouts suddenly\nappeared in all the windows of the inn, whips materialized, and the\ninnkeeper received a sound thrashing. Since then, the demon searches for\nhis jacket each year at the Sorochyntsi Fair. At this juncture, a\nwindow suddenly bursts open and a huge pig stares through it into the\nroom, causing everyone inside to flee in panic. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"B\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"TIMES\"\u003eIn act III, Cherevik and Kum are\nstumbling down the street in confusion; some local youths take them for\nthieves and handcuff them. Grits’ko and the gypsy appear; the former\npromises to free the duo if he is granted Parasya’s hand in marriage, to\nwhich Cherevik consents. Grits’ko fulfills his pledge to sell his oxen\nto the gypsy. Tired, he falls asleep beneath a tree, and has a long\ndream of a witches’ sabbath conducted by the demon Chernobog. (In a\nsomewhat different guise, this music is far better known as the tone\npoem \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"TIMESi\"\u003eA Night on Bare Mountain\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"TIMES\"\u003e.\nMussorgsky originally intended it to form part of act I, but the\nvarious editors of his manuscripts relocated it to here instead.)\nMeanwhile Parasya, grieving for her broken engagement, tries to cheer up\nby dancing the hopak, and is joined by her father. Grits’ko and Kum\narrive, and Cherevik joins the hands of the young lovers to unite them\nin marriage. Khivria enters and makes one last attempt to thwart the\nunion, but is dragged away by a group of youths to general laughter. The\ngypsy invites everyone to join in dancing the hopak in a concluding\ncelebration. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"B\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"TIMES\"\u003eTo my surprise, there are no previous reviews of any of the four extant recordings of \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"TIMESi\"\u003eSorochyntsi Fair\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"TIMES\"\u003e,\nof which this is the earliest. The three subsequent recordings are a\n1969 Melodiya recording with the USSR Radio Symphony and Chorus under\nthe baton of Yuri Aranovich, which had its only CD release on a\nbrief-lived Melodiya\/Eurodisc issue in Germany; a 1983 version on\nMelodiya\/Olympia with the Stanislavsky Theater ensemble led by Vladimir\nEsipov, also long out of print; and a 1996 set on the URAL label\nconducted by Evgeny Brazhnik, reviewed elsewhere in this issue as part\nof a collection of Mussorgsky’s works reissued on the Brilliant Classics\nlabel. With the exception of Vladimir Matorin as Cherevik in the Esipov\nversion, none of the singers in any of these sets has any significant\ngeneral name recognition. Unfortunately, I have not heard the Esipov\n(which, according to a description by a seller of a pricey used copy on\nAmazon, does come with an English-language only libretto). \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"B\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"TIMES\"\u003eOf the three versions I have heard,\nthis one is, to my considerable surprise, easily the top choice. As all\nthree are atmospheric and characterful, with fine conducting and choral\nwork, the difference in ranking comes down to the singers. While this is\na work in which effective characterization counts for more than\nbeautiful singing, this recording is distinguished from its rivals by\nits total superiority on the latter count. As Parasya, Vilma Bukovetz\nhas a light, sweet lyric soprano with that extra degree of body common\nto Slavic singers. Bogdana Stritar has a beautiful mezzo-soprano with a\nseamless legato and not a trace of acidulousness, that would be too\nbeautiful for the character of Khivria if she were not so adept at\nvarying it for her character’s moods. As it is, she is the one singer of\nthat role who makes her act II arioso a true love song. The two tenor\nparts of Grits’ko and Afanasy Ivanovich are cast from strength; both\nMiro Branjnik and Slavko Shtrukel have suave, lyric tenor voices that\nwould do credit to roles such as Jeník in Smetana’s \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"TIMESi\"\u003eThe Bartered Bride\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"TIMES\"\u003e or Lenski in Tchaikovsky’s\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"TIMESi\"\u003e Evgeny Onegin\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"TIMES\"\u003e.\nIt is remarkable that such a fine voice is lavished on the role of\nAfanasy, which normally would be (and on other recordings is) given to a\nnasal-voiced \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"TIMESi\"\u003ecomprimario\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"TIMES\"\u003e\ntenor; here the stronger casting makes him a more creditable lover. As\nCherevik and Kum, Latko Koroshetz and Friderik Lupsha both have\nwonderfully firm, rich, liquid basso voices, that of Lupsha being a\nshade darker—what a marvelous recording of \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"TIMESi\"\u003eBoris Godunov\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"TIMES\"\u003e\nthis pair could have made! In the two supporting baritone roles, Andrei\nAndreev as the gypsy has a light-timbred baritone with just a touch of\nhollowness, whereas that of Samo Smerkolj as the demon Chernobog is\nappropriately darker, more rough-hewn, and devoid of legato. All of the\nsingers, and also the excellent chorus, give a scrupulous attention to\nclarity of diction that is most welcome. If the conducting of Samo Hubad\nis less earthy than that of his rivals, he lavishes a beautiful\nlyricism on the score that makes it sing like a troubador’s recounting\nof a beloved local legend. The orchestra has a lovely burnished string\nsound that recalls the Vienna Philharmonic and Gewandhaus ensembles, and\nits members play their hearts out here. Indeed, that a regional opera\ncompany, in what would have been cavalierly dismissed as a cultural\nbackwater, could produce a recording of such outstanding merit both\nvocally and instrumentally, is a standing rebuke to a multitude of major\nopera houses and recording companies that for years now have foisted on\nthe public an interminable succession of stagings and recordings\nshowcasing highly touted singing mediocrities with nondescript voices\nand faulty technique who substitute artificial histrionics for genuine\nvocal interpretation. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"B\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"TIMES\"\u003eEqually worthy of note is the top-notch\nrecorded sound of Andrew Rose’s exemplary transfer from Philips\nmint-condition test pressings. While I (like virtually everyone else\nreading these lines) have never heard the original LPs, I can say that,\nbased on having heard comparable pressings of recordings of the same\nvintage, he has produced truly marvelous results. The ambiance has\nrichness, body, and color; there is just a touch of treble bias and LP\nsurface noise. The singers do have a clearly differentiated reverberant\nspace around them, which I presume to be inherent in the original\nsource. Rose ought to be awarded a gold medal, not only for his\nrestoration work here but for restoring this undeservedly obscure\nrecording to the active catalog. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"Br\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"TIMES\"\u003eAs supplements (since the opera lasts\nslightly less than 100 minutes), Rose has quite appropriately added\ncontemporary Philips early stereo recordings from 1958 of Mussorgsky’s\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"TIMESi\"\u003e Night on the Bare Mountain \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"TIMES\"\u003eand the Polovtsian Dances from Borodin’s \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"TIMESi\"\u003ePrince Igor\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"TIMES\"\u003e.\nThe Dutch conductor, composer, and cellist Willem van Otterloo, who\neventually made his career primarily in Australia after being passed\nover as Eduard van Beinum’s successor to lead the Concertgebouw, is\nlittle remembered today, though Challenge Classics did issue a 13-CD\nretrospective set of his recordings with the Residentie Orkest. He was a\nchampion of late 19th- and 20th-century repertoire, and his\ninterpretive style was Classically oriented, with generally brisk\ntempos, an emphasis on clarity of instrumental lines, and relatively\nlittle use of rubato. These are disciplined, well-proportioned\nperformances, though the fact that they are performed with a then\nsecond-tier orchestra is clearly evident in the lack of full-bodied\nstring tone. The Borodin (with the excellent Vienna Singverein singing\nthe choral parts) is the more compelling of the two renditions, but it\nhad the misfortune to be issued at virtually the same time as the\nclassic Beecham account on EMI that surely thrust it into immediate\nobscurity. While neither recording is competitive with a myriad of\nmodern versions, they nonetheless make fine aperitifs to the main\nmusical course here. Rose’s remasterings have clear, forward sound and\nquiet backgrounds that make for pleasurable listening. In sum, this\nrelease is a triumph that belongs in the collection of every lover of\nMussorgsky’s music and devotees of lesser-known operatic repertoire;\nurgently recommended. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"Br\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"TIMESb\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eJames A. Altena\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis article originally appeared in Issue 37:5 (May\/June 2014) of Fanfare Magazine. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9main_samplefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fsamples\/PACO053.mp3578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_labelfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fProducer's Note578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_typefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fcontent578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_contentfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f\u003cp style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: x-large;\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe première recording of Mussorgsky's rarely-heard opera\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp align=\"center\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: medium;\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eFirst of only four known recordings - new XR-remastered transfer\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp class=\"body\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"body\"\u003eThis is the second of two rare Russian opera recordings by the Slovenian National\u003c\/span\u003e\nOpera which came my way from the collection of the former art director\nof Philips UK. It was sold as a boxed set of two LPs; in this case I was\nworking from white-label test pressings for these transfers and had no\nnotes or indication of where anything started or finished.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"body\"\u003eThis lack of information turned out to be one of the\ngreatest challenges, and it took a while to track down an alternative\ncopy of the recording which I could both download as a reference and use\nto work out where the acts began and ended! Thus the tracks here are\nmore or less split using the template of a mid-1990s recording by\nYevgeni Brazhnik, and I've had to do what I can with the\nbadly-translated Russian titles provided with that release, the most\nrecent of only four complete recordings of this opera.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"body\"\u003eAs the Gramophone reviewer points out, the version heard\nhere is that completed by Shebalin in 1931, which is fortunately also\nused by all the other recordings to date. Unfortunately the score I\ntracked down, and which is included in the downloads, is an earlier\nversion completed by Cui in 1917, which diverges from the recording in a\nnumber of places, not least the entire relocation of the Dream section\nto the third act.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"body\"\u003eThis Dream music had been adapted by Mussorgsky from his earlier composition, \u003cem\u003eNight on the Bare \u003c\/em\u003e(or Bald) \u003cem\u003eMountain\u003c\/em\u003e. Ironically the version we know now of that piece is one which Rimsky-Korsakov adapted from \u003cem\u003eSorochyntsi Fair\u003c\/em\u003e!\nAs I had space left over I took the opportunity to add Willem van\nOtterloo's 1958 recording of this, together with the flip side\n(Borodin's \u003cem\u003ePolovtsian Dances\u003c\/em\u003e) to the second disc of this set for comparison.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"body\"\u003eAs far as the recording quality goes, both recordings\nwere very well made. A side effect of the non-staged style of the opera\nas noted by Gramophone's 1957 reviewer is that all the words are\nexceptionally clear and well captured and nobody singing away from the\nmicrophones - as I've failed to find a libretto and the score is in\nRussian script, this may prove handy to the listener! What was less\nwelcome in \u003cem\u003eSorochyntsi Fair\u003c\/em\u003e is the prevelance of pre- and\npost-echo throughout the recording, something which took a great deal of\ntime and effort to eliminate.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"body\"\u003eOverall, however, both recordings here have come up very\nnicely indeed, and are excellent examples of the progress made in sound\nquality during the 1950s. XR remastering has helped bring them forward a\ndecade or two, and I recommend the Ambient Stereo issues.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eAndrew Rose\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_cover_thumbnail1_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_cover_thumbnail2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_cover_download_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_sample1_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_sample2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_sample3_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_sample4_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_sample5_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_sample6_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_labelfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fFull Track \u0026amp; Cast Listing578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_typefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5ftrack_listing578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_contentfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cli class=\"bodybigblue\"\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eMUSSORGSKY \u003c\/b\u003e- Sorochyntsi Fair\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eCast\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Cherevik - \u003cb\u003eLatko Koroshetz \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Khivria - \u003cb\u003eBogdana Stritar \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Parassia - \u003cb\u003eVilma Bukovetz \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Kum - \u003cb\u003eFriderik Lupsha \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Gritsko - \u003cb\u003eMiro Branjnik \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Afansy Ivanovich - \u003cb\u003eSlavko Shtrukel \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Gypsy - \u003cb\u003eAndrei Andreev \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Chernobog - \u003cb\u003eSamo Smerkolj\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e Slovenian National Opera Orchestra \u0026amp; Chorus\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e conducted by \u003cb\u003eSamo Hubad\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan class=\"body\"\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"bodymidarial\"\u003eWorld première recording, 27th November 1955, Salle Apollo, Ljublhana\u003cbr\u003e Transfer from Philips 12\" white label test pressings ABL 3148-49\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"body\"\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cli class=\"bodybigblue\"\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eMUSSORGSKY - \u003c\/b\u003eNight on the Bare Mountain\u003cspan class=\"body\"\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\u003cli class=\"bodybigblue\"\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eBORODIN - \u003c\/b\u003ePolovtsian Dances\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Vienna Symphony Orchestra\u003cbr\u003e Der Singverein der Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde, Vienna \u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/b\u003econducted by \u003cb\u003eWillem van Otterloo \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan class=\"bodymidarial\"\u003eRecorded at Grosser Saal, Musikverein, Vienna, 23 February 1958\u003cbr\u003e Transfer from Fontana 10\" white label test pressing EFR 2012\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTransfer 1. Studio recording from 1955, from Philips white label test pressings ABL.3148\/49\u003cbr\u003eTransfer 2. Studio recording from 1958, from Fontana white label test pressing EFR 2012\u003cbr\u003eXR remastering by Andrew Rose at Pristine Audio, September-October 2010\u003cbr\u003eCover artwork based on a photograph of Mussorgsky\u003cbr\u003eTotal duration: 2hr 6:09\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_cover_thumbnail1_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_cover_thumbnail2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_cover_download_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_sample1_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_sample2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_sample3_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_sample4_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_sample5_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_sample6_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_labelfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fCover Art578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_typefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fcover_art578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_contentfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_cover_thumbnail1_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fcovers\/thumbs\/PACO053.jpg578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_cover_thumbnail2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_cover_download_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fcovers\/PACO053.pdf578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_sample1_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_sample2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_sample3_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_sample4_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_sample5_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_sample6_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab4_labelfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fHistoric Review578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab4_typefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fcontent578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab4_contentfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f\u003cp\u003e\"Whenever one comes up against a Russian stage work, the first thing is to establish who composed it ; for it often seems as if the main occupation of Russian musicians is writing each other's operas-after which everyone quarrels and claims it would be better another way. The habit of leaving works incomplete—whether through illness, loss of interest or plain indolence—seems to have been endemic among the famous nineteenth - century Russians ; so that it should come as no particular surprise to learn, from an admirably comprehensive accompanying note by Paul Lamm, that Mussorgsky's Sorochintsy Fair has had to be orchestrated and completed by Liadov, Karatygin, Cui, Tcherepnin and, finally, Shebalin, whose version is the one here employed.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe story—a grotesque one, full of digressions and typically Russian muddles-is set in the Ukraine, whose national musical characteristics are mirrored in the score. Some form of lifeline, either the complete libretto (available for an extra 7s. 6d.), or the detailed account of the plot in the booklet issued with the discs, is absolutely imperative if anything whatever is to be made of this work. For, though the lyrical passages are easy enough to bang on to, the - music of the broad humorous parts is scrappy to a degree ; and it must be admitted that, attractive as are some of the melodies, their treatment is frequently very crude and thin. Only two sections are likely to be known to most people—the final Gopak and the Night on the Bare Mountain, which reappears here in a choral version to accompany the scene of Gritzko's nightmare.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe piece is played with gusto by the Ljubljana company, and the sheer high spirits they bring to it are infectious, even while one recognises the shortcomings in the performance. The orchestra is enthusiastic rather than polished, and the chorus very rough indeed, but the soloists are, many of them, of a high calibre. At the top of the list I would put Mme Stritar as the discontented scold and the tenor Shtrukel, who proves himself a first-rate character comedian, in the part of her gluttonous paramour. Their comic lovescene in Act 2 is a joy. The Parassia—a small part—is good, and the Gritzko has a suitably young-sounding ringing tenor. The Cherevik is too often careless about the exact pitching of his notes.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe recording has been made as if from a concert performance, with little suggestion of stage perspective or dramatic placing of the voices, and one cannot help regretting that for so unfamiliar a work (which, so far as I can recollect, has not been seen in this country since Jay Pomeroy's production at the Cambridge 'Theatre in the early days of the war) more attention was not given to production \". Those with perfect pitch must also steel themselves to transposing the recording down a semitone mentally. Still, as a curiosity, this recording is well worth hearing.\" \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e- The Gramophone, November 1957\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab4_cover_thumbnail1_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab4_cover_thumbnail2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab4_cover_download_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab4_sample1_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab4_sample2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab4_sample3_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab4_sample4_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab4_sample5_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab4_sample6_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f","brand":"Pristine Classical","offers":[{"title":"Mono 24-bit FLAC","offer_id":44064782123098,"sku":"bxb1789304902180","price":24.51,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Ambient Stereo 16-bit FLAC","offer_id":44064782155866,"sku":"cof1789304902181","price":17.36,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Mono 16-bit FLAC","offer_id":44064782188634,"sku":"ldu1789304902182","price":20.42,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"320kbps Mono MP3","offer_id":44064782221402,"sku":"vbw1789304902183","price":14.62,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0726\/3807\/0874\/files\/hubad-mussorgsky-sorochyntsi-fair-1955---paco053_1.jpg?v=1789304909","url":"https:\/\/vestorawear.shop\/products\/hubad-mussorgsky-sorochyntsi-fair-1955-paco053","provider":"My Store","version":"1.0","type":"link"}